Tell us about yourself (family, schooling, hometown, hobbies, pets, birthday, etc.) in the Introduce Yourself post. Also tell us why you chose the field of elementary education and who influenced you to go into education. Your posts will help us build a community of learners.
Welcome everyone! My name is Kimberly Stoppel and I will be your instructor for TEEL 480/481 Corrections in Reading Disabilities. I am so eager to meet each of you and help you strengthen your evaluating and teaching skills in the area of reading. I have been an educator for 29 years. My passion is the early elementary grades where it “all begins!” But, I have experience teaching the intermediate grades in summer intervention programs. I am a new instructor here at Fort Hays this year. I have decided that I can make a difference in many “little” lives by working with future educators. It has been an exciting journey so far! I live in Russell, Kansas which is just 30 miles east of Hays. My husband Blaine and I raised 3 wonderful children in a 100 year old two story house that we renovated ourselves 23 years ago. We have two pets, a chocolate lab named Champ and a coal black cat named Spanky. I love to read, (obviously!), cook, and even do some trap shooting once in awhile! My favorite hobby is playing in a hand bell choir at my church. I will tell you a little bit about each of my family members during the first class session via adobe connect! It is my goal to make sure each of you becomes comfortable and competent in administering informal reading assessments and interpreting the results. I look forward to a fun semester!
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Kelly Freund. I live in Emporia with my husband and two wonderful daughters , ages 8 and 1. I grew up in wichita and moved to Emporia to attend college in 2003 where I received my first degree in Recreation. I meet my husband during my internship for my first degree and after I graduated I found it hard to find a job in my town. My husbands farms so we could not just pack up and relocate. After talking with my family I decided to go back to school and get my Elementary Education degree. It has been a long journey with many bumps in the road and a few road blocks but I have finally made it and will graduate in December!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWith two girls and a farmer for a husband I do not have a lot of free time. I am either taking my oldest to her activities, chasing the youngest, cooking, cleaning, doing yard work, or helping with farm stuff.
My name is Carrie Horn. I am a single Mom to three girls~ and Grammy to one grandson, Xander, age 7. My girls are: Jadyn, age 6; Carolyn, age 14; and Danielle, age 26. We have two pets, a dachshund named Hundley, and a Siamese cat named Sam. I worked in childcare and taught preschool at a daycare center and realized that I really wanted to be a teacher. I am also most interested in those early elementary years, and want to teach kindergarten and/or first grade. We live in McPherson, KS, and three years ago we were recipients of a Habitat for Humanity house. This has definitely played a part in my ability to go back to school as a full time student. I will student teach in Spring of 2012. My girls and I have a lot of plans for the summer. My youngest starts Camp Invention tomorrow, and will attend for a week from 9-3:30 every day. We hope to do a lot of fun activities close to home this summer as we don't have a family vacation planned this year. One thing we have planned is to take our telescope up to Coronado Heights and see what we can see. The girls got the telescope for Christmas and we have never had opportunity to use it yet. All us girls have July birthdays and our entire nation takes the day off to celebrate mine!! I will be turning 43 this summer. I can't wait to teach. I also think tutoring will be a great experience.
ReplyDeleteHello to all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Amanda Siebert. After this class, I will be student teaching fall semester at Canton-Galva Elementary and then graduating once again in December! I grew up in a loving Christian family with five siblings in Garden City, Kansas, but now my family and I live in Hillsboro, Kansas due to taking over the family farm. Needless to say, but there wasn’t too many dull moments. Since 2000, I have fallen in love with any mission trips, however, due to summer courses these past two years, I haven’t been able to go on as many mission trips. As of March 4th, I am engaged and so now I am having fun with wedding planning, as well as lessons and tutoring. I chose the field of elementary education because it is another passion of mine. I love to work with kids, challenge them, show them that learning is fun, and to see them believing in themselves. I was first influenced by my third grade teacher who paid attention to all of the students, made learning fun, and encouraged us that we can do better. Well, I look forward to learning more about assessments and much more from this class. Good luck to everyone and I look forward to sharing more ideas about teaching with each other.
Hello! My name is Lindsay Siek! I live in Cimarron, KS with my husband and 18 month old son. I am 25 years old. I have been working as a substitute teacher for the last four years. I love working with children! I have been very lucky to have such amazing teachers to work with. I have wanted to be a teacher for a long time! However, After I found out Mr. Maverick was on the way, I took a break to be a mom! This is my last class before student teaching and I could not be MORE excited!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Melissa Howard, I am 31 years old and live in Abilene, Ks with my husband and 6 year old daughter. My family life is somewhat busy right now as we had a hailstorm last week and my husband is a roofer.
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to be a teacher. I remember wanting to do this since I was in grade school. However, I took an interest in Psychology and ended up getting a degree in that area. After I finished with that degree I decided it was time to go for my Elementary Education Degree. I enjoy taking classes through the internet and if it were not for the internet I don't know if I would be this far in the program. It gets frustrating and I feel like I have no time but I know it will pay off. I hope it will pay off. As always, I am nervous at the beginning of the semester. I do look forward to learning about assessments also.
Hello! I am Lacey Keller of Palco, Kansas, located roughly 45 miles northwest of Hays. I have one 5-year-old son and a wonderful husband, Jeff. My husband and I have a commercial cow/calf operation that takes up all our time and energy! I am a special education para-professional at our local school district, and my husband works as an auto body technician here in Palco. Jamie, our son, will be in kindegarten this fall. He is excited because he gets to ride his bike everyday to school!
ReplyDeleteI will be student teaching in January, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. For the past 4 years, my life has screamed deadlines! Thankfully, I have a wonderful family who understands the life of a student!
My name is George Cody Pickering. I go by Cody. I live in the Oklahoma Panhandle with my wife and two kids. My son Austin is 13 and my baby girl Morgan is 11. I am a firefighter in our little town and a substitute teacher. My family and I enjoy riding four wheelers, hunting, fishing, and anything else we can do outside. I have been taking online classes since 2001 and I hope I will be done sometime this year. I want to teach health and P.E. and coach. I am looking forward to this class and I hope that I can have as much fun in this class as I did in my previous classes.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone! My name is Calee Wick. I was born and raised in Smith Center but I currently live in Natoma with my boyfriend, Michael. We have two dogs, Macey and Sadie. Macey is a two year old Shitzu and Sadie is a six month old German Shorthair Pointer. Michael has a two year old daughter named Lyli. She is a bundle of joy and always makes me smile!
ReplyDeleteLast school year, I worked at Natoma Elementary school as a Para-educator. I plan on being a Para again when August rolls around. Michael also has a full time job of building barbed-wire fence from 7:00 a.m. to whenever it gets dark. Last school year, I unfortunately could not take any classes because I was having trouble passing the Math section of the PPST. Luckily, I passed it! This allowed me to take classes this summer! I only have two classes after this, followed by student teaching and then I will be graduating next May. The end is finally in sight!
Hola! It's interesting to read where everybody is from and what they are doing in life. It makes me feel like I am not alone in this journey. Anyways, my name is Desiree and my friends and family call me Des (Dez). I am 25, turning 26 July 26th, and have a six year old daughter. We just bought a house in Dorrance, KS where I grew up. Dorrance is 45 minutes East of FHSU and about 15 minutes away from Russell where Mrs. Stoppel lives. I believe her daughter Brook and were in the same class when I transferred to Russell for only one semester.
ReplyDeleteLast semester I worked in Ellsworth as a Title Aide. I learned so much about MTSS and just teaching in general from that job. Next semester I will be substituting again and doing my social studies/science internship in Ellsworth I believe. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to teach. My parents would go to auctions and buy me old school desks and I would find used text books and play school in my playhouse. My mom had daycare kids so there was never a shortage of students! As weird as it sounds, I love grading papers! I feel that students don't know what to work on if they don't receive feedback. As a substitute I would stay late and grade papers. That's probably why they always wanted me to sub! I don't have time for many hobbies but the one I love is riding my Harley. I bought my Harley when I was 23 and don't regret it for a minute. My daughter loves riding around town on it but she doesn't like going very far which is fine with me. This summer we plan on doing more poker runs and just riding more.
The person who has inspired me to become a teacher is my Dad. He is illiterate for the most part and I can't understand how this is possible considering he made it to the 8th grade! My goal is to have my degree in Elementary Education by my ten year reunion and I am right on track. My motto has always been slow and steady! It seems I do better this way. I will student teach in January and graduate in May! I can't believe the end is so near. It feels good to know that in less than a year I will have a degree! I will be the only one with a four year degree in my family. I want my daughter to know that it's possible to do what you want to do in life and live a life that you are proud of. Right now I am busy with the move and getting settled in our new home. I'm looking forward to learning so much this summer and feeling more like a professional educator at the end!
Aspen Rank – Introduction
ReplyDeleteHello All!!! My name is Aspen Rank, 27 years old, and I currently live in Hutchinson, Kansas where I am married to an amazing man, Ryan, and have two adorable children. My daughter, Layla, is 3 years old and my son, Bennett, is 1 year old. As you might imagine, most of my time is spent keeping the kids busy and out of trouble, as they are both very, very ornery. When I’m not chasing them and picking up there toys, we are spending time in the pool, at the water park, playing softball, or enjoying time at my parents’ house where my kiddos LOVE to play. In my free time, I love to read books, spend time playing with our sweet new puppy, and most of all spend time with the hubby. When I’m not having fun or spending time with the family, I am doing homework, as I am sure many of you can relate!
I began my college career way back in 2002 when I began the community college and soon graduated with my associate’s degree with a focus on journalism, I love to write! I then moved to Kansas State University where I majored in journalism; however this didn’t last long as I soon discovered this was not the path I wanted to take. I then moved back to Hutchinson where I began back at the community college and got a job as a paraprofessional in a kindergarten room….and this is where it all began! As much as I love writing, I found that after working with these students and others for the next 6 years, my purpose was to be in the classroom, I then decided to start back in college and get my elementary education degree, which leads me to this course! I have a strong passion for helping these students and can’t wait to be able to make a difference in future students’ lives. My ultimate goal is to teach the lower grade levels, but I am not opposed to working with the older levels as well! I plan to complete my minor in special education as well as soon as possible! There is much more to my story of my desire to teach, however I will not bore you all, so if you want to know more about me or my experience in the classroom, please feel free and ask!
Hi! My name is Melissa Gage, my birthday is February 11th and I am 37 years old. I am originally from Uniontown, Kansas. It is a small town in southeast Kansas just west of Fort Scott. My dad has been a high school math teacher for over forty years and my mom has worked as a paraprofessional in the same school district for a number of years. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in.
ReplyDeleteCurrently my husband and I live in Louisburg, Kansas. It is a small town south of Overland Park. Our house is on the market and we have bought a fixer-upper on four acres that is located about three miles from our current home.
My husband and I have three boys who are 10 years old, 7 years old, and 6 months old. We have one dog, named Neko, he is an Alaskan malamute. In my spare time, whenever I have any, I love to read.
The first time I attended college I obtained a degree in Business Administration. I thought that this would be the degree to have because of the number of opportunities available in this field. I never used my Business degree and started substitute teaching when my oldest son turned one. My dad has been my inspiration into teaching. He still after all these years loves what he does and does a great job teaching. I always have a number of his past students that say he was their favorite high school teacher.
I am really looking forward to this class and learning more about teaching reading.
Hello everyone! My name is Corinna Hoyt and I am from Hoxie, KS. I just transferred to FHSU this last year from Pratt Community College. I played basketball at Pratt for two years. I will be a senior next fall majoring in elementary education and also getting a minor in special education. Both of my parents work in the education field. My dad is the superintendent at Hoxie and as well as the K-6 principal at Hoxie Elementary. My mom works for NKESC in Oakley as a special education teacher, but is placed in Hoxie as the head director in special education at Hoxie High. My mom coaches high school girls basketball as well as junior high volleyball, basketball, and track. I have three sisters! My oldest one lives here in Hoxie as well, she has four beautiful children! I spend a lot of time with my three nieces and nephews. My other older sister just moved out to Reno,Nevada for a coaching job at the university. She just graduated with her Master's degree in communications this last spring. My younger sister will be in the 8th grade this coming school year and is a typical junior high girl! Growing up in a home with both parents as teachers and coaches, it only makes sense that that is what I wish to do. I absolutely love working with kids! Basketball is a huge part of my family's life and I have played since I was little. So, I love playing basketball and coaching it as well. I will be coaching at Felten Middle School in Hays next year for girls volleyball and basketball. I also enjoy spending time with my family, playing sports, being outside, and scrap-booking. My family and my faith are the two most important things to me. I spend a lot of time with my family as we are all very close. My faith is very important to me and is the number one thing in my life.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited about this course, however a bit nervous! But, I have had a class in the past with Mrs. Stoppel and I know she is good and will make it easier than it seems! I can't wait to learn more about teaching reading and all the assessing and diagnostic testing that goes along with it!
My name is Jessica Cochran and I live in Abilene, KS with my husband and my 1 year old son. I have been taking classes from FHSU for 2 years now and I will graduate this December. I am very excited for student teaching in the fall.
ReplyDeleteFor the past 3 years I have been a special education para-educator. I absolutely loved my job and I am extremely sad to be leaving, but I am very excited to be student teaching. I am also an assistant volleyball coach for middle school.
In my free-time, which I don't have much of, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, scrapbooking, and sewing.
I'm looking forward to all of the things this class has to offer. I'm also excited to learn more about reading and different reading strategies.
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ReplyDeleteHello all! This is my 4th semester at FHSU, but my first summer session - I'm a little nervous to cram all this in to two months. Our house is extremely busy in the summer. My wonderful husband is a teacher and works summers at the Coop. He's still at work now - harvest has begun! We have 5 children, 3 that all play softball/tball. So, we are running all over for the next game or practice. Speaking of running, our 2 year old twin boys don't stop until they are asleep.
ReplyDeleteWe have one cat - Dakota. My parents live right down the road and have a ranch with all kinds of animals. We live in the country near the town of Cheney, KS (my husband and I's hometown).
I love spending time with our family, going to the lake, playing ball with our children and watching old movies.
Since second grade I have wanted to be a teacher. Mrs. Goss (my second grade teacher) was a tremendous teacher and huge influence towards my love for teaching. After high school I got a business degree - it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I wanted to make the big bucks. I was miserable at work, but found so much joy every Sunday working in the Kid's ministry. Finally, my wonderful husband encouraged me to fulfill my dream of teaching. Thanks to the wonderful online program at FHSU, I can take the steps to make that happen.
Brandi Schroeder
Hello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kate Tearney, I am 22, and I am very excited to be taking this course during the summer. I write to you from my home in Shawnee, Kansas which is where I was born and raised. I have been a student with FHSU’s virtual college and have gained so much from my experiences with the courses and internships. I am so thankful that I followed my heart in pursuing teaching because I have been interested in teaching since I was a high school student. I had several inspirational teachers that encouraged me to study education in college and it has been an incredible experience for me.
I look forward to student teaching in a first-grade classroom in the Shawnee Mission school district this fall. Aside from taking classes and preparing for student teaching, I enjoy chatting with friends over Skype, visiting Nashville, cooking, swing dancing, and spending time outside. I have spent time volunteering in elementary schools, working as a bridal consultant, and working as a sales specialist for Apple Inc. I don’t have any pets, I was born the day before Halloween, and I love discussing new ideas! Have a great summer!
Aspen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about yourself! I loved reading your introduction and you seem like someone who is easy to relate to. I think that this characteristic will serve you well when you are interacting with your peers and with the students. Keep up the good work and don't let life get too crazy! I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.
Hello everyone! My name is Joel and I live in Park City, KS. It is just north of Wichita, KS. I married to my amazing wife for three years tomorrow. I am a finish trim carpenter in the Wichita area and enjoy working with wood. I am also a high school basketball coach and I have always enjoyed working with kids. I enjoy watching them reach a new level and improve on a weekly basis. I want to work with elementary children because they seem to soak up everything that comes out of your mouth. They are a joy to be around and my desire is to teach them to love to learn.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone!
ReplyDeleteI’m Nöelle Pohl; I have been married 4 1/2 years, and I am 28 years old. I am a Senior FHSU virtual student, majoring in Elementary Education and minoring in Special Education. I have hopes of eventually becoming a Special Ed. or Reading specialist teacher and then on to an Elementary school Principal. I am from a small town in Northeastern Kansas; Atchison. I live on a farm with my husband, Ryan and our dog Bailey. We had our first child last July, a son, Henry and are very excited (and busy to say the least) to be new parents. He is just an amazing 11 month old, keeping us on my toes. We are very exited to celebrate his 1st birthday next month!
I love being outdoors, hunting, fishing and running. I have a passion for baking as well; I am a Culinary Arts major who decided that the education field was also something I wanted to get into. I bake and decorate wedding cakes in my free time. I will begin student teaching, fall 2012. I see myself in 5 years at a wonderful elementary school teaching 3rd graders or being a great reading coach and becoming a great mentor to my students now and into their futures.
I have held 3 long term substitute positions for the Leavenworth and Atchison school districts and truly appreciate these opportunities that were available to me. I have always had a love for children and the need to help them grow. Seeing a child retain information and understand what you just taught them is the greatest feeling of all! I am a very independent person and I love the flexibility of our courses.
My grandmother was a big influence on my decision to go into the education field. She taught elementary school and was also an elementary counselor. Seeing her enjoy her job to the fullest and helping students showed me that was something I wanted to do as well. At the end of the day, I feel great about what a difference I make as a substitute and eventually a great educator!
I feel that one of the biggest challenges facing teachers to day is keeping up with the ever changing curriculum! As we all say, “What I learned in my "day" is not what or the ways our children are learning now!” I know teachers expect this to happen but with so much to already deal with it are just one more piece of the puzzle I want to get into! We can say, “Oh I like kids... I can teach,” but what is a teacher? I want to learn all the inn’s and outs of the whole education field. Learning and understanding how I can become a great mentor, helping one child or class at a time. I am 3 1/2 years into learning and truly do enjoy it! I am a very self-driven person and this opportunity of schooling was something I knew I could handle.
As far as networking for this summer term Corr. Of Reading Disabilities course, I am looking to meet individuals who have the same goals and aspirations as me and ideas to share along the way. I, being a substitute teacher for some years have enjoyed how the teachers (now my close friends and confidants) have helped me along the way. They have shared teaching techniques with me and I have done the same! Feels great when an idea you have created is accepted and used by veteran teachers.
I am hoping to gain a vast amount of information in this course about the differences in our world today and in the past. Education has always fascinated me and I strive to better myself in the understanding that each child is different with different strengths/weaknesses. When I understand those differences, I in turn; will become a better teacher learning from them.
~Nöelle Pohl
Hello everyone.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Thresa Lassiter as and usual, I am late on blogging about myself! I live in Denison, Ks which is about thirty miles North of Topeka and East about fifteen. I am 43 years old and have been married for 5 years. Between the two of us we have four boys ages 24, 22, 21 and 16 along with a 16 month old grandson, a 10 month old granddaughter and another one on the way-due in December. We also have a terrier named Sam who is like one of the kids!
I love working with older elementary to middle school age students. I currently teach middle school Sunday school. I have done a lot of substitute teaching the last year and have had the opportunity to be in many different classrooms. It’s amazing some of the small things you can pick up along the way.
My hobbies include gardening and especially reading. I usually have about 4 different books I am usually reading at the same time. I love reading historical/Christian fiction.
My name is Jenni Pelland I am married and have 3 wonderful children. My eldest son, Dylan is 12 almost 13, my daughter Bailey is 10, and my youngest son Kaiser is 8. We have lived in Pratt, Kansas for 10 years and really enjoy it. I love to read, scrapbook, camp, and shop when I have time and spend most of my time watching or driving my children to their many sporting events. We have two dogs one female lab and a very portly male beagle mix, and 4 water turtles. I did not finish my first degree many years ago in Finance and have now found what I truly enjoy which is working with children. My first experience with teaching was through Vacation Bible School at our church after that moment I knew I had to get more involved. Watching how important my children’s teachers have been in their educational journey made me want to do it to, unfortunately also watching other teachers who just shouldn’t be in the schools made me want to get in there just as much. I prefer the younger elementary age children just because it is easier for me to connect with them. I will graduate in May 2012 with a degree in Elementary Education and a Minor in Special Education. It is so nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!! I look forward to working with you all this semester.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI name is Susanna Yust. I am married and live in Dallas, TX. We recently moved here as my husband is going to UNT for graduate school. I am from a huge family, so it is hard to be so far away. I was born in Warsaw, NY, but moved to Kansas when I was in first grade. I grew up in Winona, KS and miss the small town life! My husband has a snake (I do not consider this my pet by any means). Currently do not have any kids, however have three nephews and two nieces that keep us busy when we are home!!
I work full-time at Forever 21. I am a head cashier and manager of the shoe department. It gets pretty crazy there during the summer, but I am hoping I will be able to juggle work and still find time to get the tutoring done. I already feel that I will be pushing it this summer, so prayers are welcome!!!! I will be graduating in May 2012 with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education. I hope to eventually be teaching middle school mathematics and possibly science. I also look forward to coaching or assistant coaching volleyball and/or basketball!! My summer is going to be pretty hectic as my husband is traveling back to Kansas to work harvest and High Plains Band Camp at Fort Hays. Excited to get to know all of you throughout the semester and good luck to everyone!!
Hello Everyone! My name is Alexandra Westfall, but all my friends and family call me Alex. I am 23 years old and currently live in Petersburg, WV. I say currently because I just found out three days ago that I’m moving to Elkins, WV (a town about an hour and a half away). So this summer semester and even the fall, when I’m doing my student teaching is going to be very busy with moving. I am also getting married Sept. 24 this fall to a wonderful man named Richie. We have one son, Owen together, along with a big dog named Leeroy (half St. Bernard, half black lab), two cats, (Benji and Black Cat) and 6 chickens. In my spare time (which I do not have very often), I like to cook, travel, watch movies, and make everything I will need for my wedding.
ReplyDeleteThis may sound corny, but I’m in Elementary education because it’s what I’ve always wanted to do/ felt like I should do. I fought it for a while (because of advice from teachers from my high school) but I just couldn’t stay away. Ever since I switched my major over to education, I have loved every second of it. It has already been very rewarding and I know that will continue to prove to be true. There were two teachers who really inspired me: my fourth and fifth grade teacher (same person; she moved up during the summer in between) and a high school teacher I had named Mr. Oldaker. They were both motivating, pushed you to do well and really were concerned about their students.