NAME:
Catherine Hobbs
SCHOOL:
West Elementary
CLASS:
1st Grade
SCHOOL PHONE:
(615)758-5846
This is my 8th year at West Elementary and my 6th year teaching first
grade. I am currently working on my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction
with an emphasis as a Reading Specialist. I have a 3 year old daughter named
Laura, a 5yr. old son named Blake, and a 2 year old Golden Retriever named
Bo. My husband Jeremy and I have been married for 7 years. He is a
firefighter and a mechanic. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful
family!
I love first grade! I get so excited when I hear them read to me
for the first time! It is so rewarding.
Please feel free to come to me with questions of any sort about your child's
performance. As a parent, I know how important your child's education is!
My Philosophy of Teaching
As I step into my classroom every morning, I am three people in one. I am an
educator, a student, and a parent. Therefore, I teach from three points of
view. I do not hold any of these three roles any more important than the
other. Each is unique in its ownership of a desired result. This trinity
defines my unending avidity to be of service to my students.
I believe my role as the educator is to provide an inviolable environment
where my students can experience the value of trust. Building trust is the
key to student self-worth. I believe that once this is established, learning
is held to NO limits. From the highest reader to the child who sees his
words backwards, trust is what allows them to become vulnerable and let me
in. Then and only then can my work with them be effective.
I believe my role as a student in my classroom is to model that you never
stop learning and that sometimes learning from them are my best lessons
learned. I teach my students that they must make ownership their first
priority. I show my students that I am accountable for everything I say and
do. I tell them that every time they put their name at the top of their
paper that everything that is below it is a reflection of them. Whether it
is their wonderful handwriting or their heartfelt explanation of why they
value their mother. I teach and model to them that they can take pleasure in
their work and be proud of who they are becoming. I express to them every
day that the respect that they have for themselves will be evident to other
people. When others see this it will act as a magnet and other classmates
will want that self satisfaction.
I believe my role as a parent in my classroom is to nurture each student as
if they were my own child. Like a parent, I envision futures for each of my
students along with the teaching of carrying high expectations as a
priority. Like a parent, I model and teach them strategies on how to seek
out solutions to problems not excuses. And most importantly, like a parent I
teach my students that it is admirable to show high regard for authority.
As Stephen R. Covey said, "Accountability breeds response-ability." And I
truly believe that my students have higher self-worth and confidence because
I teach and model these things.
My Greatest Accomplishment in Education
Imagine getting up every day to go to school and feeling less capable than
your peers. I felt this way. As I journeyed through my whole school
experience, I was consumed with my struggle to read without difficulty and
apply the skills that, I did not understand, to achieve fluency and
comprehension. I barely passed each grade level. My parents tried to help
me but did not know how. Despite my troubles, I still loved school and loved
my friends. When I reached the 5th grade, I had no confidence in my
abilities. I wasn’t even sure if they existed inside of me anymore. My
teacher had no tolerance for my shortcomings. She would pick on me and
discuss my difficulties in front of the class. I asked her for help,
sometimes with tears in my eyes, and she never reached out to help me.
Instead, she placed me in the back of the room with a box of SRA’s to do. I
wanted to please her and for her to like me so bad, but she never gave me her
time. I remember sitting there feeling alone and consumed with my struggle.
I was so striped of my confidence that I began trying to bend my pinky finger
in hopes that it would break, just so I could go home. I was defeated! My
low reading ability in combination with my teacher had eroded me. Yet
somehow, with my parents by my side, I took what was left of me and pressed
on. My continued journey through middle and high school was rigorous. I
rarely felt successful and was reluctant to take risks. My determination is
what was driving me at this point. College was tough at first because my
first year I was required to take study skills classes, remedial reading and
remedial math. These classes were wonderful! I had professors that cared why
I didn’t understand and helped me find my way of doing it, not just teaching
me their way. It was then that I realized my calling. I wanted to be a
teacher! My confidence in myself and in teachers was restored. I understood
now how my journey defined me. I had won my battle. I am in my 7th year of
teaching and I love and embrace my job. I tell you this story to say
that “I” am my greatest accomplishment. My greatest contribution comes
everyday when I walk into my classroom, see those little faces, and give them
my all.
"I cannot be a teacher without exposing who I am."
-Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom
Our mission is to do our best work and to have a positive attitude about
learning.
"The student is infinitely more important than the subject matter."
-Nel Noddings
