I'm a preschool teacher!

I come from a family of educators. My dad is a college professor in American Jewish studies, and my mom has taught and subbed in elementary school for as long as I can remember. When my sister and I were growing up we had a little playhouse outside we converted into a mini classroom, complete with an old fashioned desk, a chalkboard, and dusty, cobweb covered workbooks. I was always the teacher and Shayna was my student (other than the times she wanted to be the cleaning lady). The schoolhouse was later converted into a chicken coop, which was later donated along with the chickens when I left for college. But some of my fondest memories stem from my aspirations to emulate my parents, to teach, empower, and engage.

Around September of this past year, I was enrolled in a graduate program for developmental positive psychology at Claremont Graduate University. I tried to convince myself this was a good fit, that teaching would be too draining and I wanted to work in research or the clinical practice. After a few emotional days and what I would consider a full breakdown, I decided to reexamine my choices. (For a longer description, see the full post)

I majored in psychology at Pitzer College and managed excellent grades and strong extracurricular activities. My main work experience came from the Autism Center at Claremont McKenna, which led me to the graduate from at CGU. What I discovered while at CGU was that while I loved working with the kids and engaging with behavioral psychology concepts, the research, academics, and statistics were not suited for me at all.

So I took a break, a gap year if you will. I had rented an apartment in Claremont and my lease lasted a year, so I stayed. I decided to try and find my path.

One reason I love my apartment in Claremont is the proximity to Starbucks. There's a small shopping center about 500 feet from my door, which includes the Starbucks I went to on a regular basis in my undergraduate time. What I also found was a daycare/preschool called Kiddie Academy, right next door to my favorite Starbucks, just a stone's throw away.

My mom encouraged me to apply, but I was hesitant. I was convinced teaching would give me burnout, a defeat even more intense than my breakdown from the psychology master's program. But here's the thing about burnout:

It's harder to burnout when what you are doing lights you up.



I would discover this spark, this light I had for teaching and child care, while enrolled in some online classes at Saddleback. For my gap year/gap semester, I enrolled in 3 units for child development in order to have the credentials needed to work at this local preschool/educational daycare. While I wasn't a huge fan of the online style, I aced my courses and loved my time learning about child development and engaging in local classroom observations.

I applied and applied to Kiddie Academy, trying not to be needy or desperate but checking in about job openings every month or so. A few weeks ago, I got a call back, saying they wanted me for a working interview. I was hired that day (a Friday) and started work the following Monday.

Right now I'm just a floater, I help in different classrooms depending on where I am needed. I work from 12-6 Monday through Friday, which is really nice because I can sleep in. In addition, if they are well staffed, like today, I sometimes get the opportunity to go home early.

It's not always easy. My second day on the job I had a panic attack and left early. But the staff and community at the center was so kind, compassionate, and supportive, I knew this was the type of environment I wanted to be in.

It's a learning process, and I'm growing along with it. I love that I don't need a car, and can have my mornings and evenings for Rivi time. I'm settling into the routine, I'm finding my niche, and I'm discovering my path.

I am so proud of myself. It took some time, but I'm here, I'm happy and I'm doing what I always dreamed I would.

With love and strength,

Rivi