"Teaching was the Natural Profession"

Elise O'Donnell is a kindergarten teacher at Pratt Community School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is her seventh year teaching and her fifth year teaching at Pratt Community School.

Pratt Community School

Picture Credit: http://pratt.mpls.k12.mn.us/history

I never saw myself as a Kindergarten teacher. I for sure thought third, fourth, or fifth grade. I really liked those ages; I could not do middle school. That solidified that I wanted to stay with the younger ones. I bounced around for a little bit. I did my long-term substituting in kindergarten. I walked away and thought, “I want to be a kindergarten teacher. This is super fun!”

"I WANT TO DO WHAT THEY DO"

My kindergarten and first grade teachers stand out the most. I remember the feeling of being in the classroom and watching my teachers as I grew up. There was this feeling of “I want to do what they do.” I played school in the basement and made my sister be my student (laughs). I taught everything that I could get my hands on, like summer programs and camps. I’ve always known I wanted to work with kids, I guess I should say, and teaching was just the natural profession.

Those first two years, no matter what, a new teacher is going to be exhausted, really exhausted, no matter what they teach. They’re figuring out curriculums, plus districts' curriculums come and go. They're learning new initiatives and trying to put new things into their classroom non stop and trying them out. They’re learning “Ehh this doesn't really work for me.” and figuring out what does work. So, new teachers need to stick with it, even if they're not sure, because I know there were many days my first year where I’m like, “Ehh I don't know if I am a teacher. I’m not sure if I’m cut out to be a teacher.” If they stick with it long enough, they’ll get more and more confident. They’ll get good at their craft, as long as they have a growth mindset. So, if they're constantly wanting to grow and become a better teacher, I think new teachers will do just fine.

Elise O’Donnell’s morning message

Photo Credit: Stephanie Morris

There are tough parts of teaching. For example, the amount of work that we take home every night. It's not just the papers or the planning that you bring home, sometimes it's the emotional stuff that you bring home too. That can be really tough. Even days when you have a really tough student, you just have to sit back and think what they are thinking. I’m here to help them, not to get mad at them. I think the toughest part of teaching is the pressure. As a kindergarten teacher, we are teaching these students how to read and not everybody's ready to read in kindergarten. They’re five. They should be playing, and I think the pressure of pushing them, push, push, push, harder, harder, harder regardless of their age or their capabilities is wrong. Luckily, my husband is a teacher too. He teaches EBD, Emotional Behavioral Disorder, at a high school in St. Paul. So, he usually has stories that out shine mine by a long shot (laughs), but he listens and he understands.

WHEN I TELL PEOPLE I AM A TEACHER

“Oh, you get to play all day.” is the stock answer (laughs). I swear to God, like I literally get that from people. They ask “How hard can your job be, what do you have nap time?” I’m like, “Huh, I wish! Why don’t you come in? I'll go to lunch (laughs). You come in and hang out here. Hopefully, you don’t get eaten alive (laughs) while you teach them to read.” That is the most common answer for sure.  It’s especially hard when you have friends who have big corporate jobs who are making tons of money and buying super nice houses. My husband and I are teaching, and we’ll live in our little house in St. Paul. Just because we have summers off, it looks like we got this easy job, but the future of America is in our hands (laughs). That, or it's the other extreme, like, “I could never do what you do. Thank God we have people like you.” When people ask, “Oh what do you teach?” “Kindergarten.” “Whoa, you must be exhausted.” “Wow, I couldn't do that.”  So, there are two extremes of the answers that I get.

THE BEST PART OF TEACHING

I was really excited about diving in and getting my own classroom and planning. I geek out about that stuff. The beginning of the school year is like Christmas to me (laughs). I'm like, “I get to get all new supplies and spend way too much of my own money.” I get so excited putting little name tags on everybody's spots and getting my classroom ready for that first day of school. My favorite part of teaching is actually being with the kids. Some days are tough, but I think there are so many moments when you realize you have all these little people looking up at you, and they just love you everyday. It is so awesome. It just fills you right up. I get to create these relationships over a long period of time with my students. I really get to know the kids and who they are. I think you get some really cool, quirky kids and you get to learn about a lot of different cultures. I get to watch them grow and blossom. I get to watch the "click” happen where they been struggling, struggling, struggling, and all of a sudden one day they can read a book. That’s so cool to see.

Elise O’Donnell’s classroom

Picture Credit: Elise O’Donnell

THE CALLING

I have definitely found my calling. I think the fact that I like to wake up and come to work everyday, and I get excited to talk about my job. Over Thanksgiving, my aunt who used to be a teacher, asked so many questions about the way things are now, and I get super excited to talk about it. I think when you are able to talk about your job and you like going to work you know who have found your calling. Some days I'll just be like, “I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”