Blog Post #1

About Me
My name is Haley Thompson, I am twenty years old, and I am a junior transfer majoring in special education. I live in a small town in Mobile County called Chunchula. I am attending the University of South Alabama because I graduated from a junior college, where I also played softball, and felt that South was a good choice for my next chapter of life. I am majoring in special education, because I have a very big heart when it comes to children with special needs. I would go over and beyond to help these kids learn. While teaching, I also plan to coach volleyball and softball.
My passion in life is helping others in need, and who cannot do for themselves. I do not help people for the praise and compliments; I simply help them just to help them. A few other things I enjoy are sports, singing, and church activities. Something interesting one may want to know about me is that on December 8, 2011 my life was turned upside down. I was in a very tragic drunk driving accident, and lost my roommate of two years in it. For a while I questioned God and why he would take the life of the one who had her seatbelt on, yet keep the one who was ejected. I now understand that it is all a part of God's plan, and although I may not know the reason I am still here I know He has a big plan for me. I will continue to trust Him, and I plan on sharing my testimony with others to help save lives.

Future Classroom
When I become a teacher i want my future classroom to be very welcoming to the students when they walk in for the first time. I plan to have it very colorful with art work all around the walls. When I was growing up it was always a relief to me to walk into a classroom that did not feel so intimidating. My desk will be in groups of four because I will be doing mostly hands on group work. There will be a lot of communication skills being worked on since I am majoring in special education K-6, so I feel it would work out best being in groups. Children with special needs often feel intimidated around other children and that will not be the case in my classroom. I want the kids to learn to communicate without the fear of being made fun of. We will be doing a lot of "ice breaker" activities to help break down their fear. The children should never be scared to ask a teacher a question, so my number one rule will be "Never be afraid to ask a question, there is no such thing as a dumb question." At the end of the year I want my kids to be able to walk out of the classroom and say "Ms. Thompson was my favorite teacher, and I cannot wait until next year. She makes learning fun and really breaks it down to me where I can understand the material step by step." If the students can walk out and say that, I will know I have reached my goal as a teacher.

Dr. Pausch and Time Management
Dr. Pausch made some very good points in his video that stood out to me. Goals, priorities, and planning are very important when it comes to time management. We should always ask ourselves these questions: Why am I doing this, what is the goal, Why will I succeed, and what happens if I choose to not do this? If we asked ourselves these questions before everything we dreaded, I guarantee we would not dread it as much. The answers to these questions are what our personal future depends on. The statement "Failing to plan is planning to fail" hit me like a sack of bricks. That statement is so very true. We should plan each day, week, and semester. Yes your plans will change from time to time but that is completely okay because at least you have a plan. Also we should not focus on doing things right, but doing the right things.  If we spend too much time focusing on doing things right we will miss the opportunity of getting the right things done.