Who I am

I don't know exactly when I started to want to become a teacher, but I'm pretty sure it was before I even had one. From Nursery school on I would take home my assignments, erase or white out the work I'd done, photocopy them on my dad's Xerox machine, and make my friends and family "play school." This was a game I took very seriously.

As I got older, the games lessened, but I had many teachers who influenced my aspirations. In high school I was the girl that the nerdy kids wouldn't even hang out with. I was bullied badly. This only encouraged my goal to be a teacher, because we had many teachers in our school that looked the other way at times like these, or even participated, and I was determined not to be one of them. I had one teacher who never allowed it in his classroom, was always there to listen, and played chess with me and let me read his personal books of poetry. I don't remember much of what Mr. Bierling taught me, but it is probable that he is one of the reasons I didn't end up on the ten o'clock news, like so many other bullied kids of my generation.

Unlike Mr. Bierling, the Spanish teacher and Economics teacher in my school pretty much encouraged the bullies to pick on the less fortunate or less popular students, and instead of letting this dampen my spirits, I told myself if I became a teacher, then my students wouldn't have to deal with teachers who were unfair or unkind in that way.

In high school, I taught Sunday School at the local Presbyterian church, and after I received my Associates in the Humanities, I was a teacher's assistant in a nursery school classroom. These experiences only added to my desire to work with children, but helped me to realize I was much better at getting across to junior high and high school students, rather than little kids.

I took a break from college when I got married, but it was my husband who convinced me to go back. At this point I had started to doubt my ability to be a good teacher, and he really pushed me not to run away from it. Throughout high school and early college, I was torn between English, Spanish and History. I knew I wanted to teach, but I really didn't care what I taught. When I finally got to Lyon College, it was there that Dr. Ronald Boling and Dr. Helen Robbins helped me to see the depth of the English language and just how much fun interpreting literature could be.

I have been influenced by many teachers, both in what I want to emulate and what I definitely do not want to mimic, but my high school experience, while extremely negative, probably had the most impact on my life because it showed me just how big of a difference one person can make, and helped me to realize that I can be that one person for someone else's child.

"In the schoolhouse..."

I couldn't really tell you what it was that made me want to teach in the first place. I have wanted to teach for as long as I can remember, almost like a natural compulsion towards education. I am not, however, naive enough to tell you that I have not been influenced by a number of great teachers.

My love of learning began early on. I was raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas and was lucky enough to be enrolled in a Catholic elementary school there. In this setting my teachers focused on developing not only our minds, but also our characters and morals. I have never encountered a group of educators who more fully embody the quote by Henry Golden, "In the schoolhouse, we have the heart of the whole society." In forming my own ideas and philosophy about education I have struggled with some ideas; however, the idea of educating the whole child has remained at the forefront of my mind, regardless of how my other ideas may change.

The next huge influence on my decision to teach was Mr. Rousey, my high school Geometry teacher. It was Mr. Rousey who showed me that learning does not necessarily have to take place in a formal environment. I'm not exactly sure how he did it, but Mr. Rousey could get us to learn things (whether we wanted to or not) without any of us even realizing it. I left his class with a thorough understanding of Geometry, yet his teaching methods were so sly that, to this day, I don't have a clue what they were.

The most recent influence on my ideas about education is Dr. Tebbetts. One very important thing I have learned from Dr. Tebbetts is that how you say something to your students is just as important as what you say to them. His enthusiasm for his subject area shines through into every lecture he gives and is infectious. For example, when I took his Western Literature class I found out we would be reading The Odyssey...again. Honestly, I was dreading reading it. The drama of the ancient Greeks had never been of much interest to me. However, by the second or third assignment I was excited to read it. Dr. Tebbetts's fervor, combined with his ample knowledge base, allowed me to look at Odysseus's voyage in a new, exciting way. I genuinely hope that I will be able to do the same for one of my own students someday.

As I said previously, my ideas about education have changed quite a bit over the years thanks to the shaping and molding of some fantastic educators. I believe that this process will continue as I enter the profession, and I aspire to influence a student in the same way these teachers have influenced me.

Why I Am Who I Am

Before I begin, please welcome Elizabeth and Jill to this blog!  Throughout this semester, they will also be posting.  To encourage our blogging here, I have asked that we each share the reasons, the justifications for this chosen career...a teacher of English.
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Many people should be thanked for their assistance in my becoming who I am right now in my career, for as Hillary Clinton's book persuades...just as it takes a village to raise a child, so it takes a conglomerate of individuals to build a twenty-year career.

First, to my high school English teacher Mrs. Smith, my heroine, absolutely without a doubt, I would not be an English teacher had it not been for the example she sat every day of every week.  She worked us, holding us to higher expectations than most of us wanted, yet she loved us, and we knew it.  If she called today, I would stop my life and be there for her.  As would many of us.

Second, to my college instructors Dr. Tebbetts and Dr. Wray...one being the extreme, energized, definitely a sage on the stage of my life, the other, solid, direct, forcing our writing styles to become what they would not be. Because of them, I inherited a much more solid literary background, one recognized when I later attended grad school and was told that I must have graduated from Lyon (or some high quality program) because of the caliber of my work.  Yes, I stood a little taller!  Thank you, Dr. Tebbetts, Dr. Wray...and the late Dr. Oliver.

Third, to my peer Lisa Huff who shared her love of technology as a tool, which then began the big change in my presentation methods.  This blog (and several others) and multiple wikis are a testament to her. Professionally, I have grown and now freely assist my peers as they take baby steps, steps that, to them, feel like giant leaps at times, all in an endeavor to better prepare all our students for the "real" world or, as the latest jargon encourages, to be "college and career ready."

Many more names should be mentioned here, for I have many to thank for the gift of my career, for without them all, I would not be who I am today.

Method by Method

Welcome to Secondary English Methods!

I look forward to reading your thoughts and witnessing your growth as a student intern throughout this semester.

The purpose of this class, as the above header states, remains to assist in your making connections from the various education and English classes you have completed (or are currently enrolled) to "real life," the class in which you are interning, and your own classrooms in the very near future.

Let's get started!