Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Special Appreciation for Moms that are Teachers
My mom often jokes that going out in public makes her feel like a rock star. She literally can't go anywhere in our neighborhood without running into a current or former student. That's because for the last ten years, she's been teaching at Morningside Elementary School in Atlanta. Her first grade students adore her. She was even Walmart Teacher of the Year in 2006.
When I was little, I was jealous of my mom's celebrity status. Just what made her so cool, anyhow? And, I must admit, I was even more jealous of how much she loved the kids she taught. It was almost as if they were her own. She fawned over handmade birthday cards from her first graders when I wanted to show off my newfound ability to do long division. As I got a little older, I learned to appreciate what a gift it was to have such an amazing teacher for a mother.
When my brother David and I were little, Mom would mute the television and turn on the closed captioning, essentially forcing us to 'read' our cartoons. I never thought this was weird, but I imagine my friends and I had some confusing conversations because other parents didn't do the same thing. Mom always encouraged us to ask questions and never bothered "dumbing down" her answers. She taught us to look for patterns, to think creatively, to draw our own conclusions.
Having a teacher for a mom gave me a special appreciation for my own teachers. I knew how much time they spent creating lesson plans and writing report cards And how much of their own money they spent on classroom supplies. Teachers were real people to me, not like robotic Mrs. Donovan in the Charlie Brown cartoons. You know, whah whah As a result, I was always respectful and well behaved in class, and I even had close relationships with some of my teachers.
I think being a parent can make you a better educator, and vice versa. I should know-- my grandmothers are both retired teachers, and my step mom is a pediatric nurse practitioner and camp counselor. Combined, they and my mother have touched the lives of thousands of people. But of all the kids my mom has taught over the years I know her greatest joy has been teaching her own.
When I was little, I was jealous of my mom's celebrity status. Just what made her so cool, anyhow? And, I must admit, I was even more jealous of how much she loved the kids she taught. It was almost as if they were her own. She fawned over handmade birthday cards from her first graders when I wanted to show off my newfound ability to do long division. As I got a little older, I learned to appreciate what a gift it was to have such an amazing teacher for a mother.
When my brother David and I were little, Mom would mute the television and turn on the closed captioning, essentially forcing us to 'read' our cartoons. I never thought this was weird, but I imagine my friends and I had some confusing conversations because other parents didn't do the same thing. Mom always encouraged us to ask questions and never bothered "dumbing down" her answers. She taught us to look for patterns, to think creatively, to draw our own conclusions.
Having a teacher for a mom gave me a special appreciation for my own teachers. I knew how much time they spent creating lesson plans and writing report cards And how much of their own money they spent on classroom supplies. Teachers were real people to me, not like robotic Mrs. Donovan in the Charlie Brown cartoons. You know, whah whah As a result, I was always respectful and well behaved in class, and I even had close relationships with some of my teachers.
I think being a parent can make you a better educator, and vice versa. I should know-- my grandmothers are both retired teachers, and my step mom is a pediatric nurse practitioner and camp counselor. Combined, they and my mother have touched the lives of thousands of people. But of all the kids my mom has taught over the years I know her greatest joy has been teaching her own.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Interesting Mother/Daughter Article
Whether you have a great mother-daughter relationship or a mother-daughter relationship that can be improved, you probably know that mother-daughter bonding can start at an early age.
When you're five, she's a goddess. You smear your face with her lipstick and model her earrings and high heels, wanting to be just like mommy. That's the way it is until you're about thirteen, when she suddenly becomes the most ignorant, benighted, out-of-touch creature on the planet, and you can't get far enough away from her. Your primary form of interaction for the next five years or so will be a single word, "Mooooooooooooommmmmmm!" And then, somewhere between your twenties and your thirties, if you're lucky, she becomes your best friend again.
No relationship is quite as primal as the one between a mother and her daughter. "It's the original relationship, and it's also a relationship that has been sentimentalized but not honored," says Lee Sharkey, Ph.D., who directs the Women's Studies program at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she teaches a popular course in mother-daughter relationships. "Women grow up and our energy is largely turned toward men, but the original love relationship is with a mother. If we as daughters don't acknowledge that, we're closing ourselves off from a great source of power and fulfillment and understanding of ourselves."
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Momma
She is probably my best friend in the entire world. She has helped me shape my future and is always there for me. She is a sixth grade English teacher at Cornwall Central Middle School. When I graduate college, I would love to have the same exact job. I have seen her teach and I know that that is exactly what I want to do. She has so many qualities that I admire her for. She is caring in so many ways and she also is so loving to everyone around her. She coaches girls basketball and I share the same love of the game with her. I played basketball since I was six and hope that one day I will coach like she does.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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