7 Things about Me that You May Not Know

Many of the members of my PLN (Professional Learning Network) have been passing around a "7 Things about Me" meme. The rules seem to be for me to tell who tagged me with a link to thier blog, tell 7 things about me, and then for me to tag 7 others. I hope someone will enjoy reading this entry, even though it feels weird to me to talk about myself.

I was tagged today by Terry Shay who is a new friend of mine via Plurk. I liked that his 7 things were listed in reverse order and I am going to shamelessly copy his idea. Here they are in no particular order "7 Things You May Not Know About Me".

Thing #7 This summer I took on a Life Long Learning project called "23 Things". Little did I know that I was embarking upon a journey that would change my personal and professional life so immensely. The 23 things journey began with the requirement for me to examine and reflect upon my personal beliefs about learning in the context of ME learning. Its focus is to make teachers members of the digital world. I had to create a blog and then post entries to the blog throughout the summer as I learned to use Web 2.0 tools. My favorite of these was Flickr and mashups. As a result of this journey, my students are involved in a collaborative project with Paul Bogush on electricity. While his subject is Social Studies and mine is Physical Science and this is my first collaborative project of any kind, I think we will be successful. I created a wiki and I have posted student work there.

As part of this journey, I have had the courage to jump in to an area that is totally new to me with both feet and take on the challenges I have set for myself.

Thing #6 Off the wall and totally random I know. I square dance. Yep circle left, left almande, etc etc etc.. As a physical education major, I had to take one dance class. Please understand, I am musically challenged not just can't sing, can't keep beat etc. But I am not graceful or anything that would be required in ballroom dance or ballet. So I chose square dance. I can after all tell my left from my right and I can follow directions. I send out a "yellow rock" to those of you reading this.

Thing #5 I grew up on a farm in Northeastern Arkansas. Farm to me means animals and crops. We grew soybeans, rice and for a while cotton. We raised cows, pigs, and chickens. Every cow had a name and I cried when they were butchered or sold even after I was a teen. I am very soft hearted. My fondest memories of farm life include feeding the twin calves by hand...awesome experience and words fail me. I regret that my son is not being raised on the farm, but we visit weekly the university farm near us. Best I can do at this time.

Thing #4 As a child, I loved horses. I had three Shetland ponies and one Welsh pony. Their names were Tiny, Ginger, Hacksaw, and Sugar. Tiny ran with the cows and was gored by a bull. Didn't find that out until I was nearly 20. Ginger was mean as any Shetland pony anyone has ever heard of. Now Hacksaw was my best friend. She was the Black Stallion, Black Beauty, and Silver all rolled into one. She was the fastest, highest jumping "horse" around. I would ride everyday that it wasn't raining. As a result many accidents, 3 broken arms from falling off; same arm; 2 times in one year. Third time I was wearing a long dress riding sidesaddle but bareback with a bb gun in one hand. After all I was Annie Oakley. I bounced right off. Didn't cry just walked into the house and calmly told Mom we had to go the emergency room. But boy were those the days!!!!!!!!!

Thing #3 Writing and receiving grants is one way that teachers can acquire money for their classrooms. I have been fortunate to have written and received numerous grants. Most of them were minigrants funded through educational organizations in my area. The trick seems to be to have a creative title, be succinct in your description, and use the money to buy stuff that in nonconsumable.

Thing #2 On the top of my bucket list is to see ALL of the National Parks in the U.S. I have been to several already. Should I list them? Sure why not.

1. Acadia
2. Smoky Mountains
3. Cayuga (spelling) Its in Ohio, between Akron and Cleavland
4. Devil's Tower
5. Mt. Rushmore
6. Hot Springs
7. The Grand Canyon
8. Bryce Canyon
9. Zion Canyon
10. Meteor Crater (may not really be a National Park)
11. The Painted Desert
12. Yellowstone
13. The Grand Tetons

Need to get on the ball and go to several more soon. There are over 100 to visit.

Thing #1 Hands down the most beneficial thing I have done to make me a better teacher is National Board Certification. While many seem to think all it takes is jumping through a bunch of hoops and following directions, but it is so much more than that. The process pushed me beyond the normal drudgery of pulling a folder and teaching the book. I had to improve upon my reflecting skills tremendously. I had to assess everything I did in terms of how it will affect my students. When I say everything I mean everything. Contacts with teachers, parents, students and many others; professional development choices, lesson plans and their sequence; assessment and of course labs. Even now several years beyond, I continue to push myself to be a better teacher for those souls entrusted to me for 178 days. I hope I have been worthy of the job entrusted in me.

Now. Who do I tag? Laurie, James, VWB, Jeff, Eboni, Mrs. D, and Dean Mantz (sorry no url for your blog)