Where It All Started...

I can remember my father taking me to the school he worked in and showing me around the building. He brought me to the classroom he once taught in and showed me the desk he sat at.  While walking through the halls with him I would constantly hear students in the hallway screaming out "Hey Mr. Wilbur!" and other children coming up to him just to have a normal quick conversation with him.  I could see how much they looked up to him.

As I got older, I really started to realize what an impact my father made on his students.  When we would go out shopping, once again I would hear those screams "Hey Mr. Wilbur!".  My father not only educated students in the classroom but taught them how to be individuals in the real world as well. He got students jobs when they came to him and stressed to him about how they needed to make money to help out with bills at their home.  It was more than just a job to my father; it was his career, his passion.  He always told me "You never have to work a day in your life if you love what you do."

As I continue my journey to become an educator, I will take my fathers words of wisdom and apply them in the classroom.  Teaching is more than just educating students in a content area.  It is also about helping children to be better, more independent people in their future.  By giving them the tools and confidence to be those types of individuals, I believe students respect that and prosper to be better people.