Pursuing Your Dream Career

As most of you know, Aaron is a special education teacher. His quest to earning his credential and soon-to-be Master's in special education was not easy, especially considering he was working full-time, parenting full-time and husbanding (is that a word?) full-time. Needless to say, when he commits his mind to something, he won't allow himself to fall short of achieving his goal.

This is his second year in this new career, and with the teaching economy being as sour as it is, we both know how blessed he is to have a job. For a recap on how he was offered a job back, read "One Less Thing to Worry About." That was such a wonderful day! Reading that post allows me to relive that day, witnessing God's hand in all of this.

Not only was Aaron offered a job back, but he was given the opportunity to relocate to a closer school and to teach an age group more along his preference. This year, he will be teaching at Gustine Elementary School, in Gustine (duh!), California, which sheds about 20 minutes off the 45-50 minute commute he had to endure last year. That's a huge difference! That is almost 3-1/2 hours off the road each week. You know what that means? That means Aaron will be home 3-1/2 hours more each week! God knows that is exactly what we need.

This year, Aaron will be teaching K to 5th graders, and currently, he has only nine students enrolled in his class (this number can increase throughout the year). Last year, Aaron taught pre-K to 2nd graders, and at any given time, he had fourteen students on his roster. Aaron's preference has always been to teach older kids, so hopefully this new class demographic will serve him well. And not only does he have an older age group, but only one kid is orthopedically impaired, which ideally should make things easier for him and his staff.

Today, the three of us headed to Aaron's classroom to get his keys, unload some boxes and begin organizing. Of course, I brought the camera along. :)

I'm assuming this is the kindergarten playground. There are two bigger playgrounds further down.

Quad area. All hallways lead to this center point.

This is the entrance corridor.

The hallway leading down to Aaron's classroom. Aaron's room is the second to last one on the left.

Before or after? Hmmm...

Inside the classroom, Aaron was quickly setting things up. Where he is standing is where we put his desk. We ran into a couple helpful teachers who opened up the storage unit for him, an oasis of unused material and furniture that is free for taking. Aaron grabbed a teacher's desk and is anxious to get his hands on some other goods. His classroom is really quite empty, so he has his work cut out for him.

While Aaron organized, as did Ella (in her way). I just love her!

Later she got her hands on some dry erase markers and drew our family. I must say, I love our colorful eyes! :)

When I asked her who each person was, she told me. Poor Zoe is all alone. And, I definitely have the best hair and biggest lips of them all!

Overall, the classroom is really great. The teacher before him really left it in nice condition. He just has to scrounge around and find some materials. Looks like we'll be cutting into his teacher allowance early this year.

The bathroom even has a little kiddie toilet!

What a cutie pie!

Through all of this, I'd like to reiterate how proud of Aaron I am. He was unhappy in retail management. And rather than succumbing to the retail industry, with his schedule varying each week, without any consideration for holidays or weekends, he changed careers. It wasn't overnight and it took months and years of sacrifice and commitment on all our parts, but it's so worth it! Now, he gets to spend every weekend and every holiday (and then some!) with us! Being a family-minded husband, sacrificing time with us was simply out of the question. And, in my opinion, he has one of the most rewarding jobs a person can have to boot.

And although special education isn't Aaron's dream job, it allows for a bright future. This is simply a very strong starting point for a dream-filled future. And, as a teacher, it's not about his dreams anymore. It's about the dreams of his students. I have no doubt that he is making an impression on these kids. And seriously, how much more fulfilling can a job get than making a positive imprint on kids' lives?