I teach because my students deserve and need an excellent education. As every teacher knows we have plenty of tough days, but every day I try to give my kids the best education possible.

I teach elementary self contained students at Lanier Elementary in Baton Rouge, LA. It is a state run school within the recovery school district. This is my fourth year of teaching elementary special ed.

The most frustrating part of my job is identifying my students needs but watching bureaucracy - what I call adult problems - get in the way of the solutions for my students' needs.

For example, last year I taugh in St. Helena Parish and the union protested some of the ed reforms and encouraged teachers to skip school and protest. St Helena Central elementary school had almost 100% teacher attendance, but the high school had so many teachers skip we had to send elementary staff to cover high school classrooms. Students' all across the parish had their school day thrown away because the union protested school reform.

No matter what the frustrations are though, being given the opportunity to teach has been and always will be one of the greatest privileges I have ever had.