The Life of a Teacher
Kelsey Moran
Adrian, MI- Danielle Bailey, a 2011 graduate of Siena Heights University (SHU), knows a thing or two about the rewards and challenges of being a college student. She also knows a thing or two about being a certified educator.
Bailey was set to begin her collegiate career at SHU in the fall of 2005 after being recruited and receiving a scholarship to play softball. It was an added bonus that the university was close to her hometown of Blissfield, Mich. and that she had an established group of friends at SHU. However, only a week before she was supposed to move into the dorms, she received some distressing news. Bailey was deemed ineligible to play softball during her freshman year due to a low ACT score. Despite multiple efforts in retaking the test, Bailey still did not receive a high enough score. “I went to Siena to play softball so I was pretty shattered when I heard the news. I had to accept that I wasn’t going to play my first year and make sure to focus on other important things,” she explains.
Those “other important things” would include her decision in choosing a career path. Like many other first year students, Bailey did not know what major she wanted to pursue. “I tried four other majors before landing in teaching,” she notes. Despite her father’s assertions that she was always destined to be a teacher, she never believed she would. After spending time in her first education class, however, Bailey changed her tune and realized that it clicked.
Once she had figured out the direction she was headed, Bailey applied for candidacy into the teacher education program and once approved, began working her way through it. This included passing the Basic Skills Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC), passing a state background check, program coursework, liberal arts coursework, field experience hours, maintaining a 2.75 or higher GPA, and applying for full acceptance into the program. Following her freshman year, Bailey became eligible to play softball for SHU and continued to progress through the program all while balancing two part-time jobs on the side. “Doing all of these things was difficult at times. At first, I struggled to balance them, but eventually it got easier,” she admits.
As Bailey obtained full acceptance into the program and found herself nearing the end of her senior year, she made decisions about her student teaching placement. She began her student teaching experience at Alexander Elementary School in Lenawee ISD. It was there that she truly began to experience the rewards and challenges of being a teacher. “Although it was a lot of work, it was easier to get through because I loved what I was doing,” she says, “The biggest struggle for me was not knowing if I was doing the right thing or not. I was constantly second guessing myself, wanting to do everything right, but as teachers, we will never do everything right.” Bailey emphasizes that she was blessed to have such a remarkable experience while student teaching and she attributes much of her preparedness to it. “Student teaching is a time to use everything that SHU has taught us in order to become the teachers we want to be,” she asserts.
So what are some of the things that SHU teaches about teaching? According to Bailey, SHU classes, professors, and advisors taught her about classroom management strategies, effective lesson planning, setting expectations, curriculum standards, collaborative teaching strategies, accommodating varying learning levels and styles, assessment tools, educational resources, and of course, providing opportunities for field experience. There is also a level of support at SHU that helps to make the entire experience more effective. “The advisors and professors are one of the best resources Siena has to offer. There are so many people that are willing to help as long as you’re not afraid to ask. They do a great job of holding your hand and letting you go to figure it out on your when at the right times,” she observes.
While completing her student teaching, Bailey also completed and passed her Elementary Education MTTC. “I have never been a good test taker,” she admits, but in spite of her nerves, she passed. The Language Arts MTTC, another requirement for her certification, was another story. Bailey completed her student teaching and officially graduated from SHU, but she still needed to pass her LA MTTC before she could begin applying for teaching positions. This proved to be a challenging process. Bailey took the test multiple times before passing. When asked if she attributes this to SHU, she responds, “I don’t think this is all Siena’s fault, but the things that are on the test really aren’t things that we learned in our courses.”
Finally passing the LA MTTC was a huge success for Bailey, but there were other fears that she had to overcome as well following her student teaching. “My biggest fear was whether or not I would find a job. I would like to stay in Michigan but I knew there weren’t many teaching jobs in the area. I also had a huge fear of interviews,” she adds.
As she has become more experienced, her fears have subsided some. Bailey found a job working at Adrian High School as a para-pro and was just recently hired as the in-school suspension supervisor at the high school as well. “I am not in my dream job, but I’m working towards it and I still feel like I am putting my knowledge of teaching to good use.”
Although Bailey’s “dream job” would be teaching language arts at the middle school level and she definitely feels that her experiences at SHU have prepared her for it when it comes. She believes, however, that the greatest gift college has given her was simply the life experiences. “The relationships I’ve developed are lasting ones and the things that I’ve gone through have really helped me to grow and appreciate new and different things. The entire experience at Siena has made me who I am.”