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Can you tell us about yourself? 

"Hi, my name is Lindsay Nichols. I am the gifted and talented education teacher at Lockmar elementary in Palm Bay, Florida. I am currently in my 12th year teaching. I taught seven years at Lockmar, moved to another school for five. And then I'm back at Lockmar for the 2019 2020 school year." 

Why did you start a career in education?

"I started my career in education. Actually back when I was an elementary student myself. I would um, give up either one of my recesses or PE and I would go into the kindergarten classroom and help tutors some of the kindergarten kiddos. And that is when I learned that I wanted to be a teacher is that I actually remember, um, one of the kiddos, some of that I was tutoring and he had the most difficult time with the word yellow when this story that we're reading. And then all of a sudden he realized that it was yellow and you just have saw that light bulb go off.
And that's instantly when I knew that I wanted to go into teaching." 

If you could have any other job what would it be and why?

"If I can have any other job and why. Um, honestly, I think my other job that I would want to do would be something from home. I do have two little boys that I would love to just be a full time mommy for them and do something a little crafty or home decor on the side." 

How are kids different now than 30 years ago?

"How are kids different now than 30 years ago? Um, I don't think that kiddos are necessarily different. I think that our society as a whole is different. So of course there's going to be changes with the way we've used society is going to be changed through out all of the ages and what our expectations are. So I think kiddos are still kids. I, it's, it's just the society around them is different." 

How is teaching different now than 30 years ago?

"Well, it's definitely, it's a little bit different because of the technology that's introduced. Um, what we are doing right now as educators is we are teaching our students and preparing them for jobs that haven't even been created yet. And the digital age just expanded and became explosive that, you know, as an educator, we're trying to prep them as much as we can. For the future, but we don't know what the future holds. If we look back, you know, 30 years from now, the technology and the things that we had back when I go, no, I wasn't good. It's a little bit different than what it is now. And I think that's one of the biggest changes, prepping kids for the unknown." 

What would you tell someone who wants to become a teacher?

"One thing that I would tell somebody that is thinking about becoming a teacher is that you can't be an Island and that you need to reach out to your, your colleagues for support. If you're trying to do everything that on your own, um, it's going to be very difficult. You're going to be working long hours, however you can all, um, you know, group together and make sure that you're working together and that is something big. And then also that, you know, make your list of what you really need to get done versus what you want to get done. What is going to be the best for the students."