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After four years of working in fields outside of my college degree (English), I decided it was time to follow a dream and become a teacher.� I love kids and thought I could really make a difference.� So I quit my job with a major insurance company and moved to Houston to begin my life as a teacher.

Since I'd majored in English and not in Education, I was in a sore spot as far as earning my certification was concerned.� I certainly didn't want to go back to school for four years to earn another degree.� Then I discovered the wonderful world of Alternative Certification - the boot camp of teacher preparation programs.� With the help of my family and Prairie View A&M University, I got the classes and training I needed to begin teaching.

Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounds, Alternative Certification is not for everyone.� You undergo one year of intensive training while you are teaching as an intern.� You work all day and go to classes at night.� You pay out money for classes, tests, and progam fees.� But if you have the drive and the determination, you walk away with a teaching certificate, a lot of friendships forged on the front lines, and the right to hold your head high when you say "I'm a teacher."

The area that really struck a spark with me as I learned to be a teacher was the use of technology in the classroom.� I don't have any formal training - outside of a word processing class my freshman year of college - and I knew that if I could do this, so could others.� So I dreamed up a place where teachers could go to find lots of help, ideas, inspiration, and perhaps a little of the excitement I feel about technology and it's role in our classrooms.

Please come in and browse through all I have to offer.� Take what you need and if possible, leave behind something that may help another teacher. � After all, what good is all this technology and this ability to communicate across vast distances if we don't use it?� What good is it to be a great teacher if you can't help others find that path as well?� Not only do I hope that each of you benefits from what you find here, but I hope you take it to your classrooms, so your students can benefit from it.

And please don't feel shy about offering constructive criticism and suggestions.� It is my goal to create the ultimate site for teachers, but I can't do that without input from teachers.� So, dive in and tell me what you think.� You can email me or sign my guestbooks.� I am always happy to hear from you and will try to return all mail in a timely fashion.

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Thank you for visiting with me.

� 1999 Kim Estes. All information on this site is for classroom use only. Reproduction for commercial use or monetary profit is expressly forbidden.