| Shelley Davidson UTA graduate student |
| I studied Education at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. After graduating, I taught in a 5th grade biligual classroom in Austin. My next teaching assignment was in a church run school in Ancon, Republic of Panama. There I taught a combined kindergarten and 1st grade class. It was also there that I discovered I truly was a teacher. I marveled as I watched children discover they could read. I next lived in southern New Mexico where I taught E.S.L. to students in grades K-8 at four different public school campuses. I appreciated being able to focus on what I do best - teach a love for language and words. While I lived near Pisa, Italy, my own children attended the local Italian school for two years. It was interesting to see the different educational practices between the two cultures. Our third year in Italy, I home schooled my children. I learned a great deal about teaching and my own practices as I was able to choose, modify, or create my own curriculums. Before leaving Italy, I taught for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools. I again had a fifth grade classroom. After a writing lesson, one of my precocious students told me I should be an English teacher. That was better than any principal's feedback. In an unexpected turn of events, I got to teach English and Bible to high school Juniors and Seniors in eastern New Mexico. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed working with older students at a different level of writing and literature appreciation. And now the adventure continues as I take on the new role of Reading Specialist just outside the Metroplex. I feel so at home being back in Texas. I have learned so much this year, both about working with struggling readers and the Texas system. |
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