A weakness can lead to greatness

Posted on January 7, 2010
Filed Under I'm a 50 year old stuck in a 23 year old body, Money really should grow on trees, Teaching | 5 Comments

Since I haven’t been teaching this year, I have done a lot of thinking with what I want to get my masters in. There are so many options for elementary school teachers such as gifted and talented, special education, environmental education, administration, etc. And then of course there is the old fashion leadership in elementary education. I have gone back and forth for a few months now with what program I wanted to do. Considering each class is $1100, it’s a pretty big deal and I can’t afford to be fickle. Yes, I pay for my own grad classes without a full time job. It’s been a tough few months. Anyway, I had talked with my advisor back in September and we came to the conclusion that I should get my masters in Gifted and Talented. At the time, I felt like it was a great idea. I know a few guys from high school that were considered gifted but due to lack of motivation, they sort of gave up on their studies and began some serious drug habits. I think they are no single dads weighing 100 lbs or working fast food. Awesome guys. I also wanted to do gifted and talented because I know that in the school system we tend to focus more of the special needs students and forget about those who need to be challenged. Although, these are great reasons to get your masters in gifted and talented education, I don’t think this particular field is for me. After talking to a friend of mine from high school (I know you are reading this right now Mama Lara and smiling :)), I realized that I work well with all different types of children and shouldn’t limit myself to one particular type of child. So, I have talked to my advisor and told her my final decision is get my masters in leadership in elementary education.  I really feel like I have made a difference for several of the students I have taught so far. I may not have been able to reach them all but I can think of a few who I saw positive changes in after having me for one year. Especially the students with learning disabilities. I think from working at the SSLD office in college, I learned a lot about accomodations to give students who have a harder time in learning. Plus, I worked with a lot of special needs students in my first year of teaching. Most of these kids just needed someone to believe in them and praise them for their successes rather than focus on their disability. Yes, sometimes success was rarely met but when it was, you have to make a BIG deal about it. I mean, doesn’t everyone want to be praised when they achieve something?  So, why not praise for the little things too, because in all honesty they matter the most to a lot of kids.

Like I said, I have been thinking about all of this a lot lately, so today I decided to research different celebrities who have special needs that you would never suspect. Some of these are pretty big disabilities, so it’s amazing how far they have come. They must have had very passionate teachers

Albert Einstein- Didn’t speak until he was 3 and math and writing were very difficult for him
Alexander Graham Bell- LD (learning disability, didn’t specify)
Thomas Edison-  LD, couldn’t read until he was 12
George Washington- LD,he could barely write and had poor grammar skills
Robin Williams- ADHD- yes that is quite the no brainer
Woodrow Wilson- severely dyslexic
Cher- Dyslexic
Ozzy Osborne- Dyslexic
Isaac Newton- epilepsy (those who know me really well, know this disability is a very emotional one for me)
Leonardo da Vinci- Dyslexia
Tom Cruise- Dyslexia, he still can not read well at all today and memorizes his scripts through tapes
Danny Glover- epilepsy
Walt Disney- Dyslexia
James Earl Jones, Bruce Willis, and Marilyn Monroe- stuttering (Mufasa? Really?)
Quentin Tarantino- Dyslexic
Hans Christian Anderson- Dyslexic (wrote the Emperor’s New Clothes and the Ugly Duckling)
Charles Dickens- epilepsy
Winston Churchill- Dyslexic
Harriet Tubman- Narcolepsy after being struck on the head by an overseer
Vincent Van Gogh, Napoleon Bonaparte, Michaelenglo, Julius Caesar, and Edgar Allen Poe- epilepsy

There were  bunch more on http://www.albritton.us/celebs.html but these were the ones that I thought were interesting.

So 2009, you really haven’t been too bad

Posted on December 22, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments

So yes a lot of crap has happened in 2009. I couldn’t agree more. But don’t you think we are being a little harsh to this year? Has everything been horrible? Nope, not really. I keep reading blogs (not just from my friends) and articles about how everyone can’t wait for this year to be over. So I decided to do a recap of the year to see if it really was that bad.

Alright, we began the year with the treaded ice storm. Not really the best way to begin a year. Malls were closed, gas stations were out of gas, no one had electricity, any stores that were opened were only taking cash. Yikes, not a fun time for Western Kentucky. However, it made everyone have to live their life a little more simple (if people could do it a hundred years ago, why can’t we?) My parents camped out in the family room and kept the gas logs lit. The told me they really enjoyed it spending so much time together without the distraction of tv. So maybe it had its perks too.

My last 5 months working at my old school about took everything I loved about teaching away from me. The kids were disrespectful and the parents were worse. I spent most nights praying I wouldn’t have to break up another fight and then crying myself to sleep. To make things worse, I had no friends that I could spend time with to get my mind off of the terrible things that would happen at school (you seriously wouldn’t believe it if I told you).

To make things worse, in February we found out that mom had cancer. Worse part of this year by far.

Yes, first part of the year was hard but we made it through. Good thing the summer finally arrived! I ended up quitting my job to stay home and help mom out around the house while she received treatments. I also decided that life was too short working a job that makes you not want to eat and regret going into your profession. Best decision of my life.

Though it sucked to have to live with my parents again, I have a lot of great memories from this summer. My 24th birthday party is by far my favorite birthday. Though my 24 things in 24 hours didn’t really work out, we had a great time with late night swimming, duck yoga, sushi, and makeovers. A few days after my birthday, I directed a church camp for fourth and fifth graders. Since being a youth minister didn’t work out for me (I did this my senior year in college) I was afraid it was going to be a disaster. However, it turned out great and they even asked me to direct again next year!

This summer, Tim got engaged as well! He’s been through a lot as far as health goes so this is something we thought may never happen.

In other family news, dad became county attorney this year! When he lost the election to become judge, he felt like he hit rock bottom. I have never seen my father so depressed. When he got this new position, his self confidence was finally back. Just what he needed!

I also started grad school this year. It is going to be really hard with no financial aid to pay the bills but I love the fact that I can pay for it myself. It may take a few years to get my masters with taking one class at a time but I will get there eventually.

From August to November, I was really struggling financially since I still didn’t have a job. Yes, my parents helped me with my bills but I couldn’t do a lot of things that I had before. Finally, I began to sub at a school that I have always wanted to teach at. I am finally remembering why I became a teacher and it feels great! Plus, I work at Victoria’s Secret as a part time job. At first, I didnt like working there but now I have made some wonderful friends there and love helping others find the perfect bra and what not.

I have no good boy stories to tell because frankly 2009 has somewhat sucked in the boy department. Mostly my fault but what can I say. I am a picky lady.

2009 has also been a year for many celebrity deaths. Hasn’t every year? I mean I am sure some people thought 2008 was the worse because of Heath Ledger’s death. My thing with celebrity deaths are yes it is sad that a talent has passed on and I always feel sad for the families. But why should I be devasted over the loss when I don’t even know the person. I feel blessed that my family hasn’t had any deaths this year (knock on wood quick!) especially when I was terrified in February over losing my mother.

So 2009 was pretty terrific if you ask me. Still don’t believe me? I also had some fantastic memories with my friends. True, if I didn’t have my friends I probably would not have made it through this year. I guess that’s why they call me one of the lucky ones.