The Story Changes Everything

On my first day of lunch duty as a student teacher, I made a point to introduce myself to an assistant principal who was in the cafeteria.  I told him my name and  he asked me what university I was visiting from.  I smiled and said, “I’m a   Graduate student from UNC- Charlotte.  I’ll be student teaching this semester.”  He asked me what I had studied before deciding to  become a teacher.  I replied by saying, “History and Education.”  

It seems like that should’ve left you with a teaching   license already”. 

 I smiled again, “ Not quite, I cope with cerebral palsy, my pathway to teaching has been a little bit different.”  He looked at me and said, “ Well, Congratulations, I’m glad you’re here.”

  It’s a conversation I’ll never forget.    

 I decided long before Graduate school that I wanted to be a teacher.  Honestly, it is the only way I have ever envisioned    myself making an impact on the world.  The first blog I ever wrote was about understanding that my story mattered.  The older I get the more important  it is for me to share the story.   The story changes everything.   

Living with  a disability meant that from the very beginning my Mom heard  the phrase Julie will never be able to... an awful lot.    Mom always let the experts speak, but she always followed with questions of how they as experts were going to try.   My walking might be slow and awkward but saying, I couldn’t wasn’t an option until the doctors and physical therapist tried everything ---- walkers, leg braces, and surgeries.   I’ve walked up the 58 steps  of  Lincoln Memorial, through the streets of London (I did  a summer session  during college without my family), and on each one of my student teaching observations my professor notes, Julie circulates the room to monitor student understanding during independent work well.  This comment always amazes me.  Honestly, I started student teaching wondering if I would be able to stand in front of group of students to give lecture notes.  There’s always an empty desk in the front side of the room that I use to support myself but, I’m moving around comfortable and I never thought I’d be able to…

Walking around the classroom is only significant after I reflect on the first time a teacher told me that my learning disabilities would prevent me from attending a four year university.  It’s a comment that my Mom wished the teacher never made because it made me more determined then ever. I never thought I’d be able to. …. Go to college and in a few weeks, I will have completed two university programs successfully!

 Last week, my students were working on group projects.  My cooperating teacher left me with the most uplifting feedback of the semester.  “ You’re persistent about keeping students on task. You ask questions, you haven’t given up on them working successful in groups.” His remarks went straight to my heart.  Asking questions, being persistent, and having a strong group of people who believe I am able is what has made me a success.   It's why I'm almost a teacher!

The story changes everything! We are beating the odds together and  it's amazing!