Her Story
About Jasmeet
My journey in education has been diverse and spans over a decade across multiple countries and roles. After teaching in India following my high school, I came to the United States and started with substitute work and volunteer work at my son's school, then became a homework helper and after-school aide at Communication Academy. I became a behavior therapist with A for Apple Autism Learning Partners, then worked as a special education paraprofessional at Morgan Hill School District and Rocket Ship School. Since 2022, I have been at Sunrise Middle School, where I currently serve as a special education teacher and resource service provider for grades 6 to 8. I provide targeted support in English, math, and social studies to ensure access to grade-level curriculum, deliver specialized academic instruction, and collaborate with co-teachers while ensuring IEP files are in compliance and ready for audits. I work with students with all types of disabilities, including autism, ADHD, emotional trauma, intellectual disability, and dyslexia. My background also includes work as a paralegal, which helps me when dealing with the legal compliance aspects of special education. Additionally, since 2016, I have been teaching Punjabi language and Sikh culture values to kids at Sunday school at our church. My greatest achievement is seeing the trust built among my students and the gratefulness from parents when they see visible outcomes and growth in their kids, especially when I can exit a student from special education ready to succeed in general education.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jasmeet
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Learning never stops, and this is one of the noblest professions. Teachers are the ones who build engineers, doctors, lawyers - all the professions start basically from teaching. A teacher is your first mentor in any career you go. Yes, it requires a lot of patience. You need to build trust, because half of their life, the students are spending in school and parents are trusting you. Once the parents are giving their priceless possession to you, you are similarly accountable, so this is not a job which would go very easy. Yes, we don't get paid that much compared to other professions, and the requirements and credentials are hectic - many who started with me kind of lost in between. But I would say if you are dedicated, consistent, and have the passion to be around the kids, live with them, you don't have to be a devil in their life. You enjoy your childhood again with those kids in the classroom, make it loving and enjoyable. You're taking thousands of decisions every minute, so you need to be taking care of yourself also. Do you have that much ability, patience, and love for kids? They are like wax, and you need to mold them and shape them with a lot of love and patience. Each child has a capability, and it's just the teacher who sees what is in the child and kind of shapes him accordingly. Each child in your classroom cannot be an A-plus holder, so that's the responsibility of a teacher to find out his talent, work along with the team, the parents, and bring out that from the kids. So you really need to have the passion.
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