Looking back on my life, choosing education makes sense.  Taking it day by day, and given my first career choice was to move to New York to become a well known fashion designer. I am not surprised that, twenty-five years later I will end my career teaching high school.  Let me explain.

I grew up in Texas - raised by a father who believed in taking care of his family and a mother who believed that education was the most important aspect of life.  She was very in-tuned into her two girls' lives.  It appeared that we had enough money considering we always had food and clothing until one day my mother recognized that I was extremely hungry, when I returned home from school each day. She began to ask questions.  Here is when she found out that I was giving my bag lunch and sometimes my lunch money to kids at school that didn't have what I thought we had.  When she told my Dad what I had been doing, they laughed about how hard they were working to keep up and here I was giving away my lunch and money to the needy, when we too were the needy.

This brings me to explaining how my career choice became education.  I've always wanted to help and give to others.  When my life changed to becoming an adult earlier than most, my mother's ways set in and I too believed that my family was most important.  So, needless to say that New York had been placed on hold and then, never to reappear as a possibility.  I changed my major in college from Clothing and Textiles to Home Economics Education, which it is now known as, Family and Consumer Science.  Changing my career choice allowed me the opportunity to participate in the active parenting role that I feel is most important in families.  Staying close to home and creating the family relationship in society is so desperately needed today. 

After once leaving education for about nine years to pursue my fashion career, I returned to the classroom only to find that the children had changed.   For several years after retuning to the school where I had trained in my student teaching, I was puzzled about the behavior of the students.  It took a few years for me to research why had they changed and once again the need to help people had appeared inside of me.  I wanted to help the students understand the importance of self-respect, respect for others, and morals; the teachings that are required of parents from infancy through about five years of age. 

It is important for parents to identify the thin line between being a parent and a friend to their children.  My latest book, "The Lesson Plan" was created to help mothers to redefine their position as parents to our current generation of teenage girls.  Now, different from before, my need to make a contribution will hopefully begin to redirect relationships between mothers and daughters.

PARENT

*

SPEAKER

*

TEACHER