How I Became a Teacher

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week I thought it would be nice to share the story of how I became a teacher. It all started in second grade with a teacher named Mrs. Kelly Rich.  She was kind, caring, and inspired me to be my best.  That year we were to perform a class play called Little Bunny Sue and each student had to audition for a part in the play.  I wanted a small part somewhere in the back but Mrs. Rich picked me for the lead role.  I hesitated because I wasn't sure I could play such an important role.  She responded with full confidence in my abilities, which in turn gave me confidence to play the part.  From that point on, I decided I wanted to be a teacher just like Mrs. Rich, inspiring kids to be their very best!  I even made my little brothers and all the kids in the neighborhood come over to play 'school' with me throughout my childhood so I could play 'teacher'.  As I got older, my desire to become a teacher only got stronger.

(Miss Rush graduating from nursery school!)

 I had always loved American history.  I thoroughly enjoyed books, movies, and stories that were based on historical events such as the American Girl series.  I always thought it was fascinating to learn what it was like to live in other time periods.  I even saved up my allowance for a year to buy Kirsten, my first, and only (those things aren't cheap!), American Girl doll!!

When I took U.S. History with Mr. Terry Christy during my junior year of high school, I knew there was no turning back...this is what I wanted to do.  Mr. Christy was adored by every student who entered his classroom.  He had such enthusiasm for history and for teaching that you couldn't help but be interested in what he had to say.  In my eyes, he had it all...he loved history and loved to teach; two things that really inspired my future career choice.

 (high school graduation)

So, in the fall of 1999, off to college I went to major in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies (my focus was U.S. History).  Because of the way the curriculum is set up in most colleges, you don't get to do your student teaching until your very last year.  By then, there is really no turning back!  I spent the first semester observing my mentor teacher, Mr. Marc Halsted, and taught a lesson here and there.

Then second semester arrived...time for me to teach full time...all on my own...training wheels off!  Suprisingly, it wasn't scary in front of the class but instead it felt really natural.  The scary part was just how much work it was.  While most of my non-teaching friends were still livin' it up during our last semester of college, I was spending hours at school, then coming home and spending hours reading, grading papers, and trying to come up with fun, engaging lessons.   I had to have a real soul-searching conversation with myself about whether or not I could do this kind of work for the better part of 35 years. Fortunately for me, my mentor teacher told me he thought I was a really talented, promising young teacher and that he really hoped I didn't give up.

(college graduation)

You know how this story ends because you are here reading my blog about teaching!  Although with this career choice comes an incredible amount of work, stress (mentally and emotionally), and responsibility, it also provides me with so much JOY.  My students are so funny and creative and I don't think I can express what it feels like to know that, even in some small way, I have taught someone something they didn't know before or that I played some role in helping them become the people they want to be.  I am one of the lucky ones...I knew from an early age what I was supposed to do with my life and that is TO TEACH.

I've had many, many teachers throughout the years to whom I am eternally grateful.  

Some of these people include, but certainly aren't limited to...

-Mrs. Rich...not only do our names sound alike but you planted that very first seed of the 'teaching' bug inside my brain

-Mrs. Diamond...for teaching me my times-tables

-Mrs. Mountford...for helping me master those darn 5-paragraph essays with which I am now torturing my sophomore students

-Mr. Christy...for showing me that enthusiasm is contagious

-Ms. Carter...for introducing me to my other love, Sociology!

-Mr. Halsted...for showing me the ropes of this business they call teaching

-Professor Nathan Godfried...from whom I learned so much about American history

"Better than a thousand days of diligent study, is one day with a great teacher." ~Chinese Proverb

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Happy Birthday Fenway!

I was lucky enough to end my April Vacation with a trip down to Boston to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park! The celebration began by commemorating 100 years of history at Fenway Park with a large-scale pregame ceremony. The Red Sox played the New York Yankees, the same team (then the New York Highlanders) they played on April 20, 1912. Both teams wore 1912 throwback uniforms!

Part of the pre-game ceremonies included welcoming back and honoring former Red Sox players.  We just happened to be walking into Fenway as all of the players were getting off the busses and got some great photographs!  In the photos below are Pedro Martinez, Terry Francona, Mo Vaughn, and Nomar Garciaparra followed by a group shot of players from yesteryear!

It was so special, even for a person who isn't necessarily a die-hard baseball fan, to be a part of history.  All of these memorable players in one place was quite remarkable! There was even an attempt to set the Guinness Book of World Records record for the largest toast (with sparkling grape juice)!

 Anyone who is interested in the Red Sox history should check out this website.  

You can take a virtual tour of Fenway Park through the years and read about the history of the park, the city of Boston, and baseball!  The website also highlights members of the Red Sox Hall of Fame and offers an interactive tour of the Park with videos.

If you're in Boston, you can always take a guided tour of Fenway Park.

 The 100th Anniversary of Fenway was an amazing experience that I won't soon forget!

British Isles Trip 2010

I was just looking through pictures and video from the British Isles trip I led this past summer and thought I would share with you.  I, along with 2 other chaperones, took 18 students on a 10 day trip to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England.  It was pretty amazing! This video is mostly of my journey, not the students, but I hope you like it nonetheless!

MCSS Conference

Today I, along with several colleagues from my department at LRHS, attended the Maine Council for the Social Studies' annual conference.

The focus of this year's conference was integrating technology in the classroom, particularly through the use of primary source documents.  I came away with a lot of great new websites, ideas, and resources to use in my curriculum.  It was also neat to see that some of the ideas presented were activities that I already use with my students.

I also won a door prize:

Yup! It's a scanner for my classroom/department...Yay!

I am already envisioning many ideas with which to utilize this machine.  Can't wait to try her out!

Spooky...

Meet Miss Rush

Greetings and welcome to my blog!  For you new readers (current parents and students of mine), I thought I would introduce myself!

I'm Miss Rush...

This is my 8th (ahh, can't believe it!) year teaching Social Studies at LRHS!

I graduated from the University of Maine with a bachelor's  degree in Secondary Education, concentration in Social Studies:

 I've also earned a master's degree in Education from the University of New England.  This was a challenge since I was still teaching full time while earning this degree!  I definitely know this degree helped me become a better teacher, however!

I'm the co-advisor for the Class of 2012, which is a lot of work but very rewarding:

When I'm not teaching, you will most likely find me with a camera in hand or in my craft room!

I am also really passionate about traveling and have been lucky enough to go to Europe 4 times (so far!),  two times as leader of student trips from LRHS to Italy/Greece and the

British Isles:

Thanks for stopping by!