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Can you tell us about yourself? 

Hi, TFD Supplies. My name is Erica Fisher and I work at Indiantown middle school in Indiantown, Florida. And I am a teacher here. I teach intensive reading to sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders. I've been at this school for three years, but previous to being here, I've been a high school teacher for 18 years before that in a public school, just down the road called south fork high school.

Why did you start a career in education?

I started out in my current education in 1996 in New York, and then moved to Florida.

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

If I could have any other, any other job, I think I would be a professional college student cause I loved college. 

How are kids different than they were 30 years ago?

I love learning and kids are different now than they were 30 years ago because they have way too much technology and they're always with their phones out, their tablets, their computers, and there's a lot less book reading and conversations going on, both at school and in their homes.

How is teaching different than it was 30 years ago?

Teaching is now for the same reason we have all technology. Every student has a laptop. My program is based on a laptop computer. They have to do all their work there. I think we need to get back to more books, paper books. 

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

What I tell somebody right now, if they were thinking of getting into teaching just to be patient and know that these past two years have been very different than they were before. And it's very different from when they were in school. And you know, everybody needs a little kindness and a little grace.

What would you change to help kids learn better?

Something that I would change to help kids learn better would be more parent involvement and less technology. I think those things would be very helpful to kids and to see that parents were involved and concerned is helpful to teachers and to the children. And that's all I have to tell you guys. Thank you so much.