It all started with a chiding from Dad...

From the age of 5 until my first year of college, I wanted to own a record store. My logic: I like music. Well, sometime around the age of 18 I realized that owning a record store would probably lead to a life of depression and failed relationships, modeled after the characters in the novel/film “High Fidelity.” One night, rather late, I had some friends over at my house (well, my parent’s house), and apparently I was talking loudly. So loudly, my dad felt inclined to storm down the stairs, and then outside in his underwear to yell uncharacteristically, “Damn it Jesse, your voice is so loud! You should be a teacher!”

That statement planted the seed, although I knew, of course, that a loud voice does not necessarily determine my abilities to be a teacher. I started working at a preschool and eventually built a large clientele of babysitting connections that I have been able to escape. I soon discovered that working with children was at once exhausting, challenge and completely rewarding. Plus, the kids I worked with kept me entertained, and therefore, boredom was never an issue.

I finally came back to PSU to finish undergraduate work (apparently studying ancient Hebrew was not the key to academic happiness), focusing on education so that I could get into a teaching program. I took every class I could that concerned teaching. I discovered that not only was I passionate about working with children, but also the issues of public education. I have an unshakable conviction: I must teach. There is not a question in my mind about needing to teach. However, the more I work with kids and the more I pursue this life in education, the more questions develop about how best to serve the children of my community through my teaching. It’s a BIG job. I am not going to be perfect, and I am going to make mistakes, I do not doubt my ability to put myself in my work and do my best.

Finally, I want to mention that children think that I am funny. Some of them laugh at my jokes. Why wouldn’t I want to spend everyday with them?