My family and I make up a palindrome… We are J, K, T, K,J and yes as I named my children I planned it that way… J is for My husband Jonathan, T for oldest son Tanner, a Junior at DCECHS, K for middle child, daughter Kerigan, 8th grade at WEMS, and J for youngest, son Jace at SGES make up the letters J,K,T,K,J the same forward and backward J . Jonathan and I grew up in Mount Airy, NC. , I graduated from Mount Airy High School and was awarded the NC Teaching Fellows scholarship and attended UNC Charlotte. I also have a master’s degree in Library Science from Appalachian State University and plan at some point to add on a licensure in instructional technology.
I have been teaching for 20 years… all in Davie County Schools. I began at SGES when 6th grade was still there, and went through the middle school transition to North Davie where I taught for 10 years. I then took time off when my daughter was born . I continued my career with 5 years at SGES as a 4th grade teacher, team leader and mentor, then when ELLIS opened I took a position as a 6th grade Science and Language Arts teacher. I have been here since, and am currently teaching 6th grade Science.
If you ask anyone in my family, they will tell you that I was ALWAYS wanting to teach somebody something from the time I could speak. I frequently persuaded my younger cousins to sit in the kitchen chairs as I taught them to read using chalk and a piece of slate that had come from my grandma’s steps. One of my favorite gifts I ever received was a handmade chipboard desk made by my Uncle Ira. I would sit for hours and pretend to be a teacher, often instructing my stuffed animals if I could coerce others to listen 🙂
I would definitely say that teaching has become more technical, especially since back when I started there were mimeograph machines that made your hands blue and it was an exception if you had an overhead projector. I never dreamed of a SMART board, document camera, SMART response devices, and laptops.
Although the students are much more energized by the use of technology in the classroom, I feel that real, inquiry based learning is the true motivator for student learning. When students have an input into what they are learning and how they will show evidence of mastery, they can see that the end result of their efforts has a purpose other than just a grade.