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Mrs. Amy Schwartz
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Dardenne Elementary School
Hometown:
Springfield, Illinois
Class Information:
Room Number: 44
Students per Class: 20
Class Description:
My classroom is an eMINTS classroom. eMINTS stands for enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies. I was selected to be an eMINTS teacher in August of 2007. This is a very exciting time for my students, as well as myself! Through the grant that I received, I will get training to integrate technology into my classroom. I also received 12 student computers -- one for every two children in my classroom, one teacher workstation computer, and a laptop. I also received a Kodak Digital camera, a SMARTboard and a projector. I will integrate technology and inquiry-based lessons into my teaching.
Position:
5th Grade eMINTS teacher
Personal Information:
About Me:
I was born in raised in Illinois and always knew I wanted to become a teacher. I enjoyed learning and wanted to help other people feel that same sense of enjoyment. I only had a handful of teachers that I did not like, but knew from them what I did not want to become. I wanted my students to leave my classroom at the end of the year having learned a lot and enjoyed it most of the time -- school can't ALWAYS be fun. :)
College and Degrees:
I attended Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri where I received my bachelor's degree in elementary education with an emphasis in mathematics. I graduated from Maryville in 2000. I then earned my masters of education, integrated studies in curriculum and instruction from National-Louis University in St. Louis in December of 2004.
Activities:
I enjoy scrapbooking,cardmaking,and working in the yard. My husband and I enjoy traveling, trying out new restaurants, and experimenting with new recipes.
Favorite Books:
I have many, many favorite books! A few of the top favorites are The Giver by Louis Lowry, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, and Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White. I love reading and have over 1500 books in my classroom library. I have successfully created many "readers" in my 8 years of teaching, one of my many goals!
Favorite Quotes:
One of my recent favorite quotes is, "You can't talk your way out of what you've behaved your way into." My mom is known for finding some of the greatest quotes and that is one she recently found.
Employment History:
I have been teaching 5th grade for 8 years, all at Dardenne Elementary School in O'Fallon, MO.
Why Do I Teach?:
I teach for many reasons. I teach to create life-long learners. I teach to touch children's lives. I teach because it just feels so good and so right! Most importantly I teach because "the children are our future." (Thanks Whitney Houston.:) Seriously, though, I teach to hopefully make a difference. I teach in a school with low-income families and children who have seen more in their young lives then I ever will. Some of the children I teach know more about drugs, alcohol and abuse then I even want to know about. Hopefully, I can be a shining spot in their lives. I may not hear, thank you, but I can tell when I have touched one of my students' lives. I teach because it is in me!