Carrying on Connections: From Third Grader to BU Grad Assistant [10/02/2015]

October 2, 2015 (IMAGES REMOVED UPON REQUEST)

Baylor is a small world where everybody knows someone. But most people do not get to reunite with their elementary school teacher.

Evan Ditmore came to Baylor this fall as a graduate student and research assistant in the School of Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction in language arts. He knew he would be placed with a professor. He also knew that his former third grade teacher, Dr. Suzanne Nesmith, now held a position as associate professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. Now Ditmore and Nesmith are reunited. They flow back and forth between reminiscing about their shared third-grade past (1997-98) and working together as graduate assistant and mentor, reconnecting at Baylor after following varied paths.

Ditmore decided to pursue a doctoral degree in curriculum and teaching and contacted Dr. Nesmith as a reference once he found out that she had relocated to Waco from Plainview, where he had been a student in her third-grade class. He earned BA and master of education degrees from Wayland Baptist University and then taught language arts for a few years before deciding to pursue more education. Ditmore found several options for a doctoral degree where he could explore opportunities for research.

“I wanted to do something more than just online,” he said. “And Baylor was looking like a really good option. When I found out Dr. Nesmith was here, I had to do it.” He applied to Baylor right away.

Nesmith, meanwhile, had left the elementary school they shared in Plainview and also graduated from Wayland Baptist University with an MEd. She then graduated from Texas Tech with a PhD in curriculum and instruction. Nesmith became associate dean at Wayland’s School of Education and was in line to become dean.

“That would’ve been the rest of my life right there — the last job in my career. I didn’t want that to be the end yet.” Nesmith said. “I’m the kind of person to take on new challenges. I wanted to explore a little more.”

Nesmith received a call from Dr. Sandi Cooper, a major professor for her while she was earning her PhD who had moved to become part of the Baylor School of Education faculty. Before long, Nesmith was also at Baylor, serving as faculty member in science education in Curriculum & Instruction.

Combining Nesmith’s expertise in sciences and Ditmore’s background in language arts, they quickly set up a team that includes themselves and Dr. Lakia Scott, whose focus is on literacy. “Right now we’re working on a new research project that will bridge science and literature and find a way to utilize literature in science curriculum,” Nesmith said.

Ditmore said he feels like he is making the difference he wanted to through this team-oriented approach to research. “I get to have an impact on the future of education and shaping how people will learn,” he said. “That’s the best part. I get to have a hand in that.”

Nesmith said that she is, above all, a teacher. “Anytime I get to have an experience with a student, as a teacher or advisor or listener, that’s the best part to me. I was a classroom teacher for 16 years, but I’ve been a teacher for 28 years.”

Looking over at Ditmore with a smile, she added, “With Evan, it’s fun to be able to remember those funny or silly times with someone who was there. And working with him now, I get to see the minor role I played in what he’s doing.”

Ditmore said, “It’s interesting that she was part of a formative time in my life and is now helping shape me as a professional. It’s the same sort of comfortable connection, but in a different world.”

—By Kayleigh Lovvorn

Link to this article: http://blogs.baylor.edu/soe/2015/10/02/carrying-on-connections-from-third-grader-to-bu-grad-assistant-10022015/

From the Classroom to the Court — and Back Again [12/02/2015]

December 2, 2015

Adrien Richburg was already dressed for practice as a middle hitter on the Baylor women’s volleyball team when she left Midway High School and stopped in at the Learning Resource Center in the School of Education (SOE). It was a typical, multi-tasking day for the SOE senior as she serves her yearlong student-teaching internship. She works Monday through Thursday as a full-time teacher of freshman biology with mentor teacher Julie Beth Moore, a Baylor alumna and master’s graduate of Baylor SOE.

While juggling the schedule of an education major with that of an NCAA athlete is challenging, Richburg wouldn’t have it any other way. “The biggest challenge I’ve faced is having to balance my time between student teaching, practice, weights and games,” she said. “That can be tough, but it’s worth it.”

Richburg said a career in education has always been on her mind. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “I’ve kind of grown up around schools, and I just love mentoring kids whether it’s teaching or coaching them.”

Both of Richburg’s parents are educators; her mom recently retired from Sachse High School in Rowlett, where Richburg attended, and her dad teaches high school and coaches football.

“I’d love to teach freshman biology, but I’ll be certified for life sciences for grades 7-12, so I can go anywhere,” Richburg said, talking about her major in Secondary Education Life Sciences.

Richburg also wants to combine coaching and teaching, much like her father. She’s coached kids ranging from fifth grade to high school seniors at several volleyball camps. “This past summer I helped out with the Midway High School volleyball camp. I’m a student teacher at Midway now, so that was cool! I got to see some of the girls I have in class,” she said.

Richburg said her experience on the court is useful in the classroom. “I use a lot of the stuff that coaches do during practice to get my kids’ attention when they’re distracted,” she said with a laugh. “I just say ‘eyeballs!’ and everyone has to look at me. It works every time.”

Richburg said she is considering staying in Waco after graduation or returning to the Dallas area. “I love the kids here,” she said of her current students. “Every day after a game, they always ask me if I won and how it went. We’re really building relationships. I didn’t expect that, but it’s really cool.”

—By Kayleigh Lovvorn

Link to this article: http://blogs.baylor.edu/soe/2015/12/02/from-the-classroom-to-the-court-and-back-again-12022015/

Teaching with a Twirl [12/04/2015]

December 4, 2015

Caroline Carothers is a Golden Girl in everything she does, not just when she’s twirling a baton on the field with Baylor’s Golden Wave band.

As a sophomore in the Baylor School of Education, Carothers is already in her second field experience, teaching small groups of advanced learners at Cesar Chavez Middle School.

Last summer, she competed in the Miss Texas pageant, finishing in the top ten and winning the talent competition. On campus, she became a part of Baylor Greek life as a new member of Chi Omega. She also started a service project, Twirling for the Cure, creating and selling rhinestone hair pieces to raise money ($3,200 so far) and awareness about breast cancer. (Read more in the Baylor Lariat).

Despite the variety and abundance of activities in her everyday life, it’s the dream of becoming an educator — inspired by her grandmother’s career — that drives her onward.

“I had a grandmother in the education system for 40 years. She was a teacher and then a principal, so growing up with her influence was neat, because I got to see all sides of the story,” Carothers said.

Carothers hopes to teach math at the high school level, so that she can also coach twirling for the band. This semester, she’s enrolled in Introduction to Middle Grades Teaching, which includes the field experience in Waco ISD.

“My students are eager to learn, eager to be there, and that’s all anyone can ask for as a teacher. I’m really excited about that,” she said.

Carothers chose Baylor for her education because it offers her a sense of independence from her home in San Antonio, but class sizes in the SOE are small enough to form working relationships with professors and build another home in the classroom. Relationships with teachers, she says, are what got her through school.

“I want to teach character education in the classroom, too,” she said. “I want to develop each child — not just teach math.” The SOE team of students that visits the middle school twice a week is putting this well-rounded perspective on education into action by building a system of integrated curriculum for their sixth-grade gifted and talented students. The group of teachers-to-be includes a math major (Carothers) and others studying English, Spanish and social studies. “Whatever we’re teaching, we all work to find an underlying theme and integrate our strongest subjects to teach it better,” she said.

When she isn’t in a classroom as either student or instructor, Carothers is often practicing for game days, where she twirls on the field as one of the Golden Wave Band’s Golden Girls. She says twirling and teaching fit together surprisingly well.

“Consistency is the most important thing,” she explains. “It’s better to have a baton in your hand 30 minutes a day than one day a week for three hours straight.” The same is true for learning math, she says. “I want to encourage students to do a little bit of homework every night, organized in a way that’s fun for them and not busy work.”

Carothers has found success through her own consistency. She has been twirling for 12 years and coaching twirling for two. She said that modeling that commitment for her middle school students is important, especially when students don’t have a model at home.

“I’ve realized how much home life can impact your education and how lack of support makes it so much more difficult for a student,” she said. “It’s important to let the student know how far education can take them and how important it really is in shaping their future. I really have to be a role model. Having a balance between understanding and still being professional, not babying them, is a hard line to find sometimes. That balance is important.”

—By Kayleigh Lovvorn

Link to article: http://blogs.baylor.edu/soe/2015/12/04/teaching-with-a-twirl-12042015/