Autobiography

My name is Katie Brown and I have wanted to be a teacher since the first time I stood at my toy chalkboard and taught my stuffed animals to read. And while the goal has always been clear, the path has not. For years, I saw myself teaching high school English and discussing Orwell, Rowling, and Frost with lovers of literature. I pictured myself grading the most inspired prose and poetry seen in recent years. I could practically hear myself reading my favorite passages aloud to rapt eleventh and twelfth grade audiences. I did not, however, picture myself as a Special Education teacher and I definitely did not picture myself teaching in an elementary school and loving it dearly.

I graduated from Colorado Mesa University in 2013 with my Bachelor of Arts in Writing. Shortly after graduation, I applied through AmeriCorps to be an instructional assistant at Independence Academy Charter School, the K-8 school my own children attended. After two years, I moved from instructional assistant to interventionist based on my work with struggling students, and began to train as the new special education teacher. In 2016 I was accepted into the alternative licensure graduate program at Western State Colorado University. I will receive my Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Reading Leadership in May 2018.

As much as I wanted to teach high school English, I know now that Special Education is my calling. I enjoy working with students with disabilities and feel that I am particularly good at working with students with reading disabilities. I like watching students eventually crack the magic code that is learning to read. As a special educator, I get to support, both as a teacher and an advocator, those students who are often ignored. I get to use all resources available to me to help all students get the education they deserve.

As an educator, I am constantly trying to improve my craft. I work closely with my colleagues in order to support my students. I make time to plan with teachers who have students with disabilities in their classrooms and do my best to align what they are doing in class with their students’ academic goals. In addition, I facilitate an after-school service club and news crew. The service club creates and completes service projects in the school and local community. The news crew writes, records and produces student-led news casts which are posted on the school website and shown in class. I do everything I can, on a regular basis to improve the school, the students, and myself.

Eventually, I would like to continue with my own schooling and get a PhD in Education so that I can teach at a university. I was told by one of my professors that teachers like to see their influence grow. If I can educate educators to be the best they can be, I can have an even greater influence on struggling learners. However, that will be in the future. For now, I am going to enjoy working with my students and seeing the flicker of understanding spark in their eyes.