First and foremost, I will break down my background:
1. I am white, married, and female.
2. My father holds a high school diploma, and began his machinist career 40 years ago. He did not need a college degree for the job, but his BOCES experience in the machine shop helped. Prior to working as a machinist, he worked as a farm hand after graduation.
3. My mother dropped out of high school and earned her GED, married, had my brother and sister, and later divorced. She worked in a factory and then moved on to working in retail. When I started school, she decided to get a job at the school, although she was a school sub a few years prior. She started in the cafeteria, then became a teacher's aide, and went back to college in her late 30's to earn her Teaching Assistant degree. She's been a TA for nearly 20 years, but has worked at the school for over 25 years.
I've experienced privilege and marginalization from work and life experiences. Growing up, I longed to have a happy, healthy, and successful life, but I had to work hard for it. I wanted to fit in with the crowd and to have the same positive experiences as others. I had my first job at 19 working in retail. The management only cared about themselves and taking smoke breaks whenever they wanted to, in addition to giving higher-level jobs to people who are their besties. I was treated unfairly, I was called out for not asking for help when I did, and I was used to the fullest advantage. I was also called out for the way I cleaned the bathrooms, all because a customer had overheard a conversation between a manager and third key, and contacted my mother about it. That was when I knew I had enough, and I had to get a much better job that made me grow my dream career. I worked in another position in child care where I thought I would be treated fairly and I could grow. I was constantly called out for the way I would handle situations, in addition to subbing between two school districts. I would help others by covering a shift, but no one would help me out if I had to take time off. A position was created and was not offered to me, but was given to a person who had been on the job for a year instead. I felt that people went behind my back, and I was used to my fullest advantage again. I was only working two days a week during the summer while another worker had the four days; I wanted more hours to fill up the week. I only covered if needed on the days I was off.
Now that I am working in a school, I felt much happier and not on edge. During the interview process, I was never put down or judged by my work experiences and upbringing. The day I was hired at the school was the day I talked to my supervisors at the job I was working at that I was resigning but not right away. I spent the remainder of that summer working in the child care until the end of that August. Once school began, I was not stressed at all going from one job to another. I felt more relaxed by the time I would get home from work.
While working at school, my goal is to make sure my students are heard, understood, and loved. I never judge my students based on their race, religion, cultures, socio-econonmic status, and language, to name a few. As I work with children on a daily basis, I see the potential in their success stories. I want my students to know that I am proud of their hard work, and they all know I will never judge them by their upbringing.
1. I am white, married, and female.
2. My father holds a high school diploma, and began his machinist career 40 years ago. He did not need a college degree for the job, but his BOCES experience in the machine shop helped. Prior to working as a machinist, he worked as a farm hand after graduation.
3. My mother dropped out of high school and earned her GED, married, had my brother and sister, and later divorced. She worked in a factory and then moved on to working in retail. When I started school, she decided to get a job at the school, although she was a school sub a few years prior. She started in the cafeteria, then became a teacher's aide, and went back to college in her late 30's to earn her Teaching Assistant degree. She's been a TA for nearly 20 years, but has worked at the school for over 25 years.
I've experienced privilege and marginalization from work and life experiences. Growing up, I longed to have a happy, healthy, and successful life, but I had to work hard for it. I wanted to fit in with the crowd and to have the same positive experiences as others. I had my first job at 19 working in retail. The management only cared about themselves and taking smoke breaks whenever they wanted to, in addition to giving higher-level jobs to people who are their besties. I was treated unfairly, I was called out for not asking for help when I did, and I was used to the fullest advantage. I was also called out for the way I cleaned the bathrooms, all because a customer had overheard a conversation between a manager and third key, and contacted my mother about it. That was when I knew I had enough, and I had to get a much better job that made me grow my dream career. I worked in another position in child care where I thought I would be treated fairly and I could grow. I was constantly called out for the way I would handle situations, in addition to subbing between two school districts. I would help others by covering a shift, but no one would help me out if I had to take time off. A position was created and was not offered to me, but was given to a person who had been on the job for a year instead. I felt that people went behind my back, and I was used to my fullest advantage again. I was only working two days a week during the summer while another worker had the four days; I wanted more hours to fill up the week. I only covered if needed on the days I was off.
Now that I am working in a school, I felt much happier and not on edge. During the interview process, I was never put down or judged by my work experiences and upbringing. The day I was hired at the school was the day I talked to my supervisors at the job I was working at that I was resigning but not right away. I spent the remainder of that summer working in the child care until the end of that August. Once school began, I was not stressed at all going from one job to another. I felt more relaxed by the time I would get home from work.
While working at school, my goal is to make sure my students are heard, understood, and loved. I never judge my students based on their race, religion, cultures, socio-econonmic status, and language, to name a few. As I work with children on a daily basis, I see the potential in their success stories. I want my students to know that I am proud of their hard work, and they all know I will never judge them by their upbringing.
