"...Because I Knew You, I Have Been Changed for Good"

This post is dedicated to all the educators out there--pre-service, in-service, and retired. Thank you for everything that you do!

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." ~Henry Brooks Adams

TEACHERS WHO HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE:

• Dianne Searfoss (High School English Teacher, Mother)-She TAUGHT me almost everything I've learned in life, and she has always fostered my love for writing, literature, and imagination.
• Connie Salisbury (3rd Grade Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that a teacher's passion can shine brightly in the classroom (Elvis and Chocolate), and it was in her class that I first realized that school was fun and that I loved learning.
• Lois Schumucker (3rd Grade Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that Science and Math, two subjects that I wasn't too fond of, could be exciting, entertaining, and fun--it all depended on how they were taught.
• Barbara Guilliam (Late 5th Grade Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that a teacher will always be there for you, a teacher will always care, and a teacher will continuously live in the lives of others even after she is gone.
• Shane Martin (Jr. High English Teacher)-He TAUGHT me that writing could be fun, and he was one of the first teachers to foster my love for English. He was my first male teacher, so he showed me that males can do a terrific job in a rather female-dominated career and that students need male teachers who are great role models.
• Larry Bunting (High School Math Teacher)-He TAUGHT me that teachers could be the definition of "cool", and we should always stand up for what we believe in.
• Deb Meyers (High School Technology Teacher)-She TAUGHT me to never lose sight of what I want in life, and she opened my eyes to the fact that there is so much out there in the world by showing me N.Y.C.
  
• Sharon Hess (High School Science Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that I was an excellent writer no matter what I was writing about, and this helped influence my change of majors in college. She also taught me to never give up and always try my best at anything and everything I do.
• Kelli Malchow (High School English Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that reading and writing can be fun for everyone in one way or another, and I should never be afraid to be myself. I always will value her creative teaching style, the compassion she has to see her students succeed, and her willingness to get to know her students as human beings. She is the epitome of who I want to be.
• Marianna Hofer (College English Professor, Academic Adviser)-She TAUGHT me that my writing was excellent and that English was the right field for me. I changed majors from science to English and education with her encouragement. She also taught me that you don't have to do everything by the book; sometimes you have to make your own trail through life, and lifting your front foot to start that trail is half the battle. I eventually want to continue on with my schooling and become a college English professor, an English professor like her.
• Christine Denecker (College English Professor, Circle K Adviser)-She TAUGHT me that there are various ways to teach English in order to make it fun, and a teacher should be someone who cares not only about making a difference in the lives of their students, but they should take the time to make the community a better place as well.
• Gary Johnson (College English Professor, Dean)-He TAUGHT me that reading is more than just reading words on a page; each piece of text opens up doors to the world of cognitive thinking. I will never read a piece of literature the same again after taking his Literary Criticism class.
• Chris Underation (College Communications Professor)-He TAUGHT me that a class made up of mostly lectures can still be a blast for students; it all depends on how the teacher teaches.
  
• Diana Montague (College Communications Professor)-She TAUGHT me that there is much more to a film than just watching it for the sake of watching it; every movie I watch now is an educational experience.
  
• Dorthy Copas (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that getting to know your students is essential and that it makes the classroom a happy and joyous place to be.
• Elizabeth Raker (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that teaching takes place inside and outside the classroom, and that I can enjoy teaching no matter the subject area nor the age level of students (i.e. History Comes Alive at Litzenberg Farm).
• Kim Forget (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that it is okay to laugh, sing, and dance in front of your students and that laughter goes a long way in the classroom.
• Alvin Trusty (College Education Professor)-He TAUGHT me that computers and technology can mesh with education to form quite a pleasing and enjoyable environment.
• Penny Soboleski (College Education Professor, UFOSEA Adviser)-She TAUGHT me that teaching is a busy profession, but regardless how busy you are and how stressed out you might get, you must continue on with a smile on your face and always possess a joyous attitude. She also taught me what it means to truly care for each and every student, how to make storybooks come alive, and that it is definitely okay to show your sensitive side in the classroom.
• Karen Ackerman-Spain (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that teaching is a gift that can be re-opened every day and that we have the ability to be teachers in every aspect of our daily lives.
• Buzz Dyer (College Eduction Professor)-He TAUGHT me that a teacher should never be afraid to have fun, smile, and laugh. He also taught me that common sense is the best textbook in life.
• Ben Sapp (College Education Professor, Mazza Director)-He TAUGHT me that I shouldn't be afraid to love art and literature despite the fact that I'm a male, and students' love for imagination should be fostered no matter how old they are.
• Jerry Mallett (College Education Professor, Mazza Founder)-He TAUGHT me that literature and art are both true gifts that should be shared with all the children of the world, young and old.
• Julie McIntosh (College Education Professor, Dean)-She TAUGHT me that teachers are professionals in and outside the classroom and that management is the essential component that makes a classroom run smoothly. She also taught me that teachers have to be flexible and that they should always make time for students who need guidance and/or help.
• Brian Bratt (Junior Block and Student Teaching Cooperating Teacher)-He TAUGHT me that English teachers who are males are very interesting individuals and that if you respect your students, they will respect you. He also showed me that you can bring various projects into the English classroom in order to make the subject interesting and enjoyable for your students--it's not all about reading and writing.
• Trisha Heestand (Late Colleague, Classmate, Friend)-She TAUGHT me that the characteristics of a teacher can be alive and well in a person even before they receive a degree, and a teacher never really dies because they will forever live in the lives of those that they have taught and touched throughout their life, no matter if it happens to be a long or short life.
• Vicky Thompson-Hayes (Tap Dance Instructor)-She TAUGHT me to dance through life, and that no matter what brings me down, I will always have my dancing shoes to get me by.

MOVIES THAT HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

• Dead Poets Society (Touchstone Pictures, 1989)

• Dangerous Minds (Hollywood Pictures, 1995)

• Billy Elliott (Universal Focus, 2000)

• I Am Sam (New Line Cinema, 2001)

• School of Rock (Paramount Pictures, 2003)

• Finding Neverland (Miramax Films, 2004)

• Little Miss Sunshine (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2006)

• The Ron Clark Story (Alberta Film Entertainment, 2006)

• Chalk (SomeDaySoon Productions, 2006)

• Freedom Writers (Paramount Pictures,2007)

• Charlie Bartlett (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2007)

• Smart People (Miramax Films, 2008)

• Waiting for Superman (Walden Media, 2010)

• That's What I Am (WWE Studios, 2011)

BOOKS THAT HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (Little, Brown and Company, 1951)

• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Covici Friede, 1937)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Harper & Brothers, 1943)

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960)
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1963)
• I Never Told Anybody: Teaching Poetry Writing in a Nursing Home by Kenneth Koch (Random House, 1977)
• The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (Atheneum, 1998)
  
• Trade Secrets for Middle and Secondary Teachers by Billie Enz, et.al. (Kendall Hunt, 2002)
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Doubleday, 2003)
• I Choose to Stay by Salome Thomas-El (Kensington, 2004)
• Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (Scribner, 2005)
• Content Literacy for Today's Adolescents (Prentice Hall, 2006)
• Learning to Teach by Billie Enz, et. al. (Kendall Hunt, 2007)
• The English Teacher's Companion by Jim Burke (Heinemann, 2007)
• Teach With Your Heart by Erin Gruwell (Broadway, 2008)
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (Hyperion, 2008)
• A Memento Sent by the World by Marianna Hofer (Word Press, 2008)
  

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for being you. You chose to be a teacher not because you wanted to make big bucks, not because you wanted to have a fancy mansion and European cars, not because you wanted to become a millionaire before you were thirty, but because you wanted to make a DIFFERENCE, and that choice was PRICELESS. Thanks for making a DIFFERENCE in MY LIFE by being my TEACHER. The DIFFERENCE you have made in MY LIFE has influenced my future in the same profession as you, that of a TEACHER! 

Feel free to leave comments to this post about teachers who have changed your life or the reason why you chose teaching as a profession. :)

The 9 to 5 Life

~For Mother

Wake up and walk downstairs to the

kitchen table that shines so triumphantly

due to the morning sun coming through

the picturesque wall-sized window.

Pour the flakes of corn into a bowl that

reminds you of your mother when she

would make you breakfast before you

headed off to school with a full stomach.

Start the faucet to the shower that you

used to fall asleep in every morning

 waiting for the water to turn from hot to

cold, eventually bringing you to wake.

Set out your clothing for the day on

your bed-shirt, pants, shoes-making sure

that every inch of fabric is tailored just

right to fit your given mood at the time.

Back to the kitchen, eat the cereal faster

than you used to, for getting to work seems

more important than getting to school was

back when your mother would drive you.

Hop in the shower in which the water is

already turning cold; there is no time or

need to fall asleep now for the water is

there to cleanse you, not to alarm.

Put on the clothes in the same order that

you set them out-shirt, pants, shoes-to

ensure that the mood you set earlier remains

in their threads now and for the rest of the day.

Head out the door, hop in the car, and drive

away slowly looking back to the picturesque

kitchen window that reflects the sun, reminding

you of exactly how simple life used to be.

© 2009, Austin A. Searfoss

A Poet Without a Muse -or- Thoughts of Emily D.

~In Honor of Emily Dickinson

My papers sit empty along with my mind.

My chest is vacant, my heart I can’t find.

I last saw it shattered in pieces across that cold floor,

As you trampled them over on your way out the door.

My verses once filled pages for you—

I wrote from my heart, for you were my muse.

Each poem showcased you in lyrical form

Until you ended it all with that silent storm.

I sit here now with nothing to write,

Holding back my feelings, holding back the fight.

I don’t know what to say or what to do—

I guess I just really loved writing for you.

My life is now empty for you were my everything—

I could picture you in almost anything.

You were the songs that I heard and the sights that I saw,

The thoughts I thought up and the art I would draw.

The day you left my life, my art disappeared,

Just as my eyes became masked by the tears.

My thoughts became distant, just as your soul—

My mind flew away without my control.

I saw you pass by (in my mind) the other day,

And I thought of so much to write and say.

However, I realized that my thoughts had no use,

For I was no longer your poet and you were no longer my muse.

© 2009, Austin A. Searfoss

Restaurant Slave

The salt and pepper shakers are running low tonight, but I don’t think I’ll fill them.

For if I was to add more grains they would surely win.

As the nights go by the glass containers will slowly empty,

Then they will know what it feels like to be me.

© 2008, Austin A. Searfoss

I Found My Future Through the Eyes of Holden Caulfield

     Life has been an ever-growing and changing process for me, but not until I spent some time at The University of Findlay did I finally realize who I would [be] in the future. I transferred to Findlay after one semester at The University of Toledo and started taking classes in the physician assistant program. Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted a career that involved helping others, but I hadn’t quite figured out the right fit yet.  I started working at Washington Intermediate’s after school program, helping students read, and attending The University of Findlay Ohio Student Education Association (UFOSEA) meetings with my sister even though I wasn’t in the College of Education, and after helping Findlay’s youth one-on-one and experiencing the family-like atmosphere among all the students and faculty in the COE, I knew I was home.

     After one semester at Findlay, I got out of the physician assistant program and declared my major as Adolescent-Young Adult Language Arts/English and English-Teaching Emphasis. I was put into the classroom right away with the Van Buren LAMP program, and every consecutive year I learned more and more about the field of education.

     It felt unreal that I was actually going to be a high school English teacher, following the footsteps of my mother, until I had my junior block experience at Van Buren High School. There was a student named "Damien" in one of my classes who turned himself off when it came to learning. Nothing seemed to interest him, and his motivation and grades reflected that. Before I even started teaching my classes, I began to talk with him and encourage him to do his work in ways that would interest him. I found out that he really enjoyed military events and history, so I suggested books for him to read and gave him ideas to write about for a short story project the class was working on. I also encouraged him to read leisurely whenever he had his work completed. This turned out to have a larger effect than I imagined.

     That year Van Buren was having a book tournament in which books would be matched up against each other; students would read the books, pick the best one, and move on to the next match. By the end of the year, the favorite book of the students would be picked out. Students were asked to volunteer to be in this program and provide money to purchase copies of the books. When the day came to sign up for the program, it came to my surprise that "Damien" was the first student to sign up to be in the reading program. When I started my experience, he wasn’t interested in anything related to English, but through my encouragement he began to enjoy the wonderful world of reading.

     I have been able to share my passion for reading inside and outside of the classroom, and this brings me joy because this passion has been growing for quite a long time. My Grandpa and Grandma Midtgard were the first two people to really encourage me to pick up a book. My parents both had busy schedules during my youth, so my grandparents would watch my sister and me during the daytime. Each day they came, they’d have a brand new book for each of us. When we were really young, they would read to us, and as the days went by, we finally grew into reading to them.  Little did I know that this would be the foundation for my reading addiction today, where I have a two thousand book private library.
     When I look back through the years, there was hardly ever a time when I didn’t have a book in my hands. To this day, I still use dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other books of information to look information up. There is something about actually holding a book, smelling a book, and connecting with a book that makes the whole reading experience worthwhile. My grandparents’ teaching me how to read, has led to my passion to teach others how powerful and intoxicating of an experience reading can be for them.

     My love for reading sprung up again this past semester with my analytical writing class.  We were asked to complete in-depth research projects centered on our future careers. At this point in time I knew that I loved reading and teaching, but I hadn’t put the two ideas together yet. The day I thought that I might be able to include reading in this project, I decided that this paper would be the decider on whether or not I would want to concentrate on literacy and reading as an aspect of my future career. My paper was titled “’One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish’ to ‘Lord of the Rings’: The Importance of Parental Involvement in Regards to Reading with Their Adolescent Children.”  Research had shown that children’s love for reading tended to dim around grades four or five, and this happened to be the time in which most parents stopped reading with their children. Therefore, I suggested that parents’ continuous support in their children’s reading lives would encourage the students to stay motivated and passionate about reading.
     After typing up this report, I knew that this was definitely the field for me.  I worked on this research project throughout the whole semester bringing in my knowledge of the DIBELS, MASI, and various other assessments that I’ve conducted in the past. I interviewed literacy scholars in the field, and I developed a plan to put my theories into practice. After presenting my findings to a field of colleagues, my professor said that my ideas were very credible and that I had encouraged her to work more with her teenage son when it comes to reading. This comment, along with all my interesting findings, encouraged me to go back to my roots and bring my passion for reading into my future career.

     I would like to get a master of arts in education with a concentration on reading. With this degree, I would have even more knowledge on how to connect with my students and encourage them to read. After teaching high school English for many years, I would like to become a reading specialist, and, finally, a college professor. My life has been ever-growing and changing, but when I have stopped to reflect, two things have stayed constant: reading and teaching. Reading and teaching have been involved in every facet of my life, and I would like to see that continue in the future.
     I decided to go into teaching so I could share my passion for reading with the youth of this nation. Oddly enough, a classic American literature book, The Catcher in the Rye, encouraged me to do this. In the novel, the main character Holden Caulfield states this, “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all.  Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me.  And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff.  What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.  That's all I do all day.  I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.  I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."  I couldn’t have spoken these words better myself. I look at all of the students I’m going to encounter in the future in this way. They’re all playing on the cliff and struggling in their own way near the edge. I want to be there to provide a helping hand along the way. It is my goal to not let any student near the edge of the cliff. If I can share my passion for reading and learning with them, and if I can connect to them in way that is individualized for them, then I know I can be a catcher in the rye, and that is a part of my life, along with reading and teaching, that is never going to change.