I wanted a pet rat when I was younger (mostly because of Harry Potter.) My parents got me gerbils instead. Do you think that you may continue volleyball one day, perhaps as a coach? Your story would be very good for inspiring team building. But I suppose it could work just as well in a classroom environment too!
I've had friends with gerbils and they had mixed reviews about them. I hope yours were a good experience! I would love to continue volleyball as a coach. I was never the best player and had to work to gain a reputation on the court. Where I excelled was as a coach. I coached middle school volleyball for four years and was also recruited to coach summer camps and individual lessons for middle school and early high school aged kids. I suppose what I learned could be a great experience to bring into the classroom as well. In volleyball, you have no choice but to work as a team to succeed. I hated group work,even in college, because I was always the student who did all of the work. However, I would love to integrate teamwork into my classroom. I feel that if done right, that kind of environment could make a lot of students blossom into lifelong learners.
Hi there! It was really neat to read about all of your unique experiences. My question is about your rabbit: why did you name him Hefner? You mentioned that he earned it, but I wasn't clear as to why.
Hef was not yet neutered nor was he properly trained,so he was a nightmare. He earned his name through his intense attraction to women's feet and hands because they were about his size. He is now much more tame and nice and is a poster child for why people should spay and neuter their pets if they do not intend to breed them purposefully. I still have friends who are terrified on him because of his earlier behavior, but he is a good boy now. As a side note, I do not tell kids his name because that brings up too many questions; to them he is just Bun Bun.
Hey, Hillary! Wow, your volleyball story sounded like one of those inspirational movies. That said, my question for you is: how will you used what you've learned in Volleyball to apply to your teaching? Also, what made you decide you wanted to reach?
I'd like to believe that my experience at that volleyball camp taught me that it's not only the people who are talented who succeed, but those who are able to cooperate towards a common goal. When rated on individual skill, my team was the bottom in all categories, yet when we were actually put to the test and performed as a team, we came out completely undefeated as the top team. Give the right environment, everyone can show themselves to be excellent. In my classroom, I hope to remember that even the people who seem to be at the bottom have the potential to rise up to the top! As for teaching, when I was pursuing my bachelor's degree, I vehemently insisted that I would not be a teacher. Everyone always thought I would be one, and I have always liked to rebel in my own little ways. I was going to enter the private sector and achieve greatness. Well, I entered the private sector and discovered that it did not line up with what I wanted. I felt I was contributing nothing and I was not motivated. I still did my work and went above and beyond, even getting congratulated by my boss's bosses, but that was not enough for me. I was a rat in a maze and the only release I found was in tutoring and coaching. I loved it when my mom brought me essays to help her grade and when I got a chance to help people learn how to write their essays or introduced them to texts to explore. I had to explore different careers before I was ready to realize that my calling was in the academic world.
Hi Hillary! I really enjoyed reading your biography! My question is about your furbaby - has it gotten easier to take care of him? Do you think you will want any more pets in your future? Perhaps another rabbit?
I love furbaby's and I will always have a few running around the house! I am hesitant to take on another rabbit though. Although Hef has gotten much easier to take care of, he can still be a little nightmare. The unfortunate thing though, is that when people who love rabbits and own several and admit that Hef is the most lovable well behaved one they know. That is a little scary to me. Hef is lovable in his own way and he is my baby, but I prefer cats and dogs.
Hello! I loved reading about your success as a volleyball player. I really dislike it when people act superior to others. I am mostly curious about why, after your research, you choose rats as your pets of choice?
I really dislike that attitude too. I have always felt that everyone has something that they are better at than others, so you should not dismiss someone because their talent does not line up with your opinions. One of the few things I remember about elementary school was that for an experiment, we got to keep rats in the classroom. One was fed junk food and the other nutritious food. I was a very high achieving student who got bored easily, so my science teacher put me in charge of their care. (I also got to skip math and help teach the kindergarten class as long as I kept getting A's on the tests.) for the rats, I got to take them to every single class in the school and talk to them about what we were doing and what we hoped to learn from it. My science teacher knew my fondness for animals and felt that I would benefit more from this experience than sitting in class, and I certainly appreciate that he thought ahead of his time to allow this. Anyway, I had this early connection with rats, but I also met a few that my college friends have. If you've never been around rats, it's easy to get creeped out by them, but they are just mini dogs. They get just as excited as dogs to see their owners and they love learning tricks just for the sake of pleasing their person. I admire that kind of unashamed and unafraid love of dogs and rats...and I wanted a small animal so I did not have to pay a pet fee at my apartment.
I loved reading your bio, I was wondering if think you wanted to become an educator because it was something your mom did or did you come up with the idea on your own?
My mom wash leer when she discovered her path. She worked retail when me and my little sister were growing up and held only a high school degree. After I had such a tough time in my classes with teachers not understanding me,she decided to go to college to get a degree in teaching. I saw her endure the process, being a full time student, working a job, and raising my little sister and myself practically by herself since my dad was doing back to back tours in Iraq. She took that same hard working mindset into her classroom. It will be 8:00pm and my family will be blowing up her phone telling her to get home. She goes in on weekends and is doing research and going to seminars all summer. For her, teaching was never a 40 hours a week job. Naturally, watching this and all of the bureaucratic tape and unpleasant dealings with parents who were upset that they child was not getting A's when the parents would never even bother to spend time with the child or help them, this did not look like a fun field to delve into. For most of my life. My mom also insisted that we did not consider it. She wanted us to not have to deal with all of the red tape and liability issues in education. She wanted us to feel free to influence people for the better and felt that such a goal would be better achieved away from the classroom. Although my mom is supportive, she did not encourage me pursuing this field. It's a choice I made on my own.
Hi, Hillary! I really loved that you focused your bio on more unconventional things! I also love your style of writing! Since you were raised on different army bases, have you ever thought about being a teacher on one? I love traveling and many people have told me it would be fun to teach on an army base in a different country.
Thank you! I just wanted to touch on a few aspects that I thought would give everyone a foundation to start getting to know me on. I figured anything else could be discovered along the way if relevant! I would love to teach on a military base if the opportunity arose. I remember that as students, we always appreciated it when our teacher was themselves a military brat throughout their childhood or at least was married to someone in the force. It is a unique connection and community that civilians just don't quite understand. You have to keep in mind though that I was going to school on a military base during Operation Iraqi Freedom and that teachers had to take on the role of counseling students through some really tough times, so it helped if they were accustomed to the lifestyle for the majority of their own lives. We also had extraordinary circumstances, like Westboro Baptist Chruch being down the road from us, that made us seek out teachers with similar experiences rather than those who had civilian backgrounds. It is not exclusive like that anymore though. Military brats are some of the most well behaved and eager to please students there are. They are also generally very heavily driven and bloom in the freedom that schools allow them. I remember being so shocked when I went to civilian school here in Georgia about how many rules there were, how badly all of the students behaved, and how little the students cared about what they were learning. If you have a chance to teach military brats, I would highly recommend it!
Hillary, enjoyed you bio very much. Esp. the volleyball portion, I played baseball, basketball, and football growing up but my "career" was cut short when I went to a 6A high school @ all of 5'0, 100lbs. Lets just say I was a late bloomer. However, I still played organized sports, mostly church league basketball, later in college in intramurals. My best sport became volleyball. By this time I’d grown to be able to play with the big boys so it was fun. I’m curious if you’ve considered coaching when you teach? I’m guessing you have. I think about it a lot, what a rewarding experience, plus an opportunity to make more in your salary.
We should put a team together! I would love to coach volleyball. I actually already have four years of coaching experience working at Woodland Middle school. I really enjoyed coaching there and that is a large reason why I wanted to go into teaching.
Every place has their ups and downs. At this point, I'm not sure that I could choose a place as my favorite. I've had the pleasure to live in some really beautiful places. If I had to recommend visiting a place that I lived, the standard would be recommending Colorado Springs. Everyone loves Pike's Peak!
Hey Hillary, awesome bio! I can definitely relate to being on the underdog team, and the difference between having fun as a team versus being pressured to be the best (not that I ever was, haha). I can see the connection between your attitude toward essays and teamwork, do you think that attitude will be central to your teaching style?
My grandfather was in the army so my mom was in the same situation as you, moving around a lot. Up until my sisters and I were in college, my mom swore she would never move us around because of what she went through. Do you think you will be like that when you are older and possibly have a family, not wanting to move around? Or did you like the experience?
Loved your volleyball story! I only played for one year in high school, so I'm pretty sure you could beat me on the court any day! I was wondering, since we both love to travel, what is your #1 place to visit on your list?
Hi Hillary, Do you think that your travels have given you an idea of where you would like to eventually settle down to teach and where? I especially loved hearing about your Hefner, and your stories about volleyball. I think it would be cool to play as a cohort one day this summer. It could be our exercise for the week.
I wanted a pet rat when I was younger (mostly because of Harry Potter.) My parents got me gerbils instead.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that you may continue volleyball one day, perhaps as a coach? Your story would be very good for inspiring team building. But I suppose it could work just as well in a classroom environment too!
I've had friends with gerbils and they had mixed reviews about them. I hope yours were a good experience!
DeleteI would love to continue volleyball as a coach. I was never the best player and had to work to gain a reputation on the court. Where I excelled was as a coach. I coached middle school volleyball for four years and was also recruited to coach summer camps and individual lessons for middle school and early high school aged kids.
I suppose what I learned could be a great experience to bring into the classroom as well. In volleyball, you have no choice but to work as a team to succeed. I hated group work,even in college, because I was always the student who did all of the work. However, I would love to integrate teamwork into my classroom. I feel that if done right, that kind of environment could make a lot of students blossom into lifelong learners.
Hi there! It was really neat to read about all of your unique experiences. My question is about your rabbit: why did you name him Hefner? You mentioned that he earned it, but I wasn't clear as to why.
ReplyDeleteHef was not yet neutered nor was he properly trained,so he was a nightmare. He earned his name through his intense attraction to women's feet and hands because they were about his size. He is now much more tame and nice and is a poster child for why people should spay and neuter their pets if they do not intend to breed them purposefully. I still have friends who are terrified on him because of his earlier behavior, but he is a good boy now. As a side note, I do not tell kids his name because that brings up too many questions; to them he is just Bun Bun.
DeleteHey, Hillary! Wow, your volleyball story sounded like one of those inspirational movies. That said, my question for you is: how will you used what you've learned in Volleyball to apply to your teaching? Also, what made you decide you wanted to reach?
ReplyDeleteteach*
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI'd like to believe that my experience at that volleyball camp taught me that it's not only the people who are talented who succeed, but those who are able to cooperate towards a common goal. When rated on individual skill, my team was the bottom in all categories, yet when we were actually put to the test and performed as a team, we came out completely undefeated as the top team. Give the right environment, everyone can show themselves to be excellent. In my classroom, I hope to remember that even the people who seem to be at the bottom have the potential to rise up to the top!
DeleteAs for teaching, when I was pursuing my bachelor's degree, I vehemently insisted that I would not be a teacher. Everyone always thought I would be one, and I have always liked to rebel in my own little ways. I was going to enter the private sector and achieve greatness. Well, I entered the private sector and discovered that it did not line up with what I wanted. I felt I was contributing nothing and I was not motivated. I still did my work and went above and beyond, even getting congratulated by my boss's bosses, but that was not enough for me. I was a rat in a maze and the only release I found was in tutoring and coaching. I loved it when my mom brought me essays to help her grade and when I got a chance to help people learn how to write their essays or introduced them to texts to explore. I had to explore different careers before I was ready to realize that my calling was in the academic world.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Hillary! I really enjoyed reading your biography! My question is about your furbaby - has it gotten easier to take care of him? Do you think you will want any more pets in your future? Perhaps another rabbit?
ReplyDeleteI love furbaby's and I will always have a few running around the house! I am hesitant to take on another rabbit though. Although Hef has gotten much easier to take care of, he can still be a little nightmare. The unfortunate thing though, is that when people who love rabbits and own several and admit that Hef is the most lovable well behaved one they know. That is a little scary to me. Hef is lovable in his own way and he is my baby, but I prefer cats and dogs.
DeleteHello! I loved reading about your success as a volleyball player. I really dislike it when people act superior to others. I am mostly curious about why, after your research, you choose rats as your pets of choice?
ReplyDeleteI really dislike that attitude too. I have always felt that everyone has something that they are better at than others, so you should not dismiss someone because their talent does not line up with your opinions.
DeleteOne of the few things I remember about elementary school was that for an experiment, we got to keep rats in the classroom. One was fed junk food and the other nutritious food. I was a very high achieving student who got bored easily, so my science teacher put me in charge of their care. (I also got to skip math and help teach the kindergarten class as long as I kept getting A's on the tests.) for the rats, I got to take them to every single class in the school and talk to them about what we were doing and what we hoped to learn from it. My science teacher knew my fondness for animals and felt that I would benefit more from this experience than sitting in class, and I certainly appreciate that he thought ahead of his time to allow this. Anyway, I had this early connection with rats, but I also met a few that my college friends have. If you've never been around rats, it's easy to get creeped out by them, but they are just mini dogs. They get just as excited as dogs to see their owners and they love learning tricks just for the sake of pleasing their person. I admire that kind of unashamed and unafraid love of dogs and rats...and I wanted a small animal so I did not have to pay a pet fee at my apartment.
I loved reading your bio, I was wondering if think you wanted to become an educator because it was something your mom did or did you come up with the idea on your own?
ReplyDeleteMy mom wash leer when she discovered her path. She worked retail when me and my little sister were growing up and held only a high school degree. After I had such a tough time in my classes with teachers not understanding me,she decided to go to college to get a degree in teaching. I saw her endure the process, being a full time student, working a job, and raising my little sister and myself practically by herself since my dad was doing back to back tours in Iraq. She took that same hard working mindset into her classroom. It will be 8:00pm and my family will be blowing up her phone telling her to get home. She goes in on weekends and is doing research and going to seminars all summer. For her, teaching was never a 40 hours a week job. Naturally, watching this and all of the bureaucratic tape and unpleasant dealings with parents who were upset that they child was not getting A's when the parents would never even bother to spend time with the child or help them, this did not look like a fun field to delve into. For most of my life. My mom also insisted that we did not consider it. She wanted us to not have to deal with all of the red tape and liability issues in education. She wanted us to feel free to influence people for the better and felt that such a goal would be better achieved away from the classroom. Although my mom is supportive, she did not encourage me pursuing this field. It's a choice I made on my own.
DeleteWow. I am sorry for the spelling mistakes. Autocorrect! Was older instead of wash leer.
DeleteHi, Hillary! I really loved that you focused your bio on more unconventional things! I also love your style of writing! Since you were raised on different army bases, have you ever thought about being a teacher on one? I love traveling and many people have told me it would be fun to teach on an army base in a different country.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I just wanted to touch on a few aspects that I thought would give everyone a foundation to start getting to know me on. I figured anything else could be discovered along the way if relevant!
DeleteI would love to teach on a military base if the opportunity arose. I remember that as students, we always appreciated it when our teacher was themselves a military brat throughout their childhood or at least was married to someone in the force. It is a unique connection and community that civilians just don't quite understand. You have to keep in mind though that I was going to school on a military base during Operation Iraqi Freedom and that teachers had to take on the role of counseling students through some really tough times, so it helped if they were accustomed to the lifestyle for the majority of their own lives. We also had extraordinary circumstances, like Westboro Baptist Chruch being down the road from us, that made us seek out teachers with similar experiences rather than those who had civilian backgrounds. It is not exclusive like that anymore though. Military brats are some of the most well behaved and eager to please students there are. They are also generally very heavily driven and bloom in the freedom that schools allow them. I remember being so shocked when I went to civilian school here in Georgia about how many rules there were, how badly all of the students behaved, and how little the students cared about what they were learning. If you have a chance to teach military brats, I would highly recommend it!
Hillary, enjoyed you bio very much. Esp. the volleyball portion, I played baseball, basketball, and football growing up but my "career" was cut short when I went to a 6A high school @ all of 5'0, 100lbs. Lets just say I was a late bloomer. However, I still played organized sports, mostly church league basketball, later in college in intramurals. My best sport became volleyball. By this time I’d grown to be able to play with the big boys so it was fun. I’m curious if you’ve considered coaching when you teach? I’m guessing you have. I think about it a lot, what a rewarding experience, plus an opportunity to make more in your salary.
ReplyDeleteWe should put a team together!
DeleteI would love to coach volleyball. I actually already have four years of coaching experience working at Woodland Middle school. I really enjoyed coaching there and that is a large reason why I wanted to go into teaching.
Bingo!
DeleteHey, Hillary! I really enjoyed your bio. Since you moved around so much as you grew up, I was wondering if you had a favorite place that you lived?
ReplyDeleteEvery place has their ups and downs. At this point, I'm not sure that I could choose a place as my favorite. I've had the pleasure to live in some really beautiful places. If I had to recommend visiting a place that I lived, the standard would be recommending Colorado Springs. Everyone loves Pike's Peak!
DeleteHey Hillary, awesome bio! I can definitely relate to being on the underdog team, and the difference between having fun as a team versus being pressured to be the best (not that I ever was, haha). I can see the connection between your attitude toward essays and teamwork, do you think that attitude will be central to your teaching style?
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather was in the army so my mom was in the same situation as you, moving around a lot. Up until my sisters and I were in college, my mom swore she would never move us around because of what she went through. Do you think you will be like that when you are older and possibly have a family, not wanting to move around? Or did you like the experience?
ReplyDeleteLoved your volleyball story! I only played for one year in high school, so I'm pretty sure you could beat me on the court any day! I was wondering, since we both love to travel, what is your #1 place to visit on your list?
ReplyDeleteHi Hillary,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that your travels have given you an idea of where you would like to eventually settle down to teach and where?
I especially loved hearing about your Hefner, and your stories about volleyball. I think it would be cool to play as a cohort one day this summer. It could be our exercise for the week.