My Challenging Perspective

My name is Mrs. Rutherford (the kids call me Mrs. R) and I am certified in Middle School Math & Science, Elementary Education, and Early Childhood Education. My perspective is a little challenging right now because I do not currently have my own class of students. So let me explain... I taught 6th grade math and science for 4 years at Beck Academy Middle School before deciding to stay home full-time with my own 2 children (which was 12 years ago.) During my time at Beck, I actually taught the "G&T half team" for 3 of those 4 years, without any actual background or training in gifted and talented education. Over the past 12 years, I've been very busy and haven't really stayed out of the classroom completely. I taught both 3K and 4K at a private preschool, each for a year. Then I began my long-term sub journey, where I've now taught 4th grade, kindergarten (twice), 3rd grade, RTI, Special Education, and I will begin in multiage (combined 3rd & 4th grade) class in 2 weeks! All of this experience has made me realize that our Gifted and Talented students need their own IEPs!...maybe not "officially," but they need some kind of plan and support for their education experience, to help them reach their greatest potential and soar! Looking back at my undergraduate education and my master's education, it's interesting that we take special education classes where we learn about how to identify and help students who are behind or low, but not any kind of education classes to help us identify students who are ahead or high. I LOVE teaching and learning, and this whole past 4 year long-term sub journey has brought me back full circle to the classroom. (On the DL, I am currently interviewing to begin full-time teaching again next year, eeek!) I am SO EXCITED to use what I've learned in these 2 classes to be able to help teach other teachers about Gifted and Talented educational ideas, which will inturn help all of our students. So, there you have it...Mrs. R's Challenging Perspective.

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