Love of kids, teaching leads to unexpected career

Jessica Scott now sees that her longtime fascination with psychology makes her a natural fit to work with students with special needs.

“I’ve always wondered why people do the things they do. What makes people different?” she said.

That curiosity led to her pursuing education as a career, specializing in special education. She began the first leg of that career this week at Iola High School.

Scott, age 33, grew up in Chanute and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wichita State University, perhaps thinking her life was pointed in a certain direction.

But life takes unexpected turns. She lived in England for six years with her former husband; that’s where her oldest two children were born. She returned to the U.S. in 2011 and lived in the Wichita and Augusta areas before returning to Chanute.

Eventually, she reconnected with Josh Scott, a former high school boyfriend. The two lost touch when he left for the Army after high school. They married nearly four years ago and became a blended family with six children and one more on the way. The baby is due Dec. 3; their children range in age from 2½ to 15.

That she’s a parent to so many children is also testimony of the curve balls of life.

“If you’d asked me in high school, I’d have said anything more than two children would have terrified me,” she said.

“But I’ve realized, from the fact of having so many, that I love kids. It was one of those things in life you don’t expect.”

And after a year’s stint as a paraprofessional in Chanute, she also realized she loved teaching.

“I loved high school myself. I loved learning. I loved teaching my friends,” she said. “So when you put them together — kids and learning and teaching — it just fits.”

Her experience in psychology segued nicely into special education.

“It felt like such a good fit,” she said. “You know when you’re in a job and you finally feel like it works, like you fit in? That was me. I’d finally found my place.”

She returned to school at Pittsburg State University to pursue a master’s degree in teaching education. Special education teachers are in high demand, and the job isn’t for everyone, Scott said.

She approaches teaching the same way she approaches parenting. Each child is different and you have to find what works for that particular child.