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Diane Hulme is  a Georgia certified elementary and middle school teacher, currently employed part time at a private school for children with learning differences.

Diane has been teaching for about 16 years: 6 years in a public school system; 8 in several private schools, and 2 years of subbing. Two of the private schools I taught at serve students with special populations.

What inspired you to teach?

I did not want to teach initially. I have a BA in English and started out in public relations work. I married a teacher, which gave me an inside look at the profession. I was envious of the rapport my husband had with his students and parents. You don’t get hugs and sweet little notes in the business world! I began to think seriously about teaching after working one year as a job placement counselor at a private agency. I was shocked and saddened to see the limited opportunities available to young people without college degrees or technical training. It was after this that I started back to school to get my certification. I think my experiences in jobs prior to teaching make me a better teacher!

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

I think students are inspired to meet their goals when they have a calm, caring and patient “cheerleader” as a teacher. Being able to individualize instruction, to create attainable goals for each student, is key, in addition to creating a classroom “team” atmosphere. Pacing and organization of lessons is important for a teacher- always reviewing, allowing adequate time to practice skills, and summarizing learning. I also believe students need lots of different ways to practice skills and demonstrate mastery, with lessons and projects that emphasize critical thinking. I am a firm believer in leading students from extrinsic rewards towards intrinsic rewards.

What is one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

I felt well prepared actually, as I worked one year as a paraprofessional before starting. I do wish that I had had more knowledge of learning disabilities and behavior disorders before working in our public school system. Our system has many disadvantaged youth, and when I started in 1989, many had undiagnosed disabilities. I have more training and experience now, largely due to my private school experiences and training. In my state, one survey class on exceptional children is required, but this is really not enough!

What did your training teach you that was most helpful in preparing you to enjoy and thrive in a classroom today?

Exposure and study in learning styles was invaluable, with actual teaching examples to take into the classroom. In graduate classes I have taken, the peer interaction and sharing of ideas and experiences is valuable.

What would you like to improve about your teaching?

I would love to get a masters degree in learning disabilities or counseling. I see these two areas as instrumental to the success of students today. I’d also like to learn to use current technology, such as the ITouch and Smart Board, to enhance my teaching.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This is a guest post from our journalist Alex J. Mann.  You can subscribe to his blog here and follow him on Twitter here.

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Ruth Sheffer teaches high school English in a technological high school in Jerusalem, Israel. This is her 30th year. During our interview, she proclaimed “I’m still alive!”

What inspired you to teach?

Nothing I just kind of fell into it by accident. It was a good job for me when my kids were little and I did like the interaction with the pupils, the friendly staff at my school and the fact that no matter how bad things got I had a new shot at it the following September.

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

Unfortunately this is a hard question for me to answer. In my opinion, the teachers have goals and the parents have goals. The head of the school definitely has goals. But many of the students have only the goal of hanging out with their friends, having fun, and maybe getting good grades but this is usually a desire they wish to achieve with very little effort on their part (sorry to be so negative)

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

I think that the ability to improvise and to be a bit of an actor is indispensable int he classroom.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

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Stephanie Barry, a teacher of 8 years, is a speech-language pathologist. Currently, she is in private practice while previously working in elementary schools throughout the Phoenix Metro area.

What inspired you to teach?

I wanted to help children succeed in school. I loved school but knew many that struggled and wanted to help others like them feel successful. I choose Speech Pathology because I wanted to work one-on-one with children to help them meet their goals.

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

Motivation is my most helpful method. When you can inspire motivation or a desire to participate in the activities, they show great progress. Then the progress itself becomes motivating, they fell that they can do it and are proud of themselves when they have improved their skills. That helps keep them working when things become challenging.

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

That plans change.  I worked very hard to make good lesson plans and tried to stick to them.  After a couple of months, I learned that it is better to make an outline of what I wanted to cover as sometimes the kids take you in a different direction.  It is very meaningful to them to explore their curiosities as they are occurring and usually fit right in with my “plan” so I learned more flexibility in how I taught my students.  They enjoyed therapy more as they knew I cared about what they thought and how they felt and I have had some pretty interesting session.  Some of which I have actually done with other groups because I thought the material we covered might be meaningful to others.  This flexibility helps you grow as a teacher because kids are always thinking of new and different questions and situations and working those into therapy has been a great experience for both the students and myself.

What did your training teach you that was most helpful in preparing you to enjoy and thrive in a classroom today?

The basic strategies. Knowing the basic strategies to facilitate success was the most beneficial thing I learned in graduate school. These skills help me implement a variety of strategies into an activity to find out what works best for that child. My professors also taught me how to be flexible, how to think outside the box to address concerns in new and different ways and how to implement strategies in ways I may not have thought of before. All this helps me to provide the necessary tools for my students to succeed in therapy and as a result flourish in school.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.