Classroom Debut Puts Teacher on Edge

As school starts today, students at Lanai Road Elementary School in Encino will not be the only ones with first-day jitters.

Kindergarten teacher Christina Park, 22, will be facing a few firsts of her own--first year out of college, first time living away from her native Chicago and first year teaching fidgety 5- and 6-year-olds.

Park is joining the Los Angeles Unified School District at a time when the nation’s second-largest public school system is facing a severe teacher shortage. She is among 1,853 new teachers hired for the 2001-02 school year by LAUSD, with an additional 600 expected to be hired in coming weeks, said district spokeswoman Criket Bauer. That will leave 590 teaching positions unfilled, she said.

The high demand, competitive wages, benefits and incentives--not to mention the promise of warm winters--lured Park to Los Angeles. Park applied to the district within weeks of earning her bachelor’s degree in May from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

District officials gave her a list of 30 elementary schools that were looking for teachers with her credentials: a degree in elementary education, solid student-teaching experience and fluency in Korean.

Park called every school on the list before landing an interview at Lanai Road Elementary in the southwest San Fernando Valley.

Principal John Bowes said he hired Park immediately after interviewing her a month ago, not only because of her strong academic background, but because she has the heart of a teacher.

“She has proven through her undergraduate work that she wanted to be a teacher,” he said. “That commitment really shined through in the interview. Sadly, that is not always the case.”

As she prepared her classroom for the start of the school year, Park appeared overwhelmed by everything that had happened over the last three months: her fast-paced job search, landing her first teaching position and moving halfway across the country.

“I am really nervous and really scared, but I’m also really excited,” said Park, standing in her classroom filled with pint-sized desks and chairs and a colorful rug adorning the floor.

“All of the anxiety comes from wondering how I will put everything I’ve learned into practice, dealing with children’s emotions and coping with parents’ expectations,” she said.

Park said she is enthusiastic about greeting her new charges this morning and hopes to keep the positive energy flowing throughout the school year.

“I don’t worry about losing enthusiasm,” she said. “I always want to be teaching something new and taking on new challenges that will keep me on my toes.”

As for her students’ parents, the teacher said she hopes they will not expect her to have the same level of expertise as a veteran teacher.

But she does expect them to treat her as an equal, despite her girlish appearance and quiet demeanor.

“I want to display professionalism in front of the parents, and to have them know that this is not just day care for their kids, but that this is something that is important,” she said. “If the parents know what I expect from their children, they can help their children throughout the school year.”

Although today marks her first day as a teacher, Park already has developed her own teaching style--even if she has yet to put it into practice.

Park said she wants each student in her class to understand what is being taught before she moves on to another subject.

“At the end of the year, I expect to see a lot of growth, but mostly I want them to feel successful,” she said. “If they feel that they are a success, then as their teacher I will feel successful.”