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| Where
did you attend school & what was your major? |
|
Freed Hardeman University, BA in Broadcast Communication
University of Alabama, MA in Elementary Education
Certification in reading
Currently enrolled in the doctoral program at TSU in Curriculum
and Instruction |
| How
long have you been at Eakin? |
|
2004
- 05 is my eighth year |
| Do
you have previous teaching experience? |
|
This
is my 11th year of teaching. I taught third and fifth grade
for three years in Jackson, TN |
| What
led you to teaching? |
|
By
the time I was a 10th grader I knew I wanted to be a PE teacher
and the Cheerleading sponsor because I thought Cindy Johnson
was the best PE teacher and cheerleader sponsor on the planet.
And she drove a really nice car. But all of my teachers discouraged
me from pursuing education because the money was horrible for
all the hours and work it required to be good. They encouraged
me to concentrate on my radio and singing career. I worked weekends
all through high school at the local radio station and I sang
in a band with my cousins. So, I went to FHU majored in broadcasting,
sang in a local country band and moved to Nashville when I graduated.
I quickly found that I had to work two extra jobs just to be
able to afford to keep my mid-day radio gig, which left little
time to pursue my singing. I was also barely making enough money
to survive. After two years of this I decided I'd had enough.
If I wasn't going to make any money doing this I may as well
pursue my first love and interest, which was teaching. I packed
up, moved to Tuscaloosa and joined my younger sister who was
majoring in early childhood ed. at the University of Alabama.
I decided to go into elementary ed. for a couple of reasons,
Cheerleading was no longer a major priority in my life and I
really loved my first grade teacher, Mrs. Dabney. As a matter
of fact, she was the only elementary teacher that I had fond
memories of. If I was going to spend all this money to change
careers and become a teacher I knew I wanted to be a first grade
teacher like Mrs. Dabney that children could remember with a
smile when they were 40 years old. |
| What
is your favorite part of teaching and interacting with children? |
|
My
favorite part of teaching has always been language arts. I love
reading aloud, dramatizing stories, reading children's writing
and the stories they create. I love watching the growth and
progress from the beginning to the end and seeing their excitement
when they begin to make the reading connection. I love how excited
children become about books and authors. One of my favorites
parts of our year at Eakin is the Talent Show in May. I loved
watching our students perform. It's so amazing how talented
and creative our children are. |
| What
is your preferred method of communication? |
|
I check email many times a day. |
| Other
Comments: |
|
My
favorite book as a child was Eighteen Cousins by Carol Hogan.
When I was a first grader we had to read it every night before
I would go to bed. When I started reading chapter books I fell
in looooove with Ramona The Pest and I had to read every book
that Beverly Cleary ever wrote. Then I moved on to the Little
House series, followed by Nancy Drew. In high school I wanted
to read the harlequin romance books that Grandma read in bed
every night with her little book light. My mom encouraged me
to read the classics like Great Expectations, and Wuthering
Heights, which I loved, but I would sneak Grandma's romance
novels and read them with a flashlight under the covers when
mom thought I was sleeping. Today I enjoy reading southern authors
who write realistic and fiction, mysteries, humor and poignant
family stories. I'm a huge fan of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter
Series. I've read them all and will see you at Davis Kidd at
Midnight to pick up my copy of the next one. |
