NAME:
Carol Deditch
EDUCATION:
Western Oklahoma State College; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
CLASS:
8th grade English
SCHOOL PHONE:
765-454-7065 ext. 329
(The picture above was taken in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in July of
2010. The ship in the background is the Mayflower II which is a replica of
the original Mayflower. The Mayflower II left Brixham, England, and crossed
the Atlantic Ocean in 1957. On the sidebar, click Motivated Learner to trace
the journey of Mayflower II.)
I was born in Lake Wales, Florida. When I was your age, I lived in the
panhandle of the state. During spring break when many of you visit Panama
City and Destin, you are enjoying the area I call home. In addition to
Florida, I have lived in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and
Indiana. Five years of my life were spent in Okinawa and the Philippine
Islands. I met my husband when I was 15 years old, and we have been
together ever since. I have 4 children and 14 grandchildren, and I consider
myself to be very lucky. All of my family live here in the Kokomo area, and
as you can imagine, holidays at my house are very loud. I was a stay-at-
home mom until my youngest daughter was a senior in high school, and then I
began teaching English at Kokomo High School. I asked to be assigned to
LPMS in 1998,and now I teach 8th grade English and 8th grade KUDOS.
I have always had a passion for flowers, and I find contentment working
in my yard. I love to photograph my grandchildren, my flowers, and
the "critters" that visit my garden. I also enjoy traveling, crocheting,
working crossword and sudoku puzzles, and reading. This summer, I began
taking painting classes, and even though I will never make any money from my
efforts, I find it to be relaxing and rewarding.
I teach because every day is a new and different day. Students are
kids, and sometimes they say the funniest things. I'll never forget
Melinda, who told the class she was born in Louisiana. When they doubted
her, she spouted back that she WAS born in Louisiana, and she had a gift
certificate to prove it! More recently, there was an incident a few years
ago when classes were meeting in the media center instead of the classroom.
I left a huge sign in the room to remind students to bring all their
supplies and report to the media center. When only about 8 students in the
first class showed up in the media center, I asked one of them where
everyone else was. The answer? "They're sitting in the classroom trying to
figure out what report you want them to bring." Students bring laughter to
my life and happiness to my heart. What better reward is there than to have
a once-troublesome 8th-grade boy see you in a store 14 years later, give you
a big bear hug, and tell you how great his life is going now?
JOYS: There are many things that thrill me. One of them is when I see the
reaction students have when they have learned something new or completed
something that was challenging. I especially enjoy teaching poetry, and I am
always amazed at the insightful and poignant poems that my 13, 14, 15 year
old students create. Who can doubt the power of a line like "God has never
spoken to me, but I have spoken to him many times"? A special day is the day
when the 8th grade portfolios are handed in for evaluation. Students
are so proud of their work and their faces are beaming with pride. My heart
sings when previous students take the time to visit, call, write, or email me
long after they have left the eighth grade. Former students like Yu Jiang,
Heather Novinger, Katie Owings, Jason Lynch, Brice Anderson, and countless
others remind me often exactly why I enjoy teaching so much.
PET PEEVE: One of my biggest pet peeves is a student asking a question and
then not bothering to listen to the answer...grrr.
WORDS WITH BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS: onomatopoeia, tintinnabulation, effinineffable,
marmelade, lullaby, mom (daughter #1), mum (son), mother (daughter #2), and
mamacita (daughter #3).