Personal Childhood Web

Mom- My mother is a high school math teacher in DeWitt, Michigan.  She has been a teacher there for nearing 30 years.  My mother has and will always be my best friend.  I was going through a tough time my freshman year in high school.  I did not have very many friends in high school because I was very shy and tended to keep to myself.  My mom was always the first person that I would go to and talk to about anything.  I am a very smart individual, which my mother knew.  She encouraged me to get involved with a sport or activity in high school, in which I did end up joining the cheerleading squad.  I was on the Varsity cheerleading team for four years and made some of the best friends, in which I still talk to today.  She influenced me from the time I started kindergarten to now to be the best I can be, and that will lead me a successful life.  My mom nurtured me throughout my entire life and still to this day.  I did not have a job until summer after my senior year in high school.  She would always nurture me by giving me money whenever I wanted to hang out with friends or whenever it was needed.  My mother and my father supported or nurtured me throughout my college experience, which was very helpful because I do not have any loans that I have to pay back.  Whenever my mom would come home from school, she would always have stories to share about her students, whether they were good or bad stories.  She would also have tests that I would help her grade.  Hearing these stories and knowing the impact that she had on each of her students is one of the main reasons I chose teaching as my profession.  To this day, my mom still impacts me and supports me whenever I am in need.  My mom and dad are helping me pay to get my Masters, giving me a house to live in until I get my own teaching job and help me whenever I need the help.  If it was not for my mom, I would not be the person I am today.  She always tells me, "Everything happens for a reason."  And "good things happen to those who wait."  I love my mom with all my heart.  

Mrs. Hyde-  Mrs. Hyde was my host teacher when I was doing my student teaching.  Before I went into my student teaching experience, I had only been in an actual classroom a few times and taught a few lessons.  Mrs. Hyde is a 3rd grade teacher at Scot School in DeWitt, Michigan.  Throughout my 16-week student teaching experience, I was only supposed to teach 12 of the weeks.  She made me teach from day two of walking into the classroom.  This was a very scary but exciting experience for me.  The first day after the students left, she handed me all of the teacher books that I needed for my entire student teaching experience and told me that the classroom was mine.  Mrs. Hyde has influenced my life allowing me to take over her classroom for half a year and develop a strong relationship with each of the students.  She was always there for me when I asked her for advice or ways to make my teaching stronger.  I made a lesson plan for each day of the 16 weeks so I knew what I had to teach.  Every week I would make a copy of that weeks lesson plans and give her a copy.  Still to this day, she says that she uses those lesson plans, just modifies them a little bit.  She has showed me that she cared for me by throwing me a surprise party the last day of my student teaching.  She had the kids make me a quilt and each of the students' squares had their own note to me, and I got several other small gifts and gift cards from them.  She always commented on how good I was doing teaching our class, which made me feel very special.  To this day, I am still close with Mrs. Hyde and I am always the first one she calls to substitute teach for her class.  She will always be a reference and someone I can go to with teaching questions once I finally have my own teaching job.  

Lily- Lily is my best friend and we would do anything for each other.  I went to high school with her, in which we had our disagreements every once in a while, but we were always there for each other.  The last year we have grown a lot closer.  I recently was going through a very tough time in my life, and she always knew what to say to help cheer me up.  She always goes out of her way to show me that she cares.  She made me feel special by missing work one day to make sure I was doing okay.  To this day, she is the only person that knows me inside and out and does not judge me or any of my decisions.  


Mrs. Moule- Mrs. Moule was my 2nd grade teacher and is still my favorite teacher to this day.  She told me when I was little that she had faith in me that I was going to be very successful in life if I set my mind to it.  When I was in second grade, I was advanced in math and writing, but I struggled severely with reading comprehension.  I remember in the second grade that I just wanted to give up and drop out of school.  She worked with me after school every other day on my reading comprehension skills, and they slowly started to increase.  She nurtured me by showing me the support that I needed outside of school to succeed.  She still calls me to this day every once in a while to see how I am doing and what I am doing in my life.  At this time in my life, she impacts my life by calling me every time she hears about a teaching job that opens.  She also puts in a good word for me when there are teaching jobs that open.  And also whenever her or any of the other teachers at the school she teaches at, she always give them my name to call.  This shows me that they think I am a great teacher and can trust me with their students.

Grandparents- My mom's parents are like my second parents.  When I was in elementary school, they would come over to my house every morning and watch me get on the bus.  This made me feel very special that it meant a lot to them to see me go to school.  They were also at my house every day when I got home from school to see me get off the bus and they would both give me a huge hug when I got off the bus.  My grandpa used to have his own air plane, and he would take me and my sister for a ride in the airplane and he would let us make the "all clear" signal for the plane to take off.  As a child, if my mom or dad was not able to help me on my homework, my grandparents would always be willing to help.  They nurtured and cared for me by being there at every important event: dance recitals, piano recitals, cheerleading competitions, college graduation, my high school open house and many more.  They make me feel special by when I have important events in my life, they always call and ask how it went.  They try to get involved in my life as much as possible.  This helps me to know that I have a great support system that I know I can depend on at any time.  My grandparents have been married for over 50 years and that also shows me and makes me believe that marriages can last and to know what happiness and love really is!