HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Students will soon be returning to classrooms across the Tampa Bay area, but for teachers, that brings both excitement and challenges.
Longtime and new teachers spoke with ABC Action News ahead of the new school year to reflect on their careers.
Each new semester brings with it a fresh start and new students.
“I started teaching in Hillsborough County in 2006, so this will be my 18th or 19th year, but total 26 years as a teacher,” Letecia Nathan said.
Nathan is a kindergarten teacher, and after all these years, she has retained her love for her job.
“I saw a public service announcement on TV that said, ‘America needs great teachers,’ and I realized that’s what you have to do, so I started teaching, and from day one I fell in love with it,” Nathan said.
Nathan remembers the nervousness he felt that first year in the classroom that never went away.
“I’m still a bit nervous,” Nathan said, “but I’m excited for my kids to get here because it’s their first experience coming to school, so I’m excited for them and excited to meet them and get to know them.”
“I’m looking forward to the new school year,” Bianca Daurio said. “I’m ready to go back to school.”
The excitement of returning to the classroom is shared by many educators in the Tampa Bay area.
Daurio is a high school teacher and has been teaching for about two years.
“I try to make sure students are mindful of what they’re doing, rather than just coming to class, sitting down and leaving,” Daurio said.
WFTS
For Daurio and Nathan, the job is not without challenges.
“Sometimes there are arguments or kids have days where they’re just upset about themselves, and that’s totally understandable, so working through that on your off days makes it a little easier to have good days,” Daurio says.
“Right now, we have so many teacher vacancies and class sizes are getting bigger and bigger, so I think we’re just having to accommodate students without teachers,” Nathan said.
There are moments when it all seems to come full circle, like watching my students grow.
“This year, having been a teacher for so long, I was fortunate to have two people who were parents of students I taught,” Nathan said.
There are moments that can make a teacher’s day great too.
“A lot of our classes are conversation-based, so it’s really nice when a student corrects another student and says, ‘No, what are you talking about, it’s this,’ or just has some interesting news. It doesn’t have to be for my class; as long as they’re happy to be there and are there, it makes me smile,” Daurio says.
Whether it’s your 26th year or your second, the preparations are similar: preparing the classrooms, sourcing school supplies and making sure the curriculum is up to date.
These teachers’ advice to new and junior teachers is: “Enjoy the moment and take your time because you can’t get everything done,” says Nathan. “A teacher’s to-do list is never-ending, so just do what you can, but also balance your work and school life.”
“Trust your instincts. Things will feel intense and scary, but remember it’s just one day of 180 days of school and you will get through it,” Daurio said.
