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Hi Teacher Friends! Thanks for visiting my BusyClassroom blog!
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| My School |
I'm proud of so many personal and professional accomplishments:
- I am happily married to my best friend for 27 years. (He still makes me blush.)
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| My Family |
- I have 2 amazing children, a daughter at Penn State, and a son at Florida State.
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| Sammy & Ryan |
- I have two awesome dogs, one a rescue mutt, the other a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
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| Cooper |
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| Rudy |
- I was a 2005 PA Teacher of the Year finalist. What an amazing experience it was for my whole family!
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| 2005 PA Teacher of the Year display |
- I was chosen as a PA Keystone Technology Integrator. I serve as a tech mentor for my district and I have been the webmaster for my elementary school for 12 years.
- I was selected (2 out of 900) to be a literacy trainer in my district and I have facilitated of 40 workshops to my peers in areas of literacy, math, and technology.
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| Smart Board, iPad, Wireless keyboard, trackpad, & mouse, |
- I love, love, love technology! My classroom and my home are full of the latest techie gadgets. I would rather have a new iPhone before a piece of jewelry. :) I get excited when I hear of a new Apple product coming out. I'm usually the first one I know to sign up for the latest trends. I was the first I know to sign on to AOL, Amazon Prime, Facebook, Twitter, DropBox, etc. I love when my teacher friends ask me to help them troubleshoot tech issues. I teach with a smart board, iPad, wireless trackpad, mouse, keyboard, document camera, presentation clicker, and tons of Apps and gadgets that I've mostly purchased on my own. I don't mind spending my own money on the gadgets because it makes my days at work more fun.
- I'm also an organization freak. My classroom and my home are clutter free. I love to throw things away. What I do keep, is super organized. I actually enjoy cleaning out closets and drawers. I should have been one of those people helping on that show Buried Alive (a show about hoarding.) My family jokes that they may wake up in a labeled container one day. :)
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My Classroom Library____________________________________________________ |
Teaching is a second career for me. It's been an interesting journey.
Here's my story...
When I was a young girl, I went to school each day and tried my hardest to achieve. Unfortunately, my mom was a single parent of three little ones, ages 5, 6, and 7. By necessity she spent a great deal of her time working several jobs trying to provide for us. My elderly grandmother moved in with us to help out with the house and the kids. My grandmother ran our house like a drill sergeant. We all had chores to do, and we were responsible, well behaved kids.
Unfortunately, she didn’t work as hard to make sure we were keeping up at school. She never checked to see if our homework was done and I never studied for test or quizzes.At the time I felt lucky. While my friends were all in doing homework, I was happily outside playing.Unfortunately, my schooling suffered. I know now that my mother had no choice and did the best she could in her situation. My grades were low and I went to school scared each day. I had lots of friends and was very social. But, as soon as it was time for a lesson to begin, I felt sick inside.I remember being petrified as teachers embarrassed me with round robin reading and public humiliation about my poor grades, or for not being prepared for school. I remember my test would be one of the last to be handed out because they were organized by score from highest to lowest. I remember the disappointed look on teachers’ faces as they handed back my papers.
Year after year, I began each September thinking that I had a fresh start and vowed not to fall behind again. But unfortunately, without the necessary support, I fell behind again and again.The sad part is, to my recollection, not one teacher from Kindergarten through 12th grade took the time to find out why I was unprepared for school or why I performed poorly on tests. I can’t recall one positive conversation or words of encouragement from a teacher. I just wanted to be invisible at school. I was the child left behind.
When I was a young girl, I went to school each day and tried my hardest to achieve. Unfortunately, my mom was a single parent of three little ones, ages 5, 6, and 7. By necessity she spent a great deal of her time working several jobs trying to provide for us. My elderly grandmother moved in with us to help out with the house and the kids. My grandmother ran our house like a drill sergeant. We all had chores to do, and we were responsible, well behaved kids.
Unfortunately, she didn’t work as hard to make sure we were keeping up at school. She never checked to see if our homework was done and I never studied for test or quizzes.At the time I felt lucky. While my friends were all in doing homework, I was happily outside playing.Unfortunately, my schooling suffered. I know now that my mother had no choice and did the best she could in her situation. My grades were low and I went to school scared each day. I had lots of friends and was very social. But, as soon as it was time for a lesson to begin, I felt sick inside.I remember being petrified as teachers embarrassed me with round robin reading and public humiliation about my poor grades, or for not being prepared for school. I remember my test would be one of the last to be handed out because they were organized by score from highest to lowest. I remember the disappointed look on teachers’ faces as they handed back my papers.
Year after year, I began each September thinking that I had a fresh start and vowed not to fall behind again. But unfortunately, without the necessary support, I fell behind again and again.The sad part is, to my recollection, not one teacher from Kindergarten through 12th grade took the time to find out why I was unprepared for school or why I performed poorly on tests. I can’t recall one positive conversation or words of encouragement from a teacher. I just wanted to be invisible at school. I was the child left behind.
Years went by….
Finally, when I was in tenth grade, I was called to the Guidance Councilor’s
office for the “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” meeting. When
the councilor asked me what I wanted to do with my life after graduation, I proudly
responded, “I want to be a teacher!" Looking down at my
transcripts, he paused….Then, he actually laughed
out loud and said,“You can’t be a teacher! You don’t have what it
takes to be a teacher. You’re not college
material. Trust me; you’ll never make it through college.” Then after a brief pause, “What’s your second choice?” My dreams were crushed. In a blink of an eye, my hopes of becoming a teacher
were squashed. After a pregnant pause I said, “I’m a little interested in being a hairdresser.”
Well… with in a matter of
minutes, the councilor made a few phone calls, filled out a short form,
and I was all signed up to begin as a student of cosmetology at our local tech
school. Years passed and I became a
very successful hairdresser, the top stylist at a popular salon, and later a salon owner. But, through the years… I never lost
that part of me that always wanted to be a teacher. As years passed, I pondered the thought of going back to school but I kept hearing that
man’s voice saying, “You can’t be a teacher! You’re not college material.”
That man...that
conversation…took away 14 years of my life.
At the age of 29, I finally
got up the courage and confidence to give college a try. Much to my own
surprise (and everyone who knew me as a student) I excelled. I
accelerated my pace and was able to complete my Bachelor’s program in only two
and a half years and graduated with honors. After my Bachelor’s program
I continued on to earn my Master’s Equivalent Degree and a Master’s Degree in
Instructional Technology. I loved college and now consider myself to be a life
long learner. My family laughs with me now as I’m known as the only one
in our family with a Master’s Degree.
In my role as a teacher I’m
always mindful of my language, my word choice, my behaviors, my attitudes, and
my message. It’s not my job to choose
the right path for my students but to help them on the journey
that they choose for themselves. I’m a guide, a coach, a mentor. Every day I encourage my students to believe in themselves…to push themselves to
achieve…to take risks…to push on, when tasks seem
difficult. I acknowledge their
struggles and let them know that we’re in it together.
Every day, I try to be the
teacher that I never had.
Fortunately, that was a long
time ago and the field of education has changed so much since I was a little
girl. This is my 23rd year of teaching, and I couldn't be prouder of being part of such a noble profession.
I’m so proud to say that I’m a
teacher!
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