Introduction

My name is Ashley Wright.  I came to the world of teaching in a bit of a roundabout manner, and so my teaching situation is a bit unique.  You could say that it all started when I was very young, but I'll skip to a bit later, to leave out the more boring stuff.

In late middle school, I was a very active child with a very active lifestyle.  I played violin and oboe, taking lessons and playing in orchestras and bands, rode horses and showed in the Pinto circuit, participated in Girl Scouts (my mom was the leader, so I REALLY participated), and excelled in school.  I loved reading and animals, and wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up.  I also attended classes on repairing violins, and LOVED it.  So I wasn't terribly surprised when my violin teachers asked if I wanted to participate in their Teacher Training classes.  Did I want to be a teacher?  No.  Absolutely not, actually.  I didn't want my career to have even the slightest thing to do with violin, but it wasn't that I hated violin.  I loved it.  But I saw my teachers, constantly teaching, rehearsing, performing, and practicing, with no life outside of violin.  I saw the stress this caused them, and never wanted to be stressed about my music.  I loved music, and wanted that love to continue, so I never wanted it to be a job to me.

But I figured, it couldn't hurt, so I joined the Teacher Training class.  And I should note here, that when I say that they asked me if I wanted to do it, it was probably closer to, "Ashley, you're here every Friday afternoon.  We're doing a Teacher Training class then, and you're going to participate."  I was a good kid that did as I was told, so I did.  I enjoyed it, but still did not see it as a career.

Fast forward to a year after I graduated from college.  I had changed my mind in high school, deciding I'd rather work with animals that were alive and healthy, so I wanted to be a zookeeper.  I got my Bachelor's in Zoology from Colorado State University, volunteered and interned during high school and college, the works.  When I graduated, I got a temporary position at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium here in Tacoma, WA, in their Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater.  I worked cleaning up after their show animals, presenting shows, handling animals, and answering a lot of visitors' questions.  Overall I loved it, but I was limited to 1,000 hours a year.  In May of 2008, those hours ran out, and I found myself working part time at Petsmart.

For those of you that don't know, part time retail does not pay rent.  Not even close.  And if you get a second job, you have to limit your availability, so you get even fewer hours - it's a vicious cycle.  So I got to thinking about what else I could do, and the one thing I kept coming back to was teaching.

I started teaching private violin lessons, driving to my students, just one day a week, to help make ends meet.  While teachers in either public or private school settings tend to be overworked and underpaid, private teachers, at least music teachers, tend to make pretty good money, so it was a good way for me to make extra money without taking up too much of my time.

Now, almost 5 years later, I'm still teaching private violin lessons, but have expanded to include viola and cello.  I signed a 3 year lease on a studio in Puyallup, and I'm very excited for it to be up in May.  In June, I'll be teaching completely out of my house outside of Buckley, WA, where I can keep a close eye on all my animals.  In addition to my horse, I have alpaca, goats, chickens, and ducks, and can't wait to be able to re-start my garden this year.  I'll be finishing up my MAED this spring, so I should be able to get some plants in the ground in May, which is about the time the sun comes out here.

Throughout my work on the MAED, some of my courses have required me to have access to a conventional classroom, so I've been volunteering at my local elementary school on Friday afternoons.  Last year, we had fourth graders, but this year, it's a split 3/4 class.  It's been very challenging for me to work with more than one student at a time, but I've learned a lot.  Most importantly, I've learned that despite all the uncertainty, I really love doing what I'm doing and never want to work in a conventional school setting.  In addition to helping my own teaching, my work on the MAED is helping to prepare me for homeschooling my kids.