Meet The Teacher...LINKY PARTY!!!

If you want to link up visit Cara at the First Grade Parade 

First off, here’s a little bit about me…
 

So I'm new to blogging although I've read them for years, for the past 5 years I have kept a class webpage for my class and for teachers as a resource but my school district said this year that it wasn't allowing us to use outside sites so as a new years resolution I began blogging. I hope to have more teacherly postings as I get going. 

 

I have taught at Woodlin Elementary for 9 years. I started off by teaching fourth grade for one year, then moved to second grade for 6 years, and I am now teaching my second year in kindergarten. I grew up in Montgomery County where I currently teach. I attended the University of Richmond for my undergraduate career and participated on the Women's Varsity Swimming Team for 3 years and Women's Varsity Golf Team during my senior year. I graduated from the University of Richmond in 2002 with a BA in Elementary Education and Studio Art.

I just graduated from John's Hopkins University with a Masters degree in Information Technology for Educators in the Spring of 2010. I'm very proud to be the first member of my family to achieve a Masters degree. I studied technology in education and explored the significant impact technology plays in improving a child's learning. I use technology everyday in my classroom and I'm always searching for new ideas with very little provided by the county.

For many years, I coached a number of summer swimming teams  but I took a break while I was in graduate school and I'm now excited to get back into the pool!  I just began coaching again but this time for an adult masters team. During the winter, I am a Professional Ski Instructor and teach skiing and snowboarding to teenagers on the weekends. I also am a very active kickballer, playing in 2 leagues; I also play dodgeball and golf.  As you can tell I'm a very busy person outside of school oh, and don't forget tutoring. In my spare time (there isn't much of it) , I like to catch up on tv, scrapbook, exercise, go out with friends, and dine out. 

My brother Kyle's graduation June 2010

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I have a wonderful and supportive family; both my mother and father still live in the DC metro area and my brother, Kyle, graduated from SUNY-Maritime College in New York and spends much of his year sailing on cargo ships around the world. One of my greatest joys is teaching reading and instilling the love of reading in my students children. It is my hope that every child leaves my classroom with an amazing excitement for reading.

Now for the Q & A

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?                                             

A:  I would be an artist. I would love to have the time to commit to my artwork without having to worry about finances. I still have dreams about going into PR for a company but well I think that ship sailed when I didn't get a business degree in undergrad. I admit I didn't plan on becoming a teacher. I ended up in my first teaching class after losing a bet my freshman year and one of my teammates chose a class for me for the spring semester. I was hooked from then on!

Q: What are your hobbies?                                                                                    

A:  I love taking photos! I need to upgrade to a real photography camera soon. Can playing sports be a hobby?                                                             

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?                     

A: So I found my "report card book" my family kept with all my report cards and other strange things on it recently and that was one of the questions every year I had to answer. For a long time I had artist, business lady, athlete down...

   

Q: What are your guilty pleasures?                                                              

 A: Tosh.O, Jersey Shore, Chuck, V, LOST, Harblo gummy bears and frogs, and root beer floats!

Q: What is your biggest fear?!                                                                   

 A: Being single forever

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?                               

 A: A hot exotic island with nothing to do but bake on the beach

                                                         

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?                                                   

A: Be true to yourself, know who you are and what you believe in and never change that

Q: What do you value most in others?                                                                   

A: Their honesty and trust in me. I do appreciate it when my friends call me out because 99% of the time I had no idea that I may have said something off and it just didn't come out the right way. I will bend over backwards to help a friend and I hope they would do the same for me.

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?

A: Creativity! My name might be Miss Whyte but my students will be the first to tell you I never leave anything white! There is so much color in the world just waiting for us to embrace!

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?

A: My grandmother. she passed away when I was 16 and even as the oldest grandchild I feel like I barely knew her. In the past 15 years since my Poppop moved up to DC and until his passing last year I learned the most amazing things about my grandmother. She dined with Presidents, she was more than just the average housewife, she was a liaison for "Old Washington" and I would love to sit down and have lunch with her now that as an adult I have listened, learned, and finally appreciated all that she did.

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:
 During February of my first year I almost walked away from teaching entirely. The year from hell which I have never met anyone who can equal my story. After my class valentine's day party where 4th graders ripped up valentines from each other I literally went home and said my prayers and asked for a sign, any sign, that I should keep teaching and not walk away. I needed a break. God then dropped 3 feet of snow on DC and we were out of school for a week.  That spring an opportunity opened up to move to 2nd grade and I took it, a second chance at teaching. I fell in love with teaching again and I could never see my life another way.