Why I teach: Tanner Schmidt, 2nd grade teacher, Springfield

For me, the choice to become a teacher truly was just centered around this deep belief that all students deserve a safe space to learn and a safe adult to teach them. My second grade teacher was very influential in my life, and that was mostly because of how she treated her students. So there was a little boy in my class that I vividly remember experienced a really devastating loss that I learned later in life was his mother had passed away, and so he was living with different relatives who were unable to care for him in the same way. And I just remember his appearance changing. And, you know, he was wearing clothes that didn't fit, and was hungry. And you could you could tell that his life had changed. And I just remember my teacher going above and beyond for him. She would meet him at the door every morning and give him a big hug. She set up a little space in the classroom that he could lay his head down if he needed to, and I just remember she made school a safe haven for him. And I remember even as young as second grade, just looking at that situation and thinking, 'oh my goodness, if I could make a student feel that way, you know, what an honor would that be?' So that's kind of where it started for me.

Throughout my time in college, I had really incredible professors that just poured into me and made me believe that I could do this profession, so that was very impactful. My parents as well. So if I think about even that little boy, I remember them bringing just food and dropped off at his porch. And I just remember thinking, you know, 'I would love to be able to help a child in that way.' And so I've been blessed with many people. And then when I started my career at Jefferies, I have had so many people that have influenced my career and just poured into me that have helped me become who I am.

I think the best part for me is just seeing my students grow and progress throughout the year. That just brings me so much joy to see them set goals for themselves and accomplish those goals and get to be part of that story is just really cool, because I think that then fosters in them this, you know, self-confidence and belief in themselves. And so to be part of that is really cool.

It was my third year teaching, and there was a student that just grew so much in the year that he was with me, and he taught me probably more than I taught him. But I feel like I really felt that impact that year and just really solidified this decision to be a teacher.

I think sometimes teaching gets a bad rap. I think that sometimes, you know, when you look at social media and other places, there's a lot of things out there right now that kind of make this career not seem as appealing as it is, and I think that it's a beautiful job and an important job. And I think that most educators would say that this work means so much to them, and I think it's a wonderful career choice for me when I come into work every single day. I have, you know, 19 very easy reasons why I continue to do this job. And so you, you know, you look at your students and for me, it's a very easy reminder of why I do this.

I think that collaboration piece is huge. So if we kind of foster that within the school, you don't feel alone. And I think Springfield Public Schools does such a wonderful job of making this a team effort so I think that's really important, just to allow no one to feel like they're alone in this.

Any career has challenges. I think, you know, we've all probably heard the term that teachers wear a lot of different hats, and I think that that is a challenge. But along with that, I think a characteristic of educators is that we can be rather hard on ourselves and set very high expectations for ourselves because we care very much about this important work. And so when I think about those different hats that I wear, I have this desire to be the best that I can be in all of those areas for my students. And sometimes, I mean, that can feel heavy, and so I feel very blessed that I'm at a building that, you know, if it's too heavy for me, there's three people that will help me carry that weight. But I think for me personally, that's probably the biggest challenge.

I think for me, you know, at the end of the day, the money is not why I became a teacher. So, for me, I recognize that when I became a teacher that, you know, I was signing up for that. And I'm not saying that that's not a challenge. At times it is. But I also stay in this career because I feel I was called to do this. So, you know, I think we can always do better and improve for students. But that's not why I chose to do it.

The biggest thing for me that I want, you know, parents of my students to know is that I genuinely want your children to succeed. And, you know, we're here to be a team and to communicate. And so the decisions we make during the day truly are centered around, we want your child to be successful. And so, you know, even if you have to have a tough conversation with parents, the goal of that is for your child to be successful.