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Cathy,

I remember you saying that you teach middle school. May I ask what subject and if you used anything besides that wonderful powerpoint of yours to incorporate Yankee into the classroom?
How did the kids react to him?
I am thinking about becoming an English teacher and would love to be able to incorporate birds into the classroom. Perhaps through descriptive writing?

Since I am seventeen and a junior in high school, the college search has begun and I've been thinking about my future.

On another note, what made you want to become a teacher?

Ah so many questions! I do hope I am not being a bother...

Ashley, if I found questions to be a bother, I would be a pretty poor teacher! I was asked to teach Bible School for a pre-school age class at the age of 12. No one else wanted to do it and it was instantly apparent to me that I had found my vocation. The rest as they say, is history! Really, I have always loved working with children. I much prefer children and animals to many adults, present readers excluded, of course!

I started teaching pre-school when my sons were little so that I could earn a little extra money as a "stay-at-home" mother. I gradually moved up to the middle school age. I taught social studies to gifted 6-8 grade students. I "incorportated" Yankee into the classroom with my 6th graders who were studying S. America and of course, I had to share him with my other students. They were all fascinated and their many questions led to the much-longer PPP that you saw.

There are so many ways to bring birds into a classroom discussion and they make wonderful writing topics. I even had a couple of students who completed PPP on other birds for extra credit. Some of my 7th grade students chose to report on birds from Australia when we were studying Oceania. We talked about the SC parrot that became extinct in 8th grade Georgia Studies.

I also used my PP to talk about technology and my students showed me some things that I "should have done" to make it better. I also used it to demonstrate ...

I am moving to north Georgia in a couple of weeks and will be teaching "Reading Across the Curriculum" and I intend to take Yankee to school there as well. He is so funny, that I am sure that he will provide many educational opportunities. I also take him so that he doesn't have to be "home alone!" Yank doesn't consider my p'let or my Yorkie as company. They are way beneath him!!! Hopefully, my new principal will agree.

Teaching is a wonderful career IF you possess unlimited patience, and most commited bird owners have more patience than most people. I wish you the best if you choose to go into education.

I too find animals and children better than adults with some exceptions, of course.

I did want to go into animal behavior, but I found that training people wasn't really "my thing." Education just seems more natural since I've been involved with it since second grade when my mother was a preschool teacher and I helped out with her students. All throughout her substitute days, I helped out with her classes and still do now that she's a fourth grade math teacher.
I'm told I have a patient personality, so I hope that's true! I was able to work with a fourth grade student who reads at a first grade level one-on-one, which kind of got to me.

Wow! You seem like a very creative person. Unless your new school is as strict as mine is, you'll be fine.
(Elementary children aren't even supposed to bring in cupcakes for their birthdays, and no animals are allowed, excluding the drug sniffing dogs of course. We're not even in a bad area.)
I'm sure your new principal will love your PowerPoint if he/she sees it and how educational it is. Plus, Yankee can always win him/her over with his personality.

Lol! Yankee is definitely a caique!

Oh, how is Yankee handling the moving preparations? I'd love to see what he'd do to the boxes if he got hold of them!

Ashley, I shouldn't tell you this because I sure don't want you to get into trouble, BUT my philosophy is "to ask forgiveness, NOT permission." Unless there are rules that are stated or written, then I choose to use my professional opinion.

I think that kids should be allowed to bring cupcakes to school, even if they have to share them at lunch and the "noise" in my classroom is constructive and educational and most administrators leave me alone at my ripe old age. I do get good results and kids want to be in my class and the parents like and respect me, so...

Just be sure that when you look for a teaching job that you don't settle with one that you wouldn't LOVE for your own children to attend. I am leaving my system, because I can no longer say that. Tenure just isn't worth compromising my values and beliefs. Wish me luck, I am moving 3 hours away from our home and starting a new job in August.

That sounds like a good philosophy! Perhaps I will adopt that once I've been in the same district for a few years.

Yeah, kids should be allowed to do that. Trying telling an excited first-grader not to! Actually, try telling the parents. lol I don't agree with the banning of all food and some other items, but I only have one more year before graduation.
That's wonderful that the parents respect you like that. My mother often has a lot of problems with parents, but that might have to do with the fact that her students are a lot younger.

I doubt I could ever settle for a job without respecting coworkers and administration. I, like you, would never compromise my values and beliefs.

I wish you all the luck in the world, but I doubt you need it! I'm sure you'll do wonderfully starting your new job. I wish you extra luck to get through the stress of moving though!

I must correct one misconception. I have great respect for most of my fellow teachers. They are extremely hard working. Most don't have the option of moving. My family is mostly gone and I only have 5 years before I want to retire, so I can. The problems that I have are with the administration. I believe that if you see something wrong and all of your efforts can't fix it then you need to do something else. I am taking the last option.

Oh! I did not mean to imply that the I thought there was fault with your fellow teachers. I was simply "thinking out loud" if that makes sense.

You are lucky for having the option of leaving since you have tried everything else without luck.

There is a whole other group of children just waiting for a teacher like you.

Hopefully, the administration at your new district has less faults than your old one.