Teacher of the Year: Jeff Charbonneau

2013 National Teacher of the Year, Jeff Charbonneau stated "there is no such think as a bad student,"and I could not agree more.
I personally connected with Carbonneau with his passion for yearbook, and desire to be heavily involved. At the Future Educators Association national conference, Charbonneau told us how he is involved a yearbook advisor, a class advisor, a drama advisor, and numerous other things.

Characteristics I believe that Charbonneau would present would be empathy and woo. He states that "When my students walk through the door, I seek the positive in them first." He always creates a positive learning atmosphere, and sees the importance in teaching the next generation.

A question I would ask Charbonneau if I had the opportunity would be how he is mentally, emotionally and physically involved in so many clubs/organizations? In my high school, I am editor-in-chief of the Haltom yearbook, treasurer of National Honor Society, and also a member of National Technical Honor Society, Texas Association of Future Educators, Future Educator Association, Haltom Herders, and Student Council. It can be very overwhelming at times when I have something to do in multiple clubs all on the same day. I appreciate people like Jeff Charbonneau who are giving the students a way to use/show their talents.


To put anything in six words is hard enough, but to give advice in six words to future teachers I would say "Never give up on your students." I know some days will be tortures and I might punch a hole through my chalk board like Dan Brown or assign more math problems to get my students to be quiet on Halloween like Roxanna Elden. I am also saying the same to my students to never give up on me as their teacher.

If I were to become 2030 Teacher of the Year and was asked "How do you help all students succeed in your classroom," I would respond by saying "by believing in them." All students need is for someone to be there and support them and assure them that they have unlimited potential.

Response to Book Study

I was recently asked to do a book study. The book is called 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. We are asked to read certain sections, and then comment a personal story that relates to the reading. Here is the link to this weeks, I hope you enjoy it!

My response was:
One day, everything was going along just as normal, until I turn my back for one second and I find a student throwing up all over his school box, chair, on the floor, and on the rug next to him! Mrs. Smith and I quickly scrambled for a trash can! I’m just glad it didn’t get on the students around him. The students acted as if it was a movie. They couldn’t stop staring at him and discussing to one another about when and where they had thrown up. It was quite a distraction and took a chunk of my time away from working with the students. I ran to the nurses, and then had to find a janitor to come clean and lysol everything down. I quickly tried to persuade the kids to not look at him and sit in their chairs quietly. They eventually did after he left to go home. Poor kid, I would be mortified if that happened to me.

My Plans for the New Year

As the New Year rang in, I was questioned in my blog assignment with what I will do with my fresh start for the spring semester. This is a really crucial time for me as it is my last semester in high school. I came up with three goals I plan to keep up with throughout the year.

• My first goal is to receive $5000 in scholarship money by filling out at least two scholarships out every week. I have filled out Texas A&M's scholarships, but will not receive a information about it until March. This is so important to me because my family is a single-family income, and I have three younger brothers who have to go to college after me. Every paycheck goes straight into my college funds, to help my parents pay for my college. 

• My second goal is to read one book a month. People who read more, know more. I hate reading and am the slowest reader you'll ever meet, but practice will only make me faster. It will especially help me when I go off to college and have to read 50 pages a night.

• My third goal is to limit myself to one sweet a day, drink more water, and get a gym membership and work out at least twice a week. I just want to get into a healthy life styles, especially as I go off to college and do not want the freshman 15!

What Class Should All School's Teach but Don't?

After viewing the slide show of the different classes that should be taught but aren't. I came to the conclusion that Personal Finance should be taught in school. I feel this way because we are going out into the world with no knowledge to

• manage money
• manage payments
• mortgage rates
• insurance 
• ways to save and invest money

We leave high school to grow up and go to college, and do not know how to manage our money. Unlike calculus, that some people may or may not use in their future, finance is something that we will all have to deal with the rest of our lives. The most valuable lessons should be taught.

In high school, I wish I could have taken Human Growth and Development at my school, BCTAL. It would have been very valuable to my job because I work with 5 years old and below. This class would teach me about the lifespan of humans, specifically physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. I also think that knowing the development of children would be helpful when I have my own children and students. 

An Adventure for Kindergarteners at the Perot

On December 4th my Education and Training class took a trip to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. From this field trip I had to create a lesson that would pertain to my kindergarten class. I created a lesson about relating states of matter to weather, and which weather is for what season. I also included other assignments that could go along with this lesson.

This link below is a link to the lesson I created on Prezi.
http://prezi.com/wse2ivtov6cs/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Reframe This Situation

I chose scenario 1 from my blog assignment. This scenario asks how I would change the situation if I missed the bus because I went out to lunch. My boyfriend took me to my field site, and when the class was over I went back to their main campus on the school bus. I asked my classmates not to tell my teacher since no harm was done.

I would reframe the situation by contacting my teacher and telling her that I missed the bus. By doing this I am informing her and not putting my classmates in an uncomfortable situation by keeping my secret. My teacher would tell me how to resolve the problem when I notified her.

I have personally been put in this situation with a fellow classmate. I notified my teacher because I will not allow someone to throw away the gracious opportunity we have to be at a field site. Our teacher is relying on us to be there, so it is never acceptable for little things like missing the bus to not be there.

This video is about how to reframe difficult situations. 

How My Digital Footprint Will Affect My Future

Abba's Story, which was introduced to me in my blog assignment was brought to our attention because as teachers we have to take into consideration we are having administration, principals other teachers, and parents evaluate us. Not only by our skills of educating students but also by what is on our social media.

Abba brought up many points, but he said "I feel like there's nothing there that brings me down" because he has always been very cautious of what he post. If someone did see it, they would like him more because they would see all the dedication he puts in with his family and the things he is involved in.

I believe what is on your social media, truly describes who you are. Yes, we all might slip up sometimes and do the wrong thing, but it is those who do not care that post about anything constantly that will be affected negatively in the end. If you are involved in an organization at school you are more aware of what you post, but those who are not involved are more likely to post inappropriate things that will eventually affect them. You should only post things that you know will not jeopardize anything for you.

Every time you press publish or post on social media, it is out there forever. There is no taking it back. Many times people post things without even thinking about the consequences that may follow. When actually you should be questioning yourself, will this affect me getting into a college? Would I post this if I knew my parents would be viewing it? People should present themselves as if they had someone evaluating them at all moments. People make an opinion in three seconds about how they feel about you, so do not let them read something that ruins all chances for you.

This website includes multiple reasons why social media can be harmful to you. If you are doubting that it will come back to haunt you.

Your digital footprint truly determines your future.