It's All About Me...

Sitting at a desk writing ad copy and press releases were my daily tasks.  As the years passed by, the monotony of the “daily grind” began to wear on my heart and my mind.  I began to search my soul for the reasons why I was working in the advertising industry and the reasons I came up with were few.  All the while that I was working in “Corporate America,” I was also teaching color guard and dance at a local high school.  It became glaringly apparent that I was gleaning more personal satisfaction from the work I was doing with my students versus the work I was doing for the public eye.  I realized that the impact I was able to have in the lives of the students in the color guard program had given me a sense of fulfillment and worth that I would never feel or find in my advertising work.  I wanted to be able to leave this world knowing that the contributions of my time, energies, and passions made a difference and, for me, education is the outlet for that goal.

As a teacher, you hold the key to propelling students beyond what they think they are capably of into a realm of potential and possibilities that gives them hope for a future.  Teachers must be passionate about their job, committed to excellence, and convicted by the needs of their students.  A teacher has tremendous influence on their students and the responsibility to impart knowledge in a passionate way is both exciting and intriguing to me.  It is for this reason that I am currently enrolled at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Alternative Master’s Program to receive a Master’s degree in Secondary Education. 

My certification area will be in English Language Arts because I have always loved to create with the written word and read the creations of others.  During my undergraduate years, I thought that I could take this passion and put it towards a corporate end.  However, it is the teaching and training of literature and writing that is more intriguing to me now than the output of such works.  I am so excited to show students how what they read and how they write will impact their future opportunities and overall potential.

To learn more about me and why I want to teach English Language Arts, please visit the “About Me” and “About this Class” sections of my wiki page at mrsfitchpatrick.wikispaces.com.