An Introduction: Part Two

My name is Andrea.  I am currently working through my third year of teaching.  Over the summer my family and I relocated to North Texas, and having a positive attitude has been my saving grace in the midst of all these changes.

Though my story differs in many ways from Charity's, the one thing we have in common is that we were both helped along the way by awesome teachers.  I was the student that wouldn't stop reading.  When my parents told me it was lights out, I would crawl out of my bed and lean up against my window and read by the light of the street lamp.  I found my best friends in Matilda, Romona, Ellen Tidbits, Bilbo Baggins and countless others.  I also learned at an early age that creating my own stories was just as much fun as reading them.  I had an awesome teacher that helped me learn how to share my excitement for reading and writing with my peers.

My second grade teacher, Mrs. Goodmunson, was one of those rare teachers that I can only dream that I may be like  (However, through this project, I hope that I will bring myself a few steps closer to the greatness of Mrs. Goodmunson.)  My teacher helped me discover my talent of story writing.  She showed me how my love of words and pictures could help create fun stories for other students to read.  I loved her class, and I felt that she loved me back.  Anything was possible in Mrs. Goodmunson's class.  We encouraged to try and it was okay if we failed, as long as we learned from it.  It was during my year with Mrs. Goodmunson that I decided that if I couldn't grow up to be a Princess, then I would become a teache just like Mrs. Goodmunson.

Though I have had many fabulous teachers throughout my lifetime (my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Brenna, my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Parkin, my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Baniewicz--to name a few), it was my 10th grade teacher that really made a difference in my life.  Mrs. Bean.  If there can only be one example of a spectacular, superb, fantabulous, etc. etc. teacher, that teacher would Mrs. Bean.  It wasn't so much the subject she taught, or the lessons she taught, but the way she taught it.  Like Mrs. Goodmunson, Mrs. Bean had the charisma that would captivate an entire room.  She was eccentric and passionate and all those wonderful adjectives that I would love for my students one day to use to describe me.  The most important thing about Mrs. Bean: we (students) knew she cared about us.  Plain and simple.

I am a teacher today because of awesome teachers like Mrs. Goodmunson and Mrs. Bean.  They taught through all things positive, and that is my goal as a teacher.  Every child is worth caring about.  Every child has a unique ability.  It is my responsibility to not get bogged down by the politics and outside class frustrations.  This blog is a chance for myself and Charity to help other teachers remind themselves as to why they became teachers in the first place.  Remember: we are molding our future generations and it is up to us to make sure that we don't disappoint the Goodmunson's and Bean's of this world.