| Walking
by my room, my mother heard a small crash and peeked in to
see what was the matter. She saw me - surrounded by the books I
loved
(the reason for the crash) - turning the pages slowly like I was
reading. I was only two at the time, but my love for reading has
not
changed over the years. Even now, without a book to read, I have
a sense of
withdrawal and scramble to find a new one or reread an old one within
short order. Since childhood, I also enjoyed learning and had plans for being a teacher. My parents read to us every night and always encouraged us to do our best in school. My sister and I would recreate school in our play and would teach our stuffed animals what we learned through old textbooks and educational magazines. After high school, I enrolled in Gainesville College and then transferred to North Georgia College and State University. My major was Middle Grades Education, and my focus was on the subjects of Social Studies and Math. I enjoyed my field experience with different schools, and one of my favorite parts of the experience was the library. Part of my service hours were spent in the library, shelving books, and I watched how the library was run. This started my interest in the school library media field. I loved reading, students, technology, and teaching, and this job was an integration of all of these components. I graduated with my bachelor's degree and found a job in Jackson County as an eighth grade Language Arts teacher. Through my four years of teaching, I have taught language arts, social studies, math, and reading and both 6th and 8th grade. I enjoyed teaching and being able to teach students HOW to learn in addition to WHAT they had to learn. After three years of teaching, I decided to go back to school for my master's degree, and I chose Instructional Technology with the School Library Media track. Each class I took within this degree has proved to be challenging and enlightening at the same time. I have learned something new from each one. In July of this year with one year of graduate school and four years of teaching behind me, the administration offered me the media specialist position for my school. I was excited and hesitant at the same time. I had planned to finish my degree and continue teaching until the "right" position became available. Despite my plans, I accepted the position and have enjoyed the change. I still miss that one-on-one interaction with students that I had as a teacher, but I have met so many more students in the media center than I ever would have in the classroom. My teaching background has helped me with the lessons I teach in collaboration with other teachers, and my graduate classes have prepared me for the day-to-day details of program administration, technology, information literacy, and encouraging collaboration. I look forward to continuing in my role as media specialist and improving the media program at my school. |