Why I Teach and Why UVU

I am here studying to be an English teacher because of a school called Walden School of Liberal Arts. Ten years ago I couldn’t have envisioned myself as a high school teacher. I had and still have a huge issue with the direction of our public schools today. As a result of these very strong feelings, I homeschooled my children for eight years. I didn’t know if it was possible to have a public school that fostered imagination and individuality and didn’t place obedience before education. As time passed I felt homeschooling wasn’t meeting my children’s needs as fully as I hoped, so I started a small private school that bridged homeschooling and secondary school. This adventure only lasted one year, and I thought I was going to have to start a charter school that had a mission statement that made sense to me. I believed there was something better than what was being offered.

I was thrilled when I discovered Walden. The rooms were filled with couches, tables, and beanbags. The walls were covered with student art and photographs of past trips. The kids were welcome in all parts of the school and the students seemed to feel ownership of their space. It had the feel of a clubhouse geared toward learning rather than an institution. The mission statement was all about mentoring, student self-discovery, a peace curriculum, and traveling to become a world citizen. I knew I had found my school.

I had experience teaching English in both my private school and a homeschooling cooperative. The director needed someone to come in and work with a group of reluctant writers and it went very well. I was invited to teach there full time with the understanding that I would work towards my teaching certificate as soon as possible. So here I am at UVU, racing towards an English Secondary Education degree and a teaching certificate. UVU is close to both my home and Walden. I have so many differences with the philosophical and theological policies at BYU I can’t go back to my original alma mater. I have been happy with my UVU professors, my program, and the end is in sight.

I can’t imagine teaching anywhere else and if I had to move or the school closed down I would have to search for a charter school with a similar philosophy or start one of my own. I’m certainly not teaching for the money. I’ve worked for Disney both as an employee and a freelance sculptor and made three times as much money for half the effort. I teach as a form of activism. I want our traditional educational model to change, and change drastically. I have found a school that is making a difference in the lives of its students and in the world at large. That is worth my time and efforts and that is why I teach.