Welcome back to the new school year. This will be the first time in 12 years I have gone back to teaching general education. I began as a general education teacher way back in 2002. I absolutely loved it. During the summers I had the opportunity to lead the Extended School Year from a local school district. I fell in love with teaching students in Life Skills who had physical needs, Autism, and so many other capabilities. I loved those children so much, I finally decided to go back to school to become a special education teacher. As a special education teacher I have had a lot of various experiences. I taught in self-contained classrooms, worked as an Autism Consultant. I also taught resource and as a reading specialist. The most difficult was teaching in classrooms where I was being hit. I almost decided one year that I no longer wanted to teach. I gave all of my materials to a first year teacher, and subbed for an entire school year. I also went back to school to become a counselor. As I was attending the University, I was bored with the classes. I found myself loving to sub. I realized that it wasn't that I didn't love teaching, I didn't like being hit. After 12 years of teaching special education, I will be starting to teach general education again. I'm the type of teacher who can't do the same thing every year. I love learning from different experiences. I'm so excited about this new school year, and what I will learn from the amazing 4th grade students I will have.For some amazing tips on how to start your school year on a positive note, check out the following article. It really has helped me put things into perspective. https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/aug/27/start-new-school-year-positive-mindset-stress-teachers-tips
