The Adventures of a First Year Middle School Teacher

Destiny

Sandra Monteverde was from the very beginning meant to be a teacher. There was something about her that her father could not describe but as peculiar. He observed that in her toddler years, when while in her crib, she would reach towards the door and close it. He always wondered why she shut herself away from everyone else, or why she played by herself when her older and only sister, Tina, was around; and the manner in which she closed herself in her bedroom as a teenager while her sister was on the phone or out and about socializing with others.

Sergio Monteverde was unlike Sandra, the daughter whom he named after the female version of his name, and was more like his eldest daughter. He could identify with her more than with his second and felt that it was in his nature to socialize with others as easily as she did and wished that Sandra was more like himself in that regard but found comfort in the fact that he did not have to worry about her as he did Tina. He always knew where she was.

It was not until he had two more daughters that he began to understand Sandra a little more. Although he did not know it at that moment, she was a teacher in the making. He witnessed how she went out of her way to teach them how to read before they turned the ripe age of five and how she helped them with their homework when they had any. He noticed that it was she who choreographed and taught them the dances they performed in school. Her temper he could vouch for as he could not always control his own and was caught unawares when she began to show it.

It did not come to a surprise when she brought home good report cards.  It soon became apparent to the whole household that one of the things she did in her bedroom while alone was study and when they found her bringing home books from the school library it was obvious that she was reading. And when she disappeared for hours after school only to find that she was in the public library her mother, Ruth, was more than thrilled to know that she had another thing in common with her second oldest daughter.

Sandra was not antisocial but had the tendencies when she was reading, studying, or learning choreography. Even though she was not consistently going out or on the phone, she did enjoy being with people and going out with her mom and sisters and at times took the book she was reading at the moment with her unless they were at a social gathering such as a baby shower, Quinceañera, wedding, or other family and friends' get togethers that they attended.

It was evident to the whole family that although she did enjoy doing some of the things they enjoyed, she did not enjoy doing it all the time. She had to have her alone time, her time to unwind amidst the pages of the books she read which took her away from her present life and cares. As she got older, she would get lost in writing stories that she thought of almost on a daily basis. Her imagination ran away with vigor, and she was incessantly engaged in an activity that kept her mind sharp and busy.

She had never wanted to be a teacher, yet somehow that position fell into her lap before she had even realized that it was what she was good at. Taking many jobs here and there after high school graduation to earn money to go to school such as housekeeping in the nursing home her mother worked at, waitressing at a family owned restaurant, being a dental assistant, and working as a receptionist at a friend's clinic checking insurance to file claims and creating charts for patients for years eventually came to an end as she realized her passion for learning led her back to school.

The problem was not just the lack of funds as her father had always alluded to after she told him that was all she wanted to do, and he replied that he hoped so. Deciding what to major in was another conflict. Writing was her passion, but the possibility of becoming a writer was nonexistent. She was a dreamer, but she knew her limits.

She knew that could never happen, so she reasoned and talked herself into studying psychology since it was her second interest. But while she completed her general education a freelance writer visited the campus and told her that she could not work at any newspaper as she had not majored in English, nor had she taken enough English classes to be guaranteed a job in any newspaper.

So, as soon as she could, Sandra changed her major from Psychology to English and immediately began working on her English courses which she enjoyed with much enthusiasm. While working and living at home with her parents, she put herself through school. Something that her father believed she would never be able to do until certain things happened that would change it all for his daughters.

His many years of disillusion of he and his family ever obtaining legal status were replaced with a brightness of hope upon hearing of the DACA law passed as it gave his unmarried girls, Sandra and Laura the youngest one, an opportunity to fix their legal status for once and for all since he had failed to obtain his. After Tina and Bianca married their childhood sweethearts, the only thing he had left to worry about was Sandra and Laura. More specifically their legal status and their future. 

Once Sandra changed her legal status and had some savings, she began her studies at the local community college. Soon it was evident that she was on track of doing something that her parents had not achieved and that alone made her a perfect candidate for teaching even though she was on her way of working on becoming a print journalist. Fortune on the other hand had something else planned.

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As Sandra was completing her first year of undergraduate school when she came upon a long time friend who taught English. She suggested to her to make her minor in  education so that whenever she was ready to leave the world of print journalism she could teach English. The thought of leaving the world of writing had never entered Sandra's mind and though she didn't believe she would ever want to stop writing, she knew that it was wise to do so in case she needed to. Upon contemplating the matter, she decided to do so.

She decided that it would not hurt and by the next term she applied to the college of education. It had also happened that she had been placed to serve with the young women of her church which would also lead to her preparation to teach. She taught, created activities, lead meetings, and chaperoned youth trips. This would later help her in the interview process and because of her experience working with the youth was admitted to the college of education.

After graduation, Sandra applied at every newspaper and magazine in and outside the area. She went to countless of interviews and was not called back. After several failed attempts at entry level jobs, she began to wonder if the writing world would keep shutting its doors at her and whether there was a place for her in the world of publishing and editing. She knew she could it do it as she did for her school/community newspaper and for the yearbook.

It was not in her nature to worry, but she worried that she would never work. This worry lead her to sign up to substitute, another move that would prepare her for teaching, while still interviewing for her ideal job. Every interview consisted of the same questions and for each interview she adapted her questions to fit the company's needs. She felt confident and sure that she had aced each interview, yet was not called back and began to wonder if her interview skills were lacking.

She signed up for interview trainings at the local career center hoping that it would help her secure the job she had been pining for since she could read and write. Those trainings helped her communicate ideas eloquently and to answer questions in a way that would make her stand out. It was also there that she met Nick. Nick, who worked there as a career counselor, spoke to her every day since the moment she walked in.

He introduced himself as soon as he saw her walk through the door with her smile that lit up his eyes. He had imagined himself in heaven while in her presence and sought reasons to talk to her every time she walked in. He asked her out within the span of three months and she agreed if she'd let her pay for her meal. He agreed and went out to eat and then to the nearby pier to watch a live band. She told him about her luck with her job hunt. Knowing that she had a teacher certification, he told her about an English position that had opened at the local middle school if she wanted to take that route.

With much hesitation and deliberation and after speaking with her parents about it, Sandra decided to interview. So it was that Sandra, though had majored in English to work as a column writer and minored in education, never set foot at a newspaper office to work nor was she called back when applied for the jobs, but was called back in her first interview at a Middle School. Certified to teach at the secondary level, Sandra began teaching seventh grade English and was hired in the last week of the summer to start the beginning of the school year.