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Can you tell us about yourself?

“My name is Brittany Rollins. I teach at South Doyle High School. I am a special education teacher and I also do work based learning. Our school is located in Knoxville, TN. This is my 2nd full year here. I started half year in and now I am on my 2nd full year.”

Why did you start a career in education?

“I started a career in education, because for me growing up, school was always a safe place. I couldn’t imagine other kids being in a position where school wasn’t a safe place for them and so I choose to go into this career to help make that better.”

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

“I would be an attorney because I like to argue policy and procedure.”

How are kids different now than 30 years ago?

“Really it’s technology. Their use of technology has change. Their dependency on technology has changed. They have become less self-reliant and less creative because they don’t have the same problem-solving techniques that kids 30 years ago had to go through.”

How is teaching different now than 30 years ago?

“Teaching is different now. Again, we have so much technology to help boost and guide all those other different learning styles. You know a lot of things we can do digitally, instead of having to printing them. That has been a major improvement because it lets us teach to all students and their unique needs without limiting that like it used to be.”

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

“To someone who is thinking of becoming a teacher, I would tell them to make sure thet know that’s what they want to do. We have too many teachers in here that just entered into this position because steady and it was stable. They could have weekends off with their kids and there are benefits. But this is a very hard job and you absolutely have to love what you do. Or you are going to burn out and you are not going to be able to stay in the position very long.”

What is one thing you would change to help kids learn better?

“One thing I would change to help kids learn better is to how we present things to them. The timing, we do a lot of co-teaching to ensure accommodations. But really its either extended days or something that where we can take a slower pace and make sure these kids are getting it and that we are not teaching to the test. That we are actually teaching the student.