How Do We Get from Here to There?

Have You been Tagged by the SEVEN THINGS Meme?

I was just tagged by JoNelle Gardner in the meme going around the education blog circles called “Seven Things”.

Here are the rules:
* Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
* Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
* Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter and/or Plurk.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, here goes…

1. Before teaching I was in Public Relations/Marketing for a fraternal insurance company.  While going to school full-time, I worked full-time to pay my way through school. I took a job as a receptionist, but after a couple of months I managed to talk my way into a PR/Marketing position. I finally completed my degree, but thanks to a mortgage and because I was taking care of my mom, I couldn’t afford to quit my job to pursue teaching.  After nine years and a painful layoff, I went back for my credential. I guess it all worked out after all. I’m so happy I had that corporate experience.
2. As a kid I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be a teacher or a chef. My mom started teaching my brother and I to cook when we were about 5, and I was cooking family dinners 4-5 nights a week by middle school. I still love to cook, but I know that there is no way I could hack it in a professional restaurant kitchen.
3. I’m loose-jointed. Wish it meant I was Cirque du Soleil limber. Sadly, it just makes for joints that snap, crackle, pop, and lock a little more than I’d like.  In the second grade when I broke my arm, the doctor had a really hard time setting it because the elbow doesn’t sit the way it should. Thankfully, since I inhereited the trait from mom, she showed him how it should go. I wonder what would have happened if he had had to figure it out on his own.
4. While I was working in PR/Mktg, I also volunteered as an adult-literacy tutor and worked as a tutor trainer throughout the county. It was my way of both giving back to the community and teaching before getting into the classroom full-time.
5. I’m still scared by the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. I’ve seen the movie many, many times and even read the books as a kid, but those monkeys just aren’t right.
6. My photo was used in brochures and I “starred” in a public service announcement for the San Diego County Council on Literacy. Mind you I’m no model or actress by any stretch of the imagination.  They only used me because minority tutors were in very short supply.  I cringe whenever I run across either piece.
7. My faith is important to me. It isn’t something that I completely understand or can explain, but faith is a critical part of who I am.

That’s it for me. How about you?

Scott Shelhart

Dan McDowell

Cory Plough

Chris Bell

Steve Hargadon -Though likely you’ve been tagged already, just had to do it.