New Beginings

It's my Mississippi!
I was born July, 12 1981 at Jefferson Davis Memorial Hospital in Natchez, Mississippi. My mother is originaly from Scotland (hence my unusual first name) and my father was born and raised in Mississippi (some of his ancestors founded Mississippi). When I was in 8th grade my family moved to Fulton, MS in the northeast part of the state. Four and half years later I started my first semester as a freshman at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. I met my husband James in June of 2002 in Oxford, MS (he is from Water Valley, MS) and we were married in Natchez on March 8th, 2003. This summer I will move to the infamous Mississippi Delta to teach at a critical need school through the Mississippi Teacher Corps program. I have been placed at Eastwood Junior High in Cleveland, Mississippi. This summer I am student teaching at Oxford Middle School with Ms. Barnes's 7th and 8th grade summer school class. I am also taking classes towards my masters degree.

me An englandish taechr?
So, Friday I went and visited the school I will teach at this Fall. It is open plan! The school recently had short partition type walls put up to give a little bit more of a distinction between classrooms, and to give the teachers a little more privacy. However, the principal warned me that noise is still an issue. Yeah! I am not only supposed to keep control of my students, but I am also supposed to conduct my classes using my "library voice". Speaking of libraries, the principal would not let me see theirs, but told me it is very small. On a happier note, the principal was pleased to hear I had journalism experience. It seems she is interested in starting a school newspaper (it is a junior high school: 7th and 8th grades). No one knows whether I will teach 7th grade English or 8th grade English. Not that is matters right now because I can't pick my books up until July--they are otherwise in use right now. I am a little bit scared about teaching 7th or 8th grade English. I would feel more competent teaching Social Studies at any grade level or higher level English. I like literature a lot more than I like grammar. After so many years of trying to fine tune my journalistic English skills (English according to the Associated Press handbook) I have purposely erased all my understanding of traditional English grammar. Now, I am working on relearning it so that I can teach it correctly... ...lets hope I don't ruin their lives (and their understanding of basic English grammar).
James and Isla sitting in a tree...
Don't worry their is no baby carriage announcement coming anytime soon. No, we are just moving--once again! I still haven't unpacked everything from when we moved last June. It looks like we might be moving to Clarksdale or Marks or someplace like that. I am now an employee of the Cleveland School District, but my husband is employeed in Batesville, Mississippi. We both are students at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. I am a graduate student working on a Masters in Arts and Education through the Mississippi Teacher Corps program. My husband, James, has a few hours left toward his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He will graduate May 2005, I will graduate May 2006, and then what? Who knows? Only time will tell.