freesparrow

I have been in Memphis, TN, for three years now as part of the Memphis Teacher Residency. I am originally from California (not 'cali' or 'socal') and while I was there I got the bug for teaching when I homeschooled a brother and sister for a year. In my residency year here, I got to teach 11th grade English Honors, AP Language and AP Literature. I loved getting to teach at that level, but I wanted to get kids at an earlier, more pliable, age. For the last two years I have been teaching 8th grade, and while it is rough, I LOVE IT! I love my crazy, honest, wild adolescents and wouldn't have it any other way.

I am a fan of: literature circles, getting to know your students, having honest discussions, teaching students organization and reflection, newsela.com, common core (though it has yet to arrive for real in TN), knowing your content, exposing kids to great literary works so they love it too, speaking to 13 year olds as if they are closer to adults than children, residencies for teachers, peer evaluation, coplanning with other super qualified people, working hard, setting boundaries, modeling love and patience when I can't preach the gospel, telling funny stories, and posting endless stories about my kids on facebook because I ADORE them.

I am a third year teacher, so really what could I put here? Please choose my products if they are high quality and worthwhile; I think they are because I spend hours researching and creating them, usually because there isn't anything decent on the internet.

I graduated high school with a semester of AP credits and 8th in my class. I went to Hope International University, in Fullerton, CA, where I majored in English, but had a fair amount of random "what will I do in life?" classes like stained glass and czech women's literature (during my semester in Prague). I graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2005. After a stint as a server in various fine dining establishments, I moved to Memphis to be part of the Memphis Teacher Residency in 2011, where I earned a Master's of Urban Education in one year (with a 4.0) while student teaching 11th grade and AP classes. I am a serious student y'all. So I am also a serious teacher.

I am married to the handsome devil pictured above- spencer smith. He is a graphic designer which has taught me a lot in how to communicate my messages to students. He is also a musician and is about to drop a new album. www.spencerwsmith.com We also have three nieces, a nephew, and a kitten. Life is good.