I felt guilty that I was not able to understand or communicate with my pre-verbal students in District 75. I was pouring my heart and soul into lessons, only to be met with silence. The weight of these challenges pressed down on me, and depression crept in. I was lucky to have a support network to help me through.

That success depends on your community is something I only truly understood after my first year of teaching. When I was a para, I was committed to supporting my students and my teachers. When I first became a teacher, I forgot that I needed to ask for support as well as offer it.

When we as teachers take the time to get to know our students' needs, interests and values, we create a learning environment that is more meaningful and relevant to their lives.

After a rough start to a teaching career during the pandemic, a thrid-year educator is happy to have stuck it out and stayed in the profession.

Just like the students, teachers and schools needed last year to transition back to business as usual, though perhaps with a new definition of usual. Already I can recognize and appreciate the changes my administration has made to address problems that were exposed in the last year.

The past two years have been filled with unique and challenging experiences that taught me the essence of grit. I have come to realize that slow progress is still progress.