Tri-City Sun

“I knew I wanted to be a teacher since second grade. I had wonderful elementary teachers, and they inspired me to want to grow up and become a teacher. It makes me happy that I was able to come back to my community and help the kids where I grew up get an education.

When I first was hired into the district, I wanted to teach little kids, kindergarten or first grade, but I was hired for the fifth-grade position. Initially, I didn’t know if I would respond well with the older kids, but it ended up being my favorite grade! The little kids are so sweet, but I liked the independence of fifth grade. I'm just loving where they're at. 

To be a good teacher, you have to really be compassionate and care about kids. You have to understand that as a teacher, kids come from all different backgrounds and that means you have to learn to work with every type of child, not just one type of child. You're going to have some students at different learning levels, or who come from different economic backgrounds. You just can't be a teacher for one set group. You can't just be the teacher of the suburbs. You can't just be the teacher of the inner city. You have to just be a teacher who is able to love and teach all kids, no matter where they're from. 

I love being a teacher and I'm just blessed that I was able to be able to pursue my dream career.”

– Courtney Baker, 5th Grade Teacher, Stone Elementary

Original source can be found here.