Introduction

I Am A Teacher. I have been all my life. It all started as a young child when I would force my 2 best friends, Kelly & Courtney, to play my students. Time came to choose a college degree & my choice was clear: Elementary Teacher.

Through my travels I experienced a variety of elementary school settings including Montessori. I headed south for a 6 month student teaching adventure before heading back to the midwest to graduate. I went straight to an inner-city school district. During undergrad. I spent a week as an apprentice in an inner-city school. The classroom windows were boarded up because of gun shots blowing it out, the students never had enough pencils and the teacher, who already spent $1,000 that year, also was running out of money for upkeep of supplies. I remember telling a student to use a bookmark, and he replied that he'd never owned on. I made every student in that class a bookmark with an inspirational message, as well as a personal promise to return to teach in an inner-city setting.

10 years later I am still in that setting, having won a scholarship for dedication to inner-city teaching, accomplished 2 masters degrees in ESL & Reading Specialist, and am months away from becoming (hoping!) a National Board Certified Teacher.

With all these personal accomplishments I am burned out. It's true that inner-city teaching has high teacher overturn because of burn-out. I am faced with the decision to continue with my passion in this setting, or to move on to a less stressful teaching environment. But can I turn my back on those children that drive a purpose in my life 5 days a week?

To get some insight into what I do each day, see Gajewski Classroom. You'll see it's not just an 8:00-3:00 job. It's a passion!