While most teachers go into teaching because they enjoy working with kids or they love a subject and want to teach it, Janet Lear became a teacher for one specific person; Her grandmother.
Lear has been a professor at the University of Wyoming for four years and has 30 years of teaching experience. She teaches education assessment, bilingual education research classes, and English as a second language.
“My grandmother was the most important person in my childhood. She was born in 1903 and grew up in a village in Czechoslovakia. Her teacher told her she was very smart and should go into teaching. My grandmother thought, ‘you know I can do that,’” Lear said
“My grandmother’s family said ‘no, you couldn’t do that,’ so my Grandmother said, ‘Janet, you will become a teacher for me.’ That’s how I ended up as a teacher. “
Lear herself was born in the united states, but that doesn’t keep her from touching into her Czech roots or any other culture.
“In my free time, I like to read books about different types of spirituality. Hinduism, Christianity, Buddism, Atheism, new age philosophies, you name it. I typically read about ten different books at a time because I just find each one so interesting, and I love educating myself about different cultures.”
Lear currently holds a Ph.D. from the University of Denver in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Education in Language, Literacy, and Culture Reading Specialist, alongside other education credentials.
“I love working with students because I like to be able to get students in this zone.
You know the zone of learning, of being excited about learning, and at the same time being happy about learning. So I like its kind of like a combination of happiness, learning, and really kind of concentrated attention on something.”
Lear also recommends everyone looks into teaching once in their lives.
“If you really want to share that passion for a particular, you know area, or you know, subject and it’s just a great profession, very rewarding profession. You fall in love with the kid. You’re like, ‘oh, my God, I’m going to miss you next year’ because you become attached to your students.” Lear said.
