I never thought that I would become a teacher. I always thought that I wanted to leave school so badly, so why would I make a career out of it? I didn’t know what I wanted to be, I just knew that teaching wasn’t one of my options.
Then one teacher changed everything.
Then one teacher changed everything.
That teacher was Rachel Cerra, my high school ASL teacher. I had her for both years of ASL I took in high school, my junior and senior years. It was my favorite class of all time, and Rachel was my favorite teacher. To this day, that hasn’t changed.
First, I fell in love with American Sign Language from the very first day I started learning it. Though it had always intrigued me before this, I never knew how fascinated I would become with the language, so engrossed in Deaf Culture, and so I quickly fell head over heels. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, but I knew I had to make ASL a part of my career.
Second, Rachel made me realize that I actually did want to teach ASL. I didn’t want to interpret, and I didn’t want to be a Deaf Ed teacher. Not necessarily by process of elimination, but by realizing that because I thought everyone should learn this beautiful, visual, natural language of the Deaf, the best way I knew how to spread it and bridge the gaps between the Deaf and hearing worlds was to teach it to others.
The passion that Rachel had not only for ASL, but for teaching, impacted me to a high degree. She lit a fire in me I didn’t know I had for a career I didn’t know I wanted. If I had had a different teacher, I know I would still love ASL, but I don’t know if I would have wanted to become a teacher as well. Every single day in class I couldn’t wait to learn more, and it was never boring. My favorite days were the ones we learned something new, and those days in ASL 2 that we got to learn a new ASL idiom or phrase.
I had the pleasure and honor of working with Rachel during my student teaching, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. To have been her student, and then work with her as a colleague was such a blessing. I learned so much about the art of teaching, from curriculum to lesson planning to creative activities to time saving tricks. Though, it was difficult getting used to calling her Rachel instead of Ms. Cerra. She even yelled at me via e-mail for it numerous times after I graduated, as we kept in touch. “We’re colleagues now!” She told me. She was right.
She must have known all along…
Have you had a teacher who changed your life?
First, I fell in love with American Sign Language from the very first day I started learning it. Though it had always intrigued me before this, I never knew how fascinated I would become with the language, so engrossed in Deaf Culture, and so I quickly fell head over heels. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, but I knew I had to make ASL a part of my career.
Second, Rachel made me realize that I actually did want to teach ASL. I didn’t want to interpret, and I didn’t want to be a Deaf Ed teacher. Not necessarily by process of elimination, but by realizing that because I thought everyone should learn this beautiful, visual, natural language of the Deaf, the best way I knew how to spread it and bridge the gaps between the Deaf and hearing worlds was to teach it to others.
The passion that Rachel had not only for ASL, but for teaching, impacted me to a high degree. She lit a fire in me I didn’t know I had for a career I didn’t know I wanted. If I had had a different teacher, I know I would still love ASL, but I don’t know if I would have wanted to become a teacher as well. Every single day in class I couldn’t wait to learn more, and it was never boring. My favorite days were the ones we learned something new, and those days in ASL 2 that we got to learn a new ASL idiom or phrase.
I had the pleasure and honor of working with Rachel during my student teaching, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. To have been her student, and then work with her as a colleague was such a blessing. I learned so much about the art of teaching, from curriculum to lesson planning to creative activities to time saving tricks. Though, it was difficult getting used to calling her Rachel instead of Ms. Cerra. She even yelled at me via e-mail for it numerous times after I graduated, as we kept in touch. “We’re colleagues now!” She told me. She was right.
She must have known all along…
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| Look what she wrote in my yearbook! |
Have you had a teacher who changed your life?
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