Mr. Krajnovich wanted to work in a field where he could help others and make use of the skills he had.  He wanted to use the gifts he had to help others. He was good with languages and loved working with children. “I felt I had a mission, do you know the difference between “career” and “vocation”? Career comes from the Latin word Vocatio, which means “to be called.” Before becoming a teacher, I worked in an office at Wells Fargo. I hated the job, but it was my career,” said ESL teacher Mr.Krajnovich (Mr.K).  By the time he was 30, he had returned to school, obtaining a second bachelor’s degree. Subsequently, he left his job and returned to school full-time for three years, completing a post-graduate teacher certification program in order to become a teacher. This transition was not an easy one, but he is immensely grateful for it, as he has gone from a job that he did not enjoy to a job that he loves. “On my best day at Wells Fargo, I was able to help no one, whereas on my worst day as a teacher, I got to help an entire class”, said Mr. K.  

After a couple of years, Mr. K decided to work at Ames High because his stepson graduated from Ames High School, his dad attended Iowa State for his college education, his wife still resides in Ames and works at Barilla, and he himself is an Ames resident. He considers Ames to be his home, so having the opportunity to work from home in this city that he has grown to love was fantastic. This was his dream job. When he applied for it since it was his first job after receiving his teaching license, he went into the interview believing that he had no chance of getting the job. However, things just fell into place and worked out.

As someone who speaks a second language, he wants students to know that they can make mistakes. He wants them to know that they don’t have to be afraid to make mistakes, because making mistakes shows that you’re making progress. He still makes mistakes when speaking a second language, but he doesn’t let that hold him back because the goal isn’t perfection, it’s communication. He can communicate in his second language, maybe not perfectly, but he can communicate, and that’s good enough. “I like to think that sharing some of these stories of learning my second language and some of these funny mistakes that I made when I first started learning my second language, helps my students know that mistakes are okay,” said Mr. K. Another way that he encourages students to learn more is that he doesn’t take points away when somebody makes mistakes on spelling, grammar, etc. They’ll talk about those errors and never take points off. He grades on completion and participation, and completion might vary between student, for a student who is just starting to learn English writing three paragraphs might be too much and writing a single paragraph in English might be the best they can give.  Mr.K  really believes in a growth mindset that says that no matter what you think you can do,you just have to make some mistakes along the way.