acadiabean

Congratulations! I am so thrilled that you had the honor of being the first Special Education teacher in your state to win Teacher of the Year, and that you were able to share your experiences in such a great way! My question to you, as a future teacher, is what are your feelings on teaching in urban and/or high need areas? I have taught in poor areas of West Africa (no need for licensure there) and currently volunteer in East St. Louis with an after school program while I pursue my degree in Elementary Education, and these have been extremely rewarding. Many of my professors express caution about jumping into high need areas as a new teacher, and I understand that, but I worry if I wait too long to teach in areas of high need I'll get comfortable and never teach where I've planned from the start: in schools that truly need the assistance. Any thoughts? I'd love to hear any and all advice you can give on my conundrum!

Thank you for your thoughtful answer! Luckily I have lots of teachers in my family, and I'm more than happy to reach out to those with experience, so I'll make sure wherever I end up to utilize that. Thanks again!