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Can you tell us about yourself? 

"Hey, my name is Rebecca Stuzman. I teach at Roberts Academy in Cincinnati, OH and I have taught for 18 years at the same school every year."

Why did you start a career in education?

"I became a teacher because I think it's just what I was supposed to do from the beginning. I have my undergraduate degree in Speech Pathology but Special Education felt like a better fit and I really feel like it's what I want to do."

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

"If I had a job other than education, I am not sure what I would do unless I wanted to go into research where I would look at brain functioning of students with disabilities and to see if we could figure anything out that might make education for them easier."   

How are kids different now than 30 years ago?

"Kids today versus kids 30 years ago, I think the biggest difference is technology but the bottom line is they are still just kids and we have to work with them as they are and where they are." 

How is teaching different now than 30 years ago?

"Teaching is different kind of in the same way that kids are kids. Teaching is teaching. Our goal always is to get the kids from one place to another and we just need to keep working on that even with all the changes that are involved." 

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

"For somebody going into education at this point, I have a lot of people who would tell them not to and I would tell them to absolutely go into education. There are so many parts about it that are just amazing and watching these kids grow from day to day is worth every bit of headache that you deal with the rest of the time. I would say though that you need to make sure it's what you want to do because if you go into it otherwise you're going to just burn out and you're going to be frustrated and you're not going to give these students what they truly need."

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

"If I could anything to help my kids more I would try and add a couple of hours to the day so we all could have a few more hours of sleep and we could all have a few more hours of time to learn and get supplies ready and all of that. Other than that, I would just really to include more time where the kids can be kids, that they can play, that they can experiment with different things that they can go outside for extra recess and things like that. Thank."