SHIRLEY POTTS

I attribute my success to seeing the need and hunger in children that I knew I could fill. When I was working at a daycare, I saw those little kids and loved teaching them their ABCs and singing to them, watching how excited they would get about learning. Then when I went to sub in the schools, I just saw a need and a hunger from these kids that I thought I could fill, and that led me down this path. Looking at my kids today in the 21st Century after-school program, where I teach 7th through 12th graders, I can see what they've missed in their education. I want to try to give them that and help them get what they've missed. When I go back to my kids at 5th and 6th grade, I want to make sure that they're not missing the same things when they get to the higher grades. I wanted to do something that really helps these kids get what they need to be successful in life, and that desire came from way back from working in a daycare. It's about filling that need I see in children and making sure they don't fall through the cracks.

The best career advice I received came from Dr. Roy Turner, my previous principal who has recently passed from cancer. We actually graduated high school together, went separate ways, and came back together when I entered education. He was a great inspiration and really encouraged me to go back and get my master's degree in special education because he saw the work that I was doing with the kids. Even though I wasn't certified in special education at the time, I would see these students in my math, science, and social studies classes, and he recognized that potential in me. Another mentor who has been instrumental is Sonya Flemons, my math facilitator. She and I also graduated high school together and went separate ways before reconnecting in education. Math and science are my first love, and it's her first love too, so she has been a great inspiration to me. Both of them were real instrumental in my decision to carry on through education.

Please go into education with love for children, and not just love for money. With the $50,000 guaranteed in Arkansas for new teachers, I've seen a lot of people come into education that have no love for the children and no compassion and empathy for these kids and their backgrounds, where they come from. They don't try to understand any of that. It's just 'this is my job, this is what I'm doing.' But I would tell them, if you're not going in it for the children, don't go. You need to have genuine care and understanding for the students, their circumstances, and where they're coming from. Education requires heart and dedication to the kids, not just a paycheck.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is inclusion. Inclusion works for some special education kids, but not all. When they say inclusion, they really mean inclusion, and I see some babies that are in the general education class that really can't hold their weight and can't maintain. Yes, they may be getting a smidgen, but I think if they had a more structured environment, they would be able to get even more. The governor has passed this mandate where every school is inclusion, so we really don't have much wiggle room. I wish the people who make these decisions for education are people who actually have been in the education field. As for opportunities, I'm looking at opening a micro-school in the next two years before I retire. So many of our kids are just surviving inside the public schools, and I love my public schools and wouldn't trade it for anything, but some of our kids are just surviving because the atmosphere is too active and too large. They're really not getting what they need, so I would like to open a micro-school with maybe 8 or 10 kids that I feel like I can really impact a lot more than I am at this point in my career. I want to work from under that system because I think I could do better if I'm not under that system.