Why do I want to teach? (entry 1)

I first knew I wanted to teach when I was in the 4th grade. My teacher allowed me to help other classmates as long as I did not give out information. She noticed that I had skill in guiding and explaining concepts and mentioned that I would be a good teacher. From that time on I watched each teacher I had and catalogued the good practices and those I would not use in a classroom. In college, while working on my first elementary education degree I worked in a school as a teacher's aide and was able to put to use what I was learning as well as see "behind the scenes" in teaching. I graduated in 1996 with my Bachelors Degree and South Carolina teaching certificate and went right to teaching 4th grade. Two years later I moved up to 6th grade literature and language arts and after another 2 years, I moved to 7th grade. I have learned from those experiences that my heart is in middle school. When I moved to Washington in 2003, I found that my first degree would not be accepted in this state since it was from a non-accredited school. Since I had 2 kids already and wanted another, I put my teaching on the backburner to raise my children. In 2007, my husband and I revisited the idea of me teaching in WA and started doing some research on schools in the area that might accept my credits. We found Northwest University and met with Dr. Newbill, the Dean of Education. Thankfully, Northwest transferred 94 credits and after one year (33 credits) at Northwest, I will have a second bachelor's degree that will be recognized by Washington state and be certified to teach here once my 3rd son enters kindergarten.