Linda Miller always knew she wanted to be a teacher, an ambition shaped by her experiences in 24 different schools between kindergarten and graduation.
杏吧专区淚 didn杏吧专区檛 grow up as traditionally as most people. We just moved a lot,杏吧专区 Linda said. 杏吧专区淚 had a lot of really fantastic teachers 杏吧专区 that I could come in the middle of the year and they acted like I杏吧专区檇 been there the whole year and didn杏吧专区檛 treat me differently. I wanted to be that for somebody one day.杏吧专区
Linda杏吧专区檚 experiences moving across the country didn杏吧专区檛 stop after high school graduation, either.
杏吧专区淢y husband was in the military, and then after he retired we moved back to Louisiana,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 always wanted to finish school, so UL Lafayette just seemed like the logical choice because it was right here.杏吧专区
Waiting to finish her degree gave Linda a different experience than most college students.
杏吧专区淚 think I do have a different perspective from being an older student. I mean, we still complain about homework and assignments, but I wasn杏吧专区檛 thinking about graduating and being out on my own for the first time,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淚 think because I have real-world experience 杏吧专区 and I don杏吧专区檛 meant to say that college students don杏吧专区檛 because a lot have more real-world experience than I do 杏吧专区 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.杏吧专区
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.
杏吧专区淚 loved it 杏吧专区 I didn杏吧专区檛 think that I would like students that young, but they really surprised me,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 expected them to be more immature than they were. Don杏吧专区檛 get me wrong 杏吧专区 they were in sixth grade, but they were a lot more 杏吧专区榳ith it杏吧专区 than I expected.杏吧专区
Linda said her Teacher Residency experience was extremely valuable and really prepared her for life as a teacher.
杏吧专区淚 think just a lot of the little things that they can杏吧专区檛 teach you in the college classroom (are what I gained from it),杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 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.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淭hat was the best thing: being able to be hands-on 杏吧专区 and the little things: how to make deposits from fees you collect and how to fill out certain paperwork,杏吧专区 she continued. 杏吧专区淎nd that sounds crazy because it杏吧专区檚 not the actual teaching the content part, but it杏吧专区檚 those things that you can do more efficiently so you have more time to prepare to teach the content part.杏吧专区
Now that she杏吧专区檚 leading her own classroom, Linda loves her second career as a teacher.
杏吧专区淚 like meeting the new kids every year,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 was walking out to duty today and (the kids) were like, 杏吧专区楬ey, Ms. Miller!杏吧专区 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.杏吧专区
Learn more about the secondary education and teaching major.