Tag!

Dana Huff tagged me for this Teaching Meme:

1. I am a good teacher because… I am relentlessly driven to be a better teacher. I am continually examining my methods, trying improvements, examining the improvements... looking for new ideas from my colleagues, the library, anywhere I can get them... and of course, looking for evidence that these ideas might actually work!


2. If I weren’t a teacher I would be a… teacher in all but name. I have been a freelance journalist, an intern (and author-in-a-pinch) at a small publishing house, a receptionist, a billing clerk, a house parent, a youth pastor, a distance-learning teacher and a sub. I have always found myself in situations where I'm encouraging others to ask questions and seek answers, and to find joy in doing so.


3. My teaching style is… "whatever works." I guess I can't avoid having preconceived notions, but I try to pay attention to what seems to be effective in getting students to learn, and then do more of that.


4. My classroom is… crowded and colorful. I've got the beginnings of a computer lab, since my Journalism class does the newspaper and the yearbook, plus 32 more desks for my English classes, all packed into a regular-size classroom. I've got lots of posters up on the walls; I don't know how teachers manage with blank walls. EW!


5. My lesson plans are… always changing! I revisit them on a daily basis, though I rarely look more than a month ahead.


6. One of my teaching goals is… to love each person I come into contact with, to avoid looking at my students in groups - to see them and interact with them as individuals.


7. The toughest part of teaching is… remaining faithful even when the students themselves give up. And/or not picking up a baseball bat and going after people who are mean to my students! GRRR.


8. The thing I love about teaching is… seeing people (not only the students!) become better versions of themselves.


9. A common misconception about teaching is… that teachers are really smart and/or saints. We are as human as anyone else, and we can screw up just as thoroughly!


10. The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is… I can't do it on my own. I have no HOPE of doing this on my own. I am SO thankful that I have had such a supportive husband, and that my mommy didn't mind 6 AM phone calls 3-4 times a week!

Ok, I'm tagging: Mrs. Chili, Dr Pezz, Mz. H, Ms. Cornelius, and The Science Goddess.