Erika S. Pereda, M.Ed.

I would definitely say it's been my parents and my mother. They've always pushed me, they've never ever let me settle for less, with my education as well. They've always told me, you know, it's gonna be hard, it's not gonna be easy, but you gotta do it. You can do it. Yes, we might have to, you know, you might have to take out a loan, or you might have to, you know, not sleep as much, or you might, you know, make little sacrifices, but it's worth it at the end. And that's your name, and your name is everything, and you want to make sure that you uplift your name in any way possible through education, through things that you do. Don't let anyone, don't let anybody be able to speak poorly on your name, so always uplift yourself in any way you can.

I think the best career advice would be to take things seriously, but also to make sure you always smile and be fair to the students, because they're growing and they're living life for the first time. Sometimes they might say something or do something that was wrong or considered bad behavior, but it's their first time doing these things. We have to be more of a guidance than someone to just punish or scream at them, but someone to guide them through this part of their life and to help them grow from their mistakes.

I would say that even though teaching is a pink-collar job, you should experience it not because people say it's a woman's job or something that women just go into, or because people say if you can't do, you teach. I think that's very incorrect. I think you teach because it's a passion, and I think you teach because you do want to make this world better, because we're not just teaching content, we're teaching people how to be good people in life. We want to make people become good citizens, good brothers and sisters, and eventually parents. This is not just us spitting out material for students to memorize then forget. It's us guiding students and kids to be good adults eventually and to become the leaders in our workplace. Something that I've learned in my master's and dissertation and my doctorate that I'm getting right now is that a lot of the leaders are still men in education, even though a majority of the teachers are still women. So you keep growing in this profession and get those leadership jobs as well.

I believe some challenges would be, I'm a teacher in Florida, and Florida does have the lowest literacy rate in the United States, so I think a challenge would be having the students really care, like, care about reading, care about learning these materials, care about actually putting in that effort and that work, and not just relying on computers or AI or what they watch, what they see, and not researching if they think something's right or wrong, things like that. That's a challenge of mine. I think a challenge of mine as well is that I'm actually transitioning from my current job to another job, so I think another challenge would be putting yourself out there and giving your all, but then feeling maybe discouraged sometimes, but to keep going. So the challenge is just to keep going and keep going, even if you feel a bit discouraged.

I would say empathy, humor, leadership, accountability, and just working hard. Putting in that effort. Putting in that extra little bit, even when you're just tired. I believe students are learning and experiencing life for the first time, so mistakes should be viewed as opportunities for guidance and growth rather than punishment. They're growing and they're living life for the first time, and sometimes they might say something or do something that was wrong or considered bad behavior, but it's their first time doing these things. We have to be more of a guidance than someone to just punish or scream at them, but someone to guide them through this part of their life and to help them grow from their mistakes.