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CREATING NEW POSSIBILITIES - Paula
I almost didn't become a teacher. Teaching is something I have wanted to do since I was a child. I cannot think of a better way to spend my day than helping children achieve their dreams. When I was in second and third grades I had a wonderful resource teacher who was patient and kind. She worked with my teachers and me to resolve any problems that arose because of my vision. I wanted to help others as she had helped me, but I almost let go of my dream.
As a child, my family wanted to institutionalize me. My mother didn't allow this, but she never supported me. She told me that I would always live with her and when she died I would live in a nursing home. I was told that I would never succeed at anything in life. There were no hopes, no dreams for me.
Like all visually impaired students, I encountered barriers in school throughout my education -- from teachers who didn't understand that I couldn't see the blackboard no matter where I sat to professors who wouldn't provide me with texts before the semester began so I could get them recorded. I struggled through high school, completed a degree at the local community college, and enrolled in the education program at Concordia University.
But, without the Guild for the Blind, I would never have earned my degree. Their greatest impact was the support and encouragement the staff gave me to pursue my teaching career.
They took the time to listen to me. They encouraged me to focus on what I really wanted and to work hard to achieve it. Because most of the staff at the Guild are themselves blind, their word had more weight than someone with normal vision. They helped me realize my goals were possible with the right training and support.
Five years later, and I am the one doing the encouraging. I am a resource teacher at Farnsworth School in Chicago. I work with children who are blind or visually impaired, many of whom have additional disabilities. The children are all mainstreamed into regular classrooms, but spend time with me learning blindness-specific skills. My students range from pre-schoolers to first graders. I teach them pre-braille skills, math concepts, pre-reading concepts and, when they are ready, braille.
I see an important part of my job as a teacher to act as a positive role model, to both the children and the parents. When I was growing up, I didn't know anyone who was visually impaired. I didn't have any role models other than stars such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, and they are not realistic role models to emulate. Blind people can be so much more than just entertainers. They can be lawyers, bankers, teachers, or business people.
I almost didn't become a teacher. And now, I am one of ten Golden Apple Winners for 2003 in Illinois! This award is something for which people spend their entire careers waiting. To be selected from a pool of over 1,100 teachers after only five years of teaching is such a thrill.
I was excited to learn that my students will be spending more time with me this year. I will be able to provide more support and spend more time teaching the children the tools and blindness-specific skills they will need to survive in the world out there. I want to lay the foundation, providing my students with the skills they need to lead happy, successful lives as independent adults.
Today I am sharing my story with you not so that you feel sorry for me or to boast about my achievements. I want you to know what I have already found out—with perseverance, determination and patience anyone can achieve his or her goals. I want you to know how important a resource the Guild for the Blind is to people who are blind or visually impaired. And, most importantly, I want to share with you the enormous impact the Guild staff had on me, and by extension, on the children I teach.
My name is Paula Ann Sprecher and I am a teacher! Return to Success Stories
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