Practice Post

OUTLINE
A. Who am I?
     1. name - Ellen Dunn
     2. Places I've Lived - Athens, AL, Kingston, TN, Oak Ridge, TN, Knoxville, TN, Madison, AL, Huntsville, AL, and Mobile, AL.
     3. Family and School
B. Why do I want to be an educator?
     1. I have had many amazing educators in my family/life in general.
C. What does an educator do in his or her practice?
     1. Inspire
     2. Inform
     3. Instill a love of learning.
D. What are my Passions?
     1. Football - NFL and UT
     2. Nannying / Nephew time



Who am I?
     Hello! My name is Ellen Dunn and this is my EDM 310 Blog! I was born in Florence, Alabama, and grew up on the outskirts of Athens, a small city in north Alabama.  After sixth grade, my mom and I moved to Tennessee.  I had the opportunity to live in three beautiful cities in East Tennessee: Kingston, Oak Ridge, and Knoxville (Go Vols!).  After graduating eighth grade, I moved to Madison then to Huntsville, both in north Alabama.  I finally graduated high school and made the journey south to Mobile where I live in an apartment with my friend Kylie.
     I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to live in so many wonderful places, but it would not mean anything if I were not surrounded by such amazing people.  I come from a large family.  My dad has eight brothers and sisters and my mom is one of four, they themselves had five children together, of which, I am the youngest. And the only girl.  My family is incredibly supportive and when we all get together there is never a dull moment.  In addition to my awesome family, the schools I have attended made getting use to new cities less scary and more exciting.  Every school I left only made it that much more exciting to start at a new one.  They were all special to me and each one had at least one teacher that greatly impacted my life. Which brings me to....

Why do I want to be an educator?
     I have been to five schools since starting kindergarten in 1999.  My kindergarten teacher was wonderful! Is wonderful! Mrs. Hall has made such an impact on my life.  Her classroom was always so much fun! We read stories and sang songs to remember how to spell colors.  To this day I cannot spell purple without singing the little diddy (seriously, just did it). Mrs. Hall made me love being in the classroom.  Then, in first grade, my teacher - Mrs. Bridges, another amazing educator - let me be teacher for the day and ever since then I have wanted to be a teacher. I want to instill a love for learning in children and show them every day can be an adventure.

What does an educator do in his or her practice?
     An educator does much more than simply teach.  An educator learns.  He or she learns about the children. Learns what works and what doesn't and the strengths and weaknesses individually.  But an educator does not stop there.  An educator takes all they have learned about the children and they plan activities and exercises that will improve the children’s strength and weaknesses.  The educator plays a large role in children’s lives, especially in the twenty-first century.  Children spend eight hours a day in a classroom, they are learning to read, write, add, subtract, and all that, but the children are absorbing so much more than facts.  They are taking in everything, and most are crazy new experiences and educators get kids excited about learning as much as possible about these crazy new experiences. An educator inspires children. He or she keeps that twinkle in a kid’s eyes.

What are my passions?
     Well, as I briefly mentioned above, I am a Tennessee fan!  I love watching football, most of my mom’s family has been tailgating in Knoxville for as long as I can remember.  Every year I get more and more excited for football season to begin.  My love for football doesn’t stop with Volunteer football, I also watch NFL games.  I try to watch as many games as I can, but I root for the Broncos.  My television stays on ESPN during football season.
family does.
     In addition to football, other things I get excited about are traveling, walks, and animals.  As for travel, I have not been to a lot of places, mostly just in the South East, United States. However, I would really enjoy going to Europe, Australia, Canada to see the Northern Lights.  I also enjoy going for walks.  It is something I have always liked because I was able to walk to many places growing up.  I never pass up a chance to get out and go for a nice walk.  Soaking in the sunshine and fresh air is a hard feeling to beat.  I am also trying to get into running!  Lastly, I am an animal lover.  I love meeting new animals, pretty much any animal.  I would really like to get a very large breed dog when I do not live in an apartment and maybe a snake too!