Monday 18 August 2014

An Introduction

It's been a while since I blogged, but there's been a voice inside telling me to write, to share my ideas, and to talk.  I spend a lot of time thinking about education, and I want to create a space to share my ideas (and hopefully gain some new ones through discussion and debate).  And so I have created The Evolving Educator.

I am a beginning teacher.  In 2013 I was finally accepted to the Occasional Teaching List for my local school board.  OT=Occasional Teacher=Supply=Guest=Substitute.  Prior to becoming an OT I was a youth worker for the Boys and Girls Club, a student teacher, a caregiver, a tutor and academic mentor, a babysitter, and most important of all, a mother (that particular position is ongoing).  My first year teaching was spent at ten different schools across the city, teaching all subjects and disciplines from junior kindergarten through eighth grade.  I've had the opportunity to try on many different hats, and have found that I love language arts, junior high school, special education, kindergarten, and hands-on learning.

I intend to write in detail about my formative years, and what lead me to become a teacher.  I'm also going to blog about different topics that are of interest to me, such as the impact of poverty in the classroom, access to special education programs, arts education, standardized testing, maker education and hacking the classroom, movement, full day kindergarten, streaming, and whatever else comes to mind.

In my life outside the classroom I am mother to a two-and-a-half year old daughter, Georgia.  We live in the nation's capital with Jason (my husband and partner-in-crime).  I'm a very crafty person and love to make things with my hands; scrapbooking and knitting are two current hobbies.  I'm an avid reader of all things, but especially graphic novels and memoirs.  I like to cook and bake and enjoy trying out new recipes or creating my own.  I sing in a church choir, something that has been a part of my life since I was a little girl.  I want a pet and I love The Beatles and eating ice cream.