Growing up, I wasn't perfect. My family would LOVE to tell you stories about me when I was little. I used to argue with my parents about going to bed, and I'd fall asleep on the couch with my Raggedy Ann and Monkey Blanket, both of which I still have. (Actually, sometimes I still fall asleep on the couch!)
My parents always taught me to ask, "Why?" which might be one of the reasons I loved learning. (I think later on when I was a teenager, they probably regretted encouraging me to question things so much!) When my dad got home from work, he always watched the evening news before dinner, so I watched it with him, even though I didn't always understand everything. (I still like to keep up with the news.) My parents always tried to answer my questions--about everything--the best they could. When I asked, "Why did the family in the movie musical The Sound of Music have to leave their home?" my dad showed me a world map and taught me about World War II. When I asked, "What does 3x2 mean?" my mom drew me a picture of two groups of 3 circles in each group. If I wasn't satisfied that the explanation given answered my question, like the time I wondered, "How did the person on T.V. do that?" and the answer was eventually, "trick photography," then I was driven to research things myself.
When I started third grade, way back in 1982, I was involved in the kinds of activities most kids do now: I was a Brownie, rode my bike, took ballet classes, and swam at the pool down the street. I didn't, however, listen to songs on my iPod, play games on an XBox 360, surf the internet, or take pictures of my friends with my cell phone; those things had simply not been invented yet! One of my friends did have an Atari system, and we played video games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders. My family went to the beach a lot in the summer. I aspired to be an astronaut (like Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut) AND a ballerina!
I also loved reading. Nancy Drew mysteries were my favorite when I was 8, and I used to scour the used book store and garage sales for old copies in good condition, which I kept. Every Saturday morning after getting my allergy shots at the doctor's office, my mom or dad would take me to the library so I could check out books, like Russian Folk Tales for the amazing illustrations, and books about ballet.
My mother used to read the book Petunia to me when I was little, creating funny voices for each of the characters, which made me giggle. Every Christmas Eve, my dad would read The Night Before Christmas, and he would always mess up some of the lines on purpose to make us laugh. Whenever I'm with them for Christmas Eve, I still make him read it, just so I can wait to hear him say, "And laying a finger inside of his nose," instead of "aside," and things like that. I guess you could say that my parents inspired me to read books aloud in an entertaining way. It's one of things I enjoy most about being a teacher, because my students seem to enjoy listening, and I think it encourages them to want to become better readers themselves.
Always setting high expectations for myself, the most challenging thing for me to learn was how to try new things without being afraid of not getting it right the first time. Sometimes it's scary to take risks, but the results can be rewarding if you just go for it!
When I was in high school, I was pretty busy. I took the most challenging classes I could, was in lots of clubs, wrote stories and poems for the literary magazine, was top officer for the Tigerettes dance/drill team [look for the picture of me in a "Future Tigerette" t-shirt above], and hung out with my friends. At home, I used to relax by sitting in my room, listening to music; my first job was in a music store, and I loved getting paid to listen to music all day long!
After I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to go to college, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to study. Most people pick one thing (called a "major"), but just like when I was little, I was curious about many things, not just one. Becoming a teacher was always in the back of my mind, because as a Tigerette, I taught 100 girls how to dance routines every day. Eventually, I decided that teaching was the PERFECT thing for me to do, because I loved kids and could learn about and teach new things all the time!
I served my teaching internships in a first grade class at Andrews Elementary and in a fourth grade class at Casis Elementary, both in the Austin Independent School District. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin with two degrees [a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science] by completing three majors [English, History, and Applied Learning & Development] in five years, I became a certified teacher.
While at UT, I fell in love with the Austin area, and I knew I'd make it my home. In the year 2000, I married my husband, David. (We like to joke that we got married that year so he'd never forget how many years we've been married.) Little did I know in college that I would get married in a 100-year-old, limestone church next door to Kinsolving Dormitory, where I lived my first two years at UT. Our first son, Wilson, was born last spring.
I began my career in a rural school district outside of Austin, teaching 6th grade English one year and 4th grade for two. This is my ninth year at Jollyville, and I LOVE being a jaguar! One of the most rewarding things about teaching at one school for several years is seeing how much my former students have grown and learned, and I welcome visits and emails from them.
Contact Information
School Phone/Voicemail: 428-2231
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Petunia was originally published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1950 and reprinted by Dragonfly Books in 2002. All rights reserved. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by any of the publishers, and any copyright material appearing on this site complies with fair or acceptable use principles established in U.S. and International copyright law for the purpose of review, study, criticism, or news reporting.