I became interested in teaching when I was in high school quite by accident. I was a fairly good student when it came to grades but behaving in class was another story. After releasing a lizard on the teachers desk I was sent to my favorite assistant principal’s office again. The teacher refused to allow me to return into her class and the assistant principal had to place me somewhere for an entire period for the rest of the quarter. He decided that I needed to learn what it was like to teach students who could never seem to behave appropriately, so he arranged for me to work with a behavior disorder teacher at the middle school. I thought what a deal! I looked at it as an easy way to get an A, receive credit and get out of class at the same time! I walked in on the first day and met the teacher that would be working with me and my stomach balled up into a knot. It was the one and only Mrs. Yarbrough (unrelated) that had made my life miserable in middle school. I am sure she had the same reaction as I when she saw my face. After all I was the student that caused teachers to cringe at the mention of my name. We stared at each other for a while like two dogs sizing up their opponent before a fight. After the initial shock of seeing each other once again we finally spoke to one another and she tried her best to keep from showing her disdain for having to teach me again. That first day was a quiet one as I watched her teach the younger kids from the chair in the corner of the room. In the following days I was allowed to interact a little more with the kids and I started to get the hang of working with them. About two weeks into the program Mrs. Yarbrough talked with me after school and confided in me that as much as she couldn’t believe it I had a real talent for teaching kids. She mentioned to me that I was a different person than she had taught several years before. As time went on she allowed me to come up with a lesson and teach it to the class. By the end of the 8 week program I was teaching many of the lessons and she had a new found respect for her “problem” student. After that quarter I had a new respect for the teaching profession and the thought of teaching again was always in the back of my mind. After graduating college in 1999 I started teaching at a small school in Alabama and then moved on to Fayette County in 2001. I have enjoyed teaching ever since and hope to continue in the future.

Education:

B.S. Biology: State University of West Georgia 1997

M.S. Biology: State University of West Georgia 1999

Teaching Certification: State University of West Georgia 1999

Hobbies:

Fishing, Hunting, Golf, Football, Traveling