Here’s the deal. What makes this blog so unique is that I am a non-qualified teacher. This means that I have no educational background to merit being hired as a teacher, yet, here I am! I understand how that can be confusing, and why some parents might not be pleased about it, hence my anonymity, but the truth is, they need teachers.

Lucky for me, I live in an area where teachers are in high demand, so I really didn’t have to twist a lot of arms to get a position. I have a Bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field, and I have experience as a caregiver to young children.

When I applied to different school boards, I thought they would find me a position in a school and that would be that. Of course I expected an interview process, but I thought after the interview, they would find me a school to work in. In reality, they told me that the principals of each school are responsible for unqualified teachers. Therefore, if I wanted a job, I’d have to go door-to-door (so to speak). Which is exactly what I did!

No, I didn’t think it was below me. In fact, I thought it was a nice exercise of whether I really wanted to teach or not. If I didn’t care enough about this career path, I would’ve given up the moment they told me I had to do the legwork. Instead, I called every school within a 30 minute drive from my place, sent emails to the secretaries and principals, and waited until someone responded.

After I got the ball rolling, the rest was quick. A secretary from one school contacted me for my documents, they sent those over to the school board’s HR department on a Tuesday. The following day, HR called me to do an interview online Thursday morning. The interview was at 10:00am, and by 1:00pm, HR contacted me with a position at a different school that they felt I would be perfect for. I received an email from the principal on Friday, a confirmation from said principal on Sunday evening, and then started teaching as of Monday morning. My paperwork wasn’t even finalized so we had to wait until after lunch to inform the students that I would be their new teacher. It was quite something.

From that moment onward, I worked day and night to prove that I deserved the position, and to provide my students with the education they deserved. It was a difficult first year, and I grew so much as a person and as an educator, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.

Now, I am in my second year of teaching, completing a paternity leave post, and applying to schools so I can finally get my license to teach.