Words of Inspiration and Motivation

"If we want to invest in the prosperity of our nation, we must invest in the education of our children so that their talents may be fully employed.” ~President William J. Clinton

"Children benefit most from teachers who have the skills, knowledge, and judgment to make good decisions and are given the opportunity to use them." ~Susan Bredekamp, Ph.D., Author of Developmentally Appropriate Practices

"Children are not succeeding because they are not given the tools they need not because they don't have the intelligence" ~Louise Derman-Sparks

"(Education) Is not all about you.  You have to take your ego out of it and think about what's best for the child."  ~Renatta Cooper



Personal Childhood Web

1. Mom-She is a strong and independent woman.   I am her only daughter so she did special things for me, and not my brother for that reason.  She volunteered at my school, made holidays wonderful, and taught me to be independent like her. She is the reason I am so driven and goal oriented.
2. Dad- He is a caring and giving person.  He taught me to accept people as they are, was always was there for me whenever i needed anything, and was my rock growing up.  He is the reason I want to work with children and help make them feel special. 
3. Grandma Opal- She was a caring and open hearted woman.  She would do anything for anyone.  She made me feel special because she always had to make me something to eat when I visited.  She showed genuine interest in my life and always asked me about my life.  She is the kind of woman I want to be when I am old and gray. 
4. Cousin Justin- We often played together as kids becuase our mom's (who were sisters) would take turns babysitting us.  He always made sure I fit it and was included no matter what we did or where we were.  He always made an effort to play with me.  He was protective and kind of like a "big brother" to me. 
5. Mrs. Spriggs (5th Grade Teacher)-  She made me believe in myself.  She praised me more than other teachers and showed interest in me.  I never really put much effort into school before her, but after her I prided myself upon how well I could do in school. 

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher

A Child that Touched My Heart

I was doing a pre-student teaching placement at a local elementary school in 2nd grade.  There was a boy in this class whom the teacher had informed me would most likely not do well in any area, seeing as he had some serious issues going on at home and was frequently absent.  As my time there went on and I began taking on more subjects to teach, I noticed that this boy showed a little more interest in reading than in other areas, but only when he was being read to.  I made an effort to read more stories aloud so that he would stay interested.  After reading aloud, I would let the children read the story again on thier own.  While doing this I would alway make an effort to talk to this child about the story, to get an idea of his comprehension level.  Turns out he comprehended on a very high level, but struggled with reading on his own.  I began working with him one on one a little and by the end of my placement he had brought his grade from a D to a B.  On the last day of my placement the child came to me and hugged me and said he had never had a teacher like him before.  This made me cry, and of course made me realize that sometimes all a child needs is to be liked, shown a little attention, and who knows what they can do. 

Me and my awesome family :)