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The Autobiographical Essay of Ms. Sistad

Heidi E. Sistad

College of Western Idaho

EDUC-120-002W – Foundations of Education

Professor Damaris Wight

April 16, 2020

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The Autobiographical Essay of Ms. Sistad

A friend once told me that timelines are relative and there is no wrong time to do

something big in your life. I picked teaching and started college later in life than a lot of my

friends and family, although none of them are too surprised by it as I have always tended do

things out of the typical order. I had a solid upbringing, a huge support system, and have been

able to live in and experience several areas of the country. Putting off college until now was the

best thing I could have done for myself and my family and while I am not a young adult just

starting out in life, I also do not feel that I am too old to be starting this journey.

Educational Background

I grew up in the Midwest during the 90’s-00’s. For kindergarten, I attended a small,

private school in town in which I was enrolled through eighth grade. My class size averaged fifty

students yearly, many of whom I developed close, lifelong relationships with. For ninth grade,

my parents and I made the decision to transfer over to the public-school system and attend

Moorhead Senior High for my secondary years. I received good grades and stayed out of trouble

while also working thirty hours a week at my first job. I finished high school in January of 2006

and I had plans of attending North Dakota State University, majoring in Architecture. As life

would have it, I married my high school sweetheart that fall, and schooling was put on hold until

much later.

During high school, I discovered that because of the teachers I had, I really loved choir,

Honors English, and my AP Literature classes. I appreciated the discussions we would have that

would force my mind to stretch and think about things in a different way. I also had academic

advisors and counsellors who took me seriously, listened to what I wanted, and I was able to

graduate early due to strategic credit planning. I often think of those teachers and staff and find
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myself channelling them on occasion. I hope to one day pay it forward and be that kind of role

model for students of my own.

Work History

During the years between graduation and finally starting college in 2019, my husband

and I moved around a lot, gained a lot of life/work experience, and grew our family. After taking

several years off to raise three boys, I started working as a Special Education Paraprofessional at

the elementary school in one of the fastest growing booms towns in America at the time. Oil

brought a variety of people and cultures to the small North Dakota town and it was exciting to be

a part of the growth and see the effects of it first hand by interacting with the kids that came with

it.

I worked with a variety of disabilities, but the boy I worked with the most was autistic.

Due to his extreme behaviors, I was able to learn a lot about how Special Education worked. I sat

in on Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, learned valuable skills in dealing with

irrational parents, and gained a lot of knowledge about legal processes and the rights of all

involved. I was trained on de-escalation techniques and holds/restraints that effectively kept

students and staff safe. Once we moved to Nampa in 2016, we spent that year advocating for one

of our own boys to be placed on an IEP, which gave me great insight into the parent role of IEPs.

In the fall of 2017, I knew I had to get back into special education somehow. I applied

with the Nampa School District to be a paraprofessional at Gateways and was hired immediately.

Students there range from autistic, behavior disorders, emotionally disturbed, reactive attachment

disorder (RAD), and other learning disabilities. Some are ‘typical’ students that just cannot seem

to successfully navigate a bigger school. Many of the students have been expelled, in and out of
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juvenile detention, homeless, runaways, have family members that are gang members, or parents

that are just not in the picture at all.

Teaching has come naturally for me and I love every minute of it. The Special Education

department back in North Dakota had been impressed with my abilities and told me about an

opportunity to go back to school to become a Special Education teacher with the department

paying for it. It was tempting, but it was not the right timing. However, once I heard that the

Nampa School District was holding an informational “Para to Teacher” event and that there was

a program offered at College of Western Idaho (CWI) to help paraprofessionals become teachers,

I knew I had to sign up. I cannot see myself doing anything else as a career; I love these kids in

my community so much.

Ethical Reasoning in Education

There seems to be a problem in the United States with students not having money in their

lunch accounts and being given a lesser lunch, usually consisting of something such as a

sandwich, apple, and water. Due to outstanding balances that the students themselves usually

cannot control, children are embarrassed in front of their peers by being given a sack lunch

which announces to the cafeteria, “My parents have not put money into my lunch account.” I

think ethically, it is ridiculous that schools go about it in this manner.

Various times during the year another news story will pop up praising another Good

Samaritan for paying off hundreds of dollars’ worth of owed lunch accounts for students. I saw

first-hand when lunch accounts at the school I am currently working at were paid off. I was

surprised to find myself becoming emotional over the kindness of a stranger, and yet, there I was

holding back tears.

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Should students receive lunch for free at their public school? Should we be asking state

or federal funds to be given to make that happen? If we were to keep the same policies, could we

at least figure out a way to be a little more discreet with our students? By filtering those

questions through the Natural Law ethical lens, I argue yes. All students are inherently good,

they are just a product of their environments. We should not be punishing them based on the

actions of their parents.

The problem of students not being given lunch due to low lunch account balances can

also be looked at and solved through the Virtue ethical lens. As human beings living and

working together in the same world, we should feel obligated to make sure our children are

adequately nourished and know that those actions make us examples of the kind of human being

we ought to be. We are raising up a whole generation who will one day replace us and be the

example for the next generation. By doing the right thing now, we can help others want to make

the right decision later.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

I have acquired a variety of skills over the years that I feel would equip me to be effective

in the classroom as well as some skills that would also enable me to be a part of education in

other capacities should I ever decide to go a slightly different route. I am a natural planner, very

organized, and am always prepared for things ahead of time. I have figured out these past several

years that it is also very important to over-plan because sometimes things do not take as long as I

thought they would or sometimes an activity just does not end up working well with the group.

As far as my temperament goes, in receiving feedback from other students that I interact with

daily, I am “really chill.” I would agree with that description as I do not let students ruffle my

feathers. I have been asked by students why I do not get mad at them, and I always reply that it is
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because I do not give them that much power over me to affect my mood. I also make sure to

throw in that I really, truly do like them; they are great kiddos. I try to use moments that pop up

such as those as extra teaching moments to pause for a minute and plant a character-building

seed.

Should I ever decide to step back from teaching and be a part of the education field in

another capacity, I believe I also have the skills for that as well. Due to my organizational skills,

the principal at the school I am currently at asked me to fill in at the office to help our secretary.

She wanted me to come up with a better system of filing and streamlining a few things. In the

lunchroom, I can interact appropriately with the students while building relationships with them.

When I need to come down a little harder on them, because I have spent time cultivating those

relationships, they are more receptive and respectful to the redirection. As a paraprofessional, I

can multi-task and lead various ‘behind the scenes’ operations that make running a classroom

smoother for the teachers. I am not above any job that can help, and have even found myself

unclogging toilets at school a few times.

Professional Goals

One of my ultimate goals in life is to be able to retire comfortably in the community in

which I have lived for many years. I hope to have been able to contribute to said community by

helping to influence future generations by interacting with them day in and day. I find complete

joy in coming to work every day knowing that I get to build on some much-needed, healthy

relationships with some of our at-risk youth and I cannot imagine spending my career years in

any other way.

Specifically, I hope to teach social studies classes at the secondary level. In order to be

able to do that, I will finish out my associate’s here at CWI and then I plan to transfer
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immediately to Boise State University to finish my degree out as a bachelors. I am really

interested in jumping right in at the school I am currently at when I am finally ready, and for that

I will also need a Special Education endorsement.

In the next six months I will be taking as many credits as I possibly can. If all goes as

planned, I will be able to apply for CWI’s Spring 2021 graduation. I want to get my

degree/license as quickly as possible and I do not plan to stop until I have it. I will also continue

working full-time at Gateways so that I can keep establishing myself as an asset to the school

district. I do not plan to ever move out of the area; I am in it for the long haul. I just need the

long haul to start as quickly as possible so I can better live up to my potential and make a

positive difference in the lives of the kiddos in this community.

Conclusion

While it may have taken me a bit longer to realize my calling in life, and I may have done

things a little backwards and out of order, I know I am to be a teacher. I have several years of

experience already working in education, and I know that I will be able to make the transition to

the new role seamlessly. By thinking back to my years in high school and remembering the kind

of teachers I had that made an impact in my life, I am inspired to keep that excitement alive and

motivate future generations. I truly believe in the need to practice what you preach and do the

right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. When I am retired, sitting on my patio, drinking

my coffee and watching neighbor kids play, I want to look back on my life and be proud of the

person I became, the influence I had on others, and the difference I made in my community.