MaryBeth Kubinski: “Teachers are the leaders for every other profession”

I’m from Erie, Pennsylvania, where I majored in Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Edinboro University.

After graduating, I moved to Charlotte and, for the next 11 years, taught kindergarten, first grade and second grade, and held several leadership positions, at Albemarle Road Elementary School. During the same period, I earned a master’s degree in Reading Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Seven years ago, I transferred to Crown Point Elementary and became an Academic and Intervention Facilitator, in addition to teaching first grade and holding leadership positions. Now in my 19th year, I’m a National Board Certified Teacher in Literacy, and I’m the Bus Safety teacher for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. I have a wonderful and supportive husband, Adam, along with two wonderful boys, Noah (12) and Alex (7).

Since I was three years old, I wanted to become a nurse and a mom. While I was a senior in high school, my counselor told me I didn’t have the math and science grades to become a nurse. My dreams were crushed! I took a career survey and its results suggested I should be a teacher -- or a nun. Ha! I didn’t want to do either.

So I went to college as an undecided major. However, all of my new friends were in the education fields, and I decided to become a teacher too. My mom told me I would be great at it. Thankfully, that quick decision was the best decision for me. I discovered that I have a passion for teaching, and I love seeing children’s eyes light up when they understand something new.

Being the bus safety teacher has led me to learning curves I did not know I had. I have to get a Commercial Driver’s License (so intense). I now get to work with adults to help them become better drivers, drive students home, and teach elementary students about bus safety. But when I stop learning, it will be time for me to find a new profession.

I really love learning new things, and CMAE/NCAE has provided me so many opportunities to do that.

Perhaps most valuably, CMAE has allowed me to form lifelong relationships with other educators. I have met so many great people who teach so many different things, and I believe it’s important to connect with colleagues outside of the classroom. Thanks to CMAE and those relationships, I’ve learned to speak in front of crowds, how to stand up for what I believe in, and how to enjoy teaching despite all of the state and district mandates.

I was always told that it’s important to belong to a professional organization. I joined CMAE because I wanted insurance to protect me in the event that something ever happened with a student or a parent. I never imagined I would get so much more from it, but I’m reminded constantly that teachers are the leaders for every other profession. For that reason alone, we cannot give up on ourselves.