Linda Miller always knew she wanted to be a teacher, an ambition shaped by her experiences in 24 different schools between kindergarten and graduation.
小蝌蚪APP淚 didn小蝌蚪APP檛 grow up as traditionally as most people. We just moved a lot,小蝌蚪APP Linda said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 had a lot of really fantastic teachers 小蝌蚪APP that I could come in the middle of the year and they acted like I小蝌蚪APP檇 been there the whole year and didn小蝌蚪APP檛 treat me differently. I wanted to be that for somebody one day.小蝌蚪APP
Linda小蝌蚪APP檚 experiences moving across the country didn小蝌蚪APP檛 stop after high school graduation, either.
小蝌蚪APP淢y husband was in the military, and then after he retired we moved back to Louisiana,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 always wanted to finish school, so UL Lafayette just seemed like the logical choice because it was right here.小蝌蚪APP
Waiting to finish her degree gave Linda a different experience than most college students.
小蝌蚪APP淚 think I do have a different perspective from being an older student. I mean, we still complain about homework and assignments, but I wasn小蝌蚪APP檛 thinking about graduating and being out on my own for the first time,小蝌蚪APP she said.
小蝌蚪APP淚 think because I have real-world experience 小蝌蚪APP and I don小蝌蚪APP檛 meant to say that college students don小蝌蚪APP檛 because a lot have more real-world experience than I do 小蝌蚪APP but being older, I still had to pay a mortgage. I was a paralegal for 15 years, and knowing how the world works, and how having a job works, and how expectations work.小蝌蚪APP
Getting Experience in the Classroom
From her experiences growing up, Linda initially wanted to teach high school, but discovered she had a love for teaching middle schoolers. She completed her in a sixth-grade classroom at Youngsville Middle School.
小蝌蚪APP淚 loved it 小蝌蚪APP I didn小蝌蚪APP檛 think that I would like students that young, but they really surprised me,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 expected them to be more immature than they were. Don小蝌蚪APP檛 get me wrong 小蝌蚪APP they were in sixth grade, but they were a lot more 小蝌蚪APP榳ith it小蝌蚪APP than I expected.小蝌蚪APP
Linda said her Teacher Residency experience was extremely valuable and really prepared her for life as a teacher.
小蝌蚪APP淚 think just a lot of the little things that they can小蝌蚪APP檛 teach you in the college classroom (are what I gained from it),小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 was really lucky because I was involved in everything, so I almost felt like I taught there, in a way, because they included me in the conversations.小蝌蚪APP
小蝌蚪APP淭hat was the best thing: being able to be hands-on 小蝌蚪APP and the little things: how to make deposits from fees you collect and how to fill out certain paperwork,小蝌蚪APP she continued. 小蝌蚪APP淎nd that sounds crazy because it小蝌蚪APP檚 not the actual teaching the content part, but it小蝌蚪APP檚 those things that you can do more efficiently so you have more time to prepare to teach the content part.小蝌蚪APP
Now that she小蝌蚪APP檚 leading her own classroom, Linda loves her second career as a teacher.
小蝌蚪APP淚 like meeting the new kids every year,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 was walking out to duty today and (the kids) were like, 小蝌蚪APP楬ey, Ms. Miller!小蝌蚪APP Getting to know them, and getting them more comfortable and getting to know me. I love getting to know them and seeing how their personalities change over the year.小蝌蚪APP
Learn more about the secondary education and teaching major.