 Personal Background
I was born in Laramie, Wyoming in 1956. http://www.laramie.org/ My father was a Church of Christ minister. When I was six we moved to Bakersfield, California where I was raised. http://www.ci.bakersfield.ca.us/ Bakersfield at that time was a suburban agricultural community. My family was a typical 60's middle class family. (The Wonder Years is one of my favorite tv shows because I was the same age as Kevin growing up in the late 60's early 70's).
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My mother was a home economics teacher. I have three older sisters and a younger brother. We are all spaced five years apart. I attended elementary and junior high a block away from our home. East Bakersfield High School http://www.khsd.k12.ca.us/east/ had about 3000 students. I was a cheerleader but my greatest interest was choir.
Significant Personal and Technology Events in My Life
In high school I took all the business courses they offered such as Typing I & II, Shorthand I & II, and Business machines. My business teacher would have said I was not one of her better students. That did not keep me from majoring in Business Administration at Abilene Christian University. http://www.acu.edu/ In the late seventies there was not much technology to be found in the way of personal computers. When I returned to ACU six years later to obtain my Business teaching certification they had brand new computer labs for my three required computer courses. I was very intimidated as the older one in the class, but realized I was very interested in technology.
Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher
As a Marketing/Management major I didn't ever imagine myself as a teacher. I married a Biology teacher and we had two children. Being around the world of education, I realized that I was missing out on a very rewarding field that would also be very conducive to raising a family. The first six years of teaching on electric typewriters turned into computers without hard drives, and has evolved over the 16 years I have been teaching into the wonderful XP lab I have today.
Preparing to Teach
My high school business teacher was a very stiff, cranky lady. I knew I didn't want to be like her. My classroom would be a fun place to learn. Relating to students is 90% of the joy of teaching. My first year I was very nervous and felt inadequate in how to teach. The only way I survived was by doing the assignments and learning along with the kids. I have never been afraid to admit that I don't know something. I have learned something new everyday through mentor teachers, reading, and just diving in and not being afraid of the technology. This year I am starting over again with learning new subject matter in Web authoring and Multimedia. I am much more confident now because I know I can learn just about anything. Foremost, teaching is about loving kids. After that everything else falls into place.
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