Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyse Smith and Alexandria Johnson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alyse and Alexandria. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We met in 2014 when we both started on staff at KIPP WAYS Academy in the Bankhead community of Atlanta. At this point, we had both been special education teachers for about three years. Being in the same cohort and working together for 2 years, we became fast and close friends. In 2016, our super friend’s duo was split up as Alex moved to Charlotte, NC and Alyse remained in Atlanta. Over the next two years, we talked every day and began to recognize the same needs within special education and more specifically of special education teachers. We decided in the summer of 2018 that we would create a solution for the needs of special education teachers, especially for the inexperienced. We launched our blog in September of 2018 called, Two Teachers, 1 Million Tasks, a guide for the special educator.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
To get to where we are now was NOT an easy route. We both experienced a lot of disappointments professionally and personally as we tried to find our niche in this world of education. For example, knowing when to ask for help and to actually accept it, bouncing back from the struggles within the classroom/school and recovering from burnouts. Our best advice is to have someone to listen to you, cry with you, be honest with you, but most of all push you to be the best version of yourself. Whatever your passion, you may not know where or how you can make your unique impact and that’s okay! Staying focused, optimistic, listening to each other, and learning from our own mistakes brought us to where we are now. Although we are still climbing to where we want to be, we have an intentional mindset to what our end goal looks like and the steps to get there.
We’d love to hear more about Two Teachers, 1 Million Tasks.
We specialize in teaching students with special needs and supporting teachers who work tirelessly to pour into their student’s individual needs but also need additional resources. We are proud of the community we are building and the skills that we are continuously learning and sharing. Two teachers, 1 million tasks is exactly that, two teachers and the millions of tasks that we face daily as special educators. We believe we are different because we are creating a space for special education teachers to seek guidance, share their stories, and gain resources.
We are in the thick of our work and do all we can to be transparent for ourselves and teachers who are also working in our field.
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Finding a mentor or networking is much simpler than it seems. If you meet someone or are in contact with someone that you aspire to be like, admire their work, or feel connected through purpose, forge that relationship. Express to that person what your goals are and how you would like their guidance in achieving that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.themillionthtask.com
- Email: themillionthtask@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/themillionthtask
Image Credit:
Arianna Smith
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