Waters’ love of school leads to teaching career
A FRIENDLY FACE - NRHEG has seen many new faces in the halls this year, including Brittany Waters, newest special education teacher at the elementary school. (Star Eagle photo by Melanie Piltingsrud)
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Contributing Writer
Brittany Waters is a new special education teacher at the NRHEG elementary school this year.
Waters grew up in Freeborn and graduated from Alden High School. Then, she says, she decided to try something new and go to school in the big city at the University of Minnesota. “As a little girl I always wanted to be a Gopher,” says Waters. “I grew up watching the girls’ basketball.” Waters did apply elsewhere, too, but once she got her acceptance letter to the University, she says, “It was game over. I loved it for school; it was a great program for special ed.
“I never really thought of myself as a teacher,” says Waters of the journey toward her career. “I’ve always loved school. I’ve always loved working with kids, but I just never really thought or considered teaching until I was on campus and I was going through all these different courses.” The university offered intro courses that allowed students to explore different career options.
Waters took such courses as intro to accounting and physical therapy, but none of the courses clicked for Waters until she took the teaching introduction course. “And I knew I’d want to work with kids forever.”
For her degree, Waters took courses in how to teach reading, math intervention, and behavior courses. She also worked directly with the kinds of students she might encounter in her career. “We had to do classroom experiences,” says Waters, “and they made sure that you had experiences in elementary, middle school, high school, and transition age, so 18 – 21, and then across all disabilities.” Waters worked with students with autism, developmental delays and behavioral disorders. “It was kind of neat to get to have those experiences in different schools in the Cities because it’s a lot more profound up there. You have a lot more students. The population is much higher, and the needs are much higher.” Waters spent a semester with each age group, and she says it was good to be able to bring those experiences back to NRHEG. “You can sit in a classroom and learn in a lecture, and that’s great; you need all that knowledge, but actually being in the classroom and seeing the different areas is really what opened my eyes to what could be the special ed field.
“I knew I wanted to come back home and find a job,” says Waters. “This was the perfect opportunity for me.” Not only is the job at NRHEG a good fit, but Waters now gets to spend time with family. “I have two younger brothers, so it’s fun to watch them go through school and their sports. It’s fun to be home and get to support them during their sporting events and all that.”
Waters thought about being a regular elementary teacher, but the demand for special education teachers was huge. “So that helped make my decision,” says Waters, who loves the smaller class sizes. “You get to build really good relationships with [the students] and, being you’re only working with a select few, you get to know them very well and help them achieve their goals. They need a little extra help, so it’s kind of fun to watch their growth and their progress towards meeting their goals.” Waters currently has 12 students in grades one through five. “I see a couple from each grade. I see some for reading groups and some for math groups. Each of my groups is about three students, so it’s nice and small.”
Waters primarily helps students who struggle with reading and math. “We spend a lot of time doing comprehension and text evidence […],” Waters continues, “but it gets to be harder as they go and more frustrating [for them], but I just have to do what I can do to help them reach their goals and stay alongside their peers.”
Waters took classes that taught her to present reading and math in different ways than she was used to. “I thought that was interesting,” says Waters, “[….] because a student might not learn how I learn. It was challenging to change your thinking.”
Waters graduated from MSU in Dec., 2017. “It was kind of a weird time to get a job in the middle of the year, so I taught part time in Alden.” Waters taught reading and math interventions two days a week and substitute taught on the other days, and, because she had a looser schedule she had time to find that "perfect opportunity" at NRHEG elementary..
Waters says that just seeing the kids brightens her day, and, “I just love seeing the kids light up when they get something – their expressions, how excited they get.” She says it’s great, “to get to see them come through on whatever we’re doing.”
“I just think it’s a positive community to be in,” says Waters of the NRHEG school district. “Their Panther Pride, and how they promote the PAWSitive behaviors… Trying to catch the students when they’re good – I think that’s huge.”