Welcome to Have Fun Teaching 101! This website is a personal blog I’ve put together to help others interested in what it takes to become a teacher.
I wasn’t aware when I started this blog that my website shares the same name as the popular teacher’s website Have Fun Teaching. If you are looking to get to that site please click this link.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Susan and I’m a happily married mother of three wonderful children. I’m currently employed as a learning support teacher who lives in Central Pennsylvania. I absolutely love my job and I have fun teaching children everyday I go into work–well, almost every day. 
I haven’t always been a teacher. Before children, I worked in the finance industry. I graduated from college with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and it was my first job straight out of college.
I had steadily been working my way up the corporate ladder when John and I decided to start our family. It was a decent job but it wasn’t something I was passionate about.
When we were pregnant with our first child, my husband and I decided we didn’t want to put our children in daycare. I wanted to be at home with our child and I felt funny with the idea of leaving him in the care of someone else.
Luckily we were able to make that happen. Money was tight and although we had to make a lot of sacrifices financially to make it a reality, I can easily say it’s the best decision we’ve ever made.
I spent 12 years as a stay at home mom and I loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world despite the fact that it’s a lot of work and some of the days seemed to be never ending.
I loved being at home with my kids and watching them develop but as my youngest was getting ready to head off to pre-school I came to the realization that it was time to go back to work. Our oldest was six years away from leaving for college and it was important for me to provide a second income to help provide for that.
John and I put a lot of thought and discussion into what direction I should take when entering back into the work force. My experience of being at home with my kids was wonderful and I really enjoyed being around younger children. They are so inquisitive and eager to learn. They are like sponges absorbing every bit of information you give them and it’s great watching them as they try to figure everything out.
Teaching was something that immediately came to the forefront. It really is the perfect job for a parent because for the most part you are off when the kids are off. Christmas, Spring Break, Easter and of course the beauty of summer vacation. I felt I would have fun teaching but the holdup was that I didn’t have the necessary certification to make it happen.
John was wonderful through the whole process. At one point I thought it made more sense not to go into debt to get my certification. I thought it would make more financial sense to just get a job and start working.
John was pretty adamant that he thought I would really enjoy working with kids and he just knew that I would have fun teaching children every day. He insisted that if that was the course I really wanted to follow then we would find a way to make it all happen.
John works in sales and as he’s highly respected in his field. His point was that once he left his profession, his name would start to slip from people’s memory banks. As he pointed out, teaching is different.
Each of us remembers back to our childhood and there are at least 2 or 3 teachers we remember fondly. We would have done anything for them because they’re style of teaching connected with us. They set an example by the way the performed everyday and in most cases the seemed to have fun teaching and it seemed like they really wanted to be there.
It was after this discussion that I decided teaching was the path I wanted to follow.
After a bit or research, we found an accelerated program at one of the local colleges in our area. This was a Masters level program that took college graduates (regardless of their previous major) and took them along the path to their certification.
It was a two-year program from start to finish, with classes at night once or twice per week. Upon completion of the course I would be state certified in both elementary education and special education. I would have my Masters in Education and I would get one semester’s experience student teaching.
This was the perfect fit for us (aside from the $20,000 price tag) and we decided it was the right thing to do.
Getting the masters degree up front seemed like a no-brainer because it meant that once I got a full time job I wouldn’t have to go back to school at nights to get that degree. I don’t know how a mother of three can work full-time and go to school. Talk about craziness. We took out the student loan and I started down the path to the point where I now have fun teaching every time I go to work. What a journey.
I’m not going to lie, the schoolwork was difficult but as I look back on the experience, I wouldn’t change a thing. I also had some apprehension that I would do all of this course work and there would be a good chance that I just might not enjoy being in front of kids every day.
These fears were put to rest as soon as I started my student teaching. It was the first time I came to work in my life and really looked forward to it. I was learning how to have fun teaching despite the fact that I wasn’t even getting paid. Heck, I was still enrolled in my masters program as a student so I was actually paying for this privilege.
I wasn’t really looking to get certified in special education when I first started out but I’m so thankful it was included in the course. I was able to land a job within 6 months of graduation and it was due to the special ed certification.
Special ed means many different things. Here’s three quick examples: there are students that are mentally retarded and need to learn life skills, there are autistic students who have emotional issues they need to learn to work around, and there are kids who are a year or two behind the rest of their class in certain skills and they just need learning support.
I ended up grabbing a learning support position and it is such a great job. I get to work with small groups of children and I help them get up to speed with the rest of their peers. I love working in these small groups and I really have fun teaching in this type of environment.
But that’s enough of an introduction about me. Thank you for stopping by Have Fun Teaching 101 and I’m hoping I can provide enough of a blue print for those of you looking to get into the teaching profession but you’re not sure where to begin. I hope you continue to stop by and check us out. ~Susan