A Bit About Me and An Important Question

By Monica Leigh Nelson

I’ve always known that I was going to be a teacher. 

The first time I vocalized it was in Kindergarten, when my teacher had us all sitting on the rug and asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. The boy beside me said he was going to be a shepherd. With calm certainty, I told her I was going to be a teacher. 

I spent my life preparing for it. I used to line up my stuffed animals and tell them stories. I taught my younger neighbors what I learned in school. In high school, I earned work credit by hanging out with a second grade class, reading to them and giving them their spelling tests. When  I graduated college, I spent a couple of weeks as a substitute teacher, then got a job as a Title I reading specialist. I gathered up all the training my district would pay for: Phonographix, Project Read, Wilson Reading System levels 1 and 2. And then, after six years, came that magical moment when I finally got my own classroom. I spent a year teaching third grade, and have been teaching second grade ever since. I absolutely love it!

While I teach all subjects, and I read voraciously, somewhere along the way, I became known as a math and science teacher. My goal has always been to get students excited about learning. To take the difficult concepts and make them hands-on, concrete, and understandable. To show my students that they have the perseverance and skills they need to be successful. To help them see themselves as lifelong learners. And to make learning fun.

After a couple of years teaching, I took on a student teacher. I loved seeing the classroom and the children through her still-excited eyes. I felt like I learned as much from her as she did from me. From that point on, I jumped at every opportunity to work with student teachers. I welcomed high school interns into our classroom and became a mentor for new teachers in our building. 

After I got my doctorate in Educational Leadership, I became an adjunct professor at a local college where I taught undergraduate and graduate students how to teach math and science and how to modify and adapt the math and science curricula to meet students’ needs.

I still absolutely love being an elementary teacher. When asked, I’ll say that it’s what I was created to do. But it’s not all I was created to do. 

I’m also here to help teachers, and parents, and people who want to be teachers. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to join SperanzaEd. It’s a new opportunity to help share my passion for teaching and for learning. 

So, with all of that said: How can I help you?

Go to the Let’s Connect page and share your questions. I’d also love to hear your education stories!