I’m realizing as I type this that I have been a Special Educator teacher since before many of my colleagues were born (31 years, 26 of which have been here at Vernon)!  I fell in love with special education from the very start of my teaching career and have never looked back.
As a person who thrives on spontaneity, I remember a time when I was peer training with Mr. Stetzel (you remember John). I had given John the lesson plans that he was to observe me teaching that morning. Within seconds of the students’ arrival, I had to completely revise the plans due to crises, absence, student understanding (or lack thereof), etc.  As the dust of the morning settled, John said to me, “What just happened? You just taught stuff off the top of your head that wasn’t even in the lesson plans I was supposed to be observing!” All I could say was, “Welcome to my world, John.”