Practice Blog Post

Who am I?

My name is Lacey Roach. I’m originally from Moss Point, Mississippi. It is a very, very small town. I had about 175 people in my graduating class. I moved to Mobile two years ago when I started college. I chose to go to USA because it’s only 45 minutes away from home. I have a very close knit family, and I didn’t want to be far away from them. It took me a long time to get used to not being with them all the time. During my freshman year, I went home every weekend and, sometimes, even weekdays. One thing that made me extremely homesick was the fact that my sister was pregnant the year that I left. I also tried to keep up an old high school relationship. I was new in town, away from my family, away from my boyfriend, and very, very lonely.

I roomed with my best friend, Katie, for my freshman and half of my sophomore year. It was a horrible mistake. We went from being extremely close to hating each other. I couldn’t stand the sight of her some days. After the first semester of our sophomore year, we decided for the sake of not killing each other that we would both find new roommates. This was the best thing we could have done for our friendship. After a few months of time apart, Katie and I mended our friendship. However, we still aren’t as close as we once were. I moved in with a girl named Vanity that I met through the Leadership Learning Community, and Katie moved back home. Through moving in with Vanity, I met my current boyfriend, Sedrick Malone. He is an amazing person and an even better boyfriend. He is the best thing to ever happen to me, and he treats me like a princess. It’s funny to think that if I hadn't lost the relationship I once had with my best friend that I wouldn’t have met the man that I’m going to one day marry.

Why do I want to be an educator?

I didn’t realize that I wanted to be a teacher until my senior year of high school. Teaching was always something I told myself that I would never do. I especially didn’t want to teach kindergarten. I didn’t want to have all of the responsibility that comes with teaching children of such a young age. Kindergarten is the foundation of most children’s education. Some students come in not knowing how to spell their own name. These students will be using the things you teach them every day for the rest of their lives. That’s a scary thought. If you mess up, or don’t do your job very well, your students’ could fall far behind in their cognitive development and struggle to catch up. However, now the reasons that I didn’t want to become a teacher are the exact reasons why I do want to become a teacher. Yes, the responsibility is a scary thought, but at the same time, it’s a beautiful thought. You will be instilling not only knowledge but, also, morals and life lessons in these young minds. A little piece of you will always be with them, even if they don’t remember you. The impact you have on these children will last for their entire lifetime.

What do educators do?

Educators do more than they are given credit for. They make lesson plans, buy materials that aren’t in the school’s budget, go to workshops, and so much more. A lot of people only credit teachers for the work they do in the classroom. However, a teacher’s day does not start and end with the school’s hours. There is so much preparation that goes into every lesson. We have to make sure each lesson we teach matches the state curriculum, adjust the lesson for students with special needs, and make sure that each student understands the concepts of the lesson. With the state always changing the curriculum, teachers have to adjust to the new requirements. This could include going to workshops, learning how to use new technology, and attending professional development meetings. Teaching is not just an 8 hour shift; it’s a full time job inside and outside of the classroom.

What are my passions?

I have recently developed a Pinterest addiction. I took EDU 346 over the summer. Creating a Pinterest account that could be useful to you as a future educator was our final exam. I now have two separate accounts. I use the one from EDU 346 for ideas for activities and helpful hints in the classroom.(View it here) I use my other account for social purposes. My boyfriend recently told me that he put a deposit down on my engagement ring. I immediately turned to Pinterest for ideas on wedding planning. (Check out my wedding board!) I now spend hours at a time on this website.

What do I do when I'm not in class?

This semester I may have bit off a little more than I can chew. I have two jobs, and I’m a full time student. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings I clean houses in Mississippi. I wake up at about 7:00 on those days, leave my house at 7:30, go to work, and come home around 1:00 or 2:00. When I get back to my house, I have about a four hour break until I have to go to my second job at Ross Dress for Less. I use this time to do my homework and catch up on my house work. Then, I go to work from about 6:00 until midnight. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I take 16 credit hours. On Tuesdays, my classes start at 11:00 and do not end until 8:00. Thursdays are a little bit better when classes end at 6:00. Needless to say, I’m a very busy woman this year.