West Virginia: Letters to Future Educators

Dr. Erika Klose (WV ’17)
Computer Science and STEM Coordinator for Middle and Secondary Learning, West Virginia Department of Education

Dear Future Educator,

I’ve been in education for 15 years, and before that, I worked as a scientist. Choosing education was the best choice I ever made. Congratulations on your decision!

Being a teacher gave me many gifts. Every year, I was gifted a new group of students. Each group brought a wide variety of personalities to my classroom, and each student gave me a new opportunity to hone my craft and learn how to teach that particular student. I was also gifted with science. Science is my favorite subject and I got to do science (not just teach science) every day, with students. I was gifted with amazing co-workers. When you teach with other teachers, you get to know them very well, and you can develop very strong friendships. And I was gifted with mentors who poured into me to make me a better teacher. My student teaching mentors are still active participants in my life today.

Each of the gifts I received became gifts I could give, and I believe the same will be said of you. You can give students love, compassion, and attention to support them as they navigate life. You can give students the content you are passionate about. You will be both friend and family to your co-workers and enjoy doing life alongside your fellow teachers. And you can help those new teachers who come behind you develop into the educators you know they are designed to be.

As a science teacher, my goal was to give students time and opportunity to wonder about the world and how it works. When I created wonder in my classroom, I knew that I had achieved my goal. Don’t forget to wonder. Whatever content you end up teaching, there is always room for wonder — to imagine why, and to imagine what could be.

You are launching your career as an educator and the opportunities ahead of you are many. As you launch, take time each day to look for the gifts that each day brings. Spend time at the end of the day thinking about the gifts you received and the gifts you gave. Each day brings those gifts. You just need to have the educator eyes to recognize them.