Who is this woman?

I am Angel Shay Padgett and I was born December 19, 1974. I come from a rather large family, though we were raised in split homes. Having 9 siblings from yours, mine, and our family can be complicating and confusing to a small child. Yet these aspects to my life taught me many things both about myself, and about how to communicate with others. Of course all families have issues, my family was no different. I did have a very loving and supportive mother, who nurtured and encouraged me to be proud of who I am, and to reflect on my place in this world. My father may not have always been as nurturing or supportive but he did adore me. My husband and son help me to question and reconnect every day, with the possibilities life has to offer! Reflecting on how I was raised, the external contributions to my growth, and the experiences of life has helped me to analyze negative aspects of my personality that need to be corrected as well as magnifying positive attributes that assist me in being a better me. I strive consistently to learn from my mistakes, to be a positive influence to those around me, and to enjoy life!

My Pedagogy

Teaching has been a lifelong dream for me. With that said, I won’t tell you the tired old story of how I played school as a little girl, always being the teacher! Rather, I was a happy kid and played at being all kinds of things. I wanted to be a Muppet(Do you know what they are? Don't knock it! ;), I wanted to live in Sesame Street and teach Oscar a lesson in how to treat people, and I really wanted to live next door to the Cosby’s so that I could enjoy their humor. Did I play Teacher? I’m sure I did, but my close friends and I went far beyond merely playing school, we built worlds in which to play. One friend, Tammy, and I spent hours in her room or at my house constructing wooden people towns, sometimes we built a state with multiple towns. My neighborhood friends and I had adventures outside digging up worms, catching “crawdads” at the swamp, scooping up tadpoles at the river. All of these memories developed my love of exploring, taking chances, experiencing all life has to offer even when you’re not sure what will happen. We made many mistakes of course, fell off the bank and get wet when we shouldn’t have or forgot to change out of our school clothes before going to the river to catch fiddler crabs. These mistakes as well as the wonderful opportunities enhanced my ability to learn and grow. As a teacher, I will help you explore the world around you, take chances, make mistakes, be creative, and have fun! Life is short, not just the entirety of the life each person lives, but the moments in which they are living, enjoy the moment.

Tools I Possess for Teaching!

I love to learn! The End! Just kidding, learning uses every tool available. Both mind, and matter! As a teacher I plan to engage my students in critical thought about the world around them while hopefully encouraging them to grow as a productive individual of society. Confident, passionate, considerate of others and responsible for their actions. Treating people with dignity and respect allows them to mature and realize on their own the importance of opinions. Allowing students to experience many options gives them freedom to develop their own ideas. Learning is my tool of choice. Some people like to paint, some like to write, I like to do both. However, those are additives to my life as well as many more hobbies I enjoy. My saying is, “All things lead back to learning!” Education is the key to happiness, not success. So if a painter uses a brush, and a dancer dances to music, an Educator uses knowledge and every way that can impart it.

Teaching Technology

Education is fast and furious! (Yes like the movie) We are entering a renaissance, a revolution! Therefore an awakening is pertinent. Life as we knew it twenty years ago does not exist to the students we will continue to teach therefore we are the ones who have to learn the next generations way of living and not the other way around. Technology can be in the form of gadgets, programs, software, or interactives modes available in clouds on the internet. The Technology Savvy Teacher is going to explore all of these modes of teaching and continue to incorporate them and whatever the ”new kid on the block” so to speak, of technology is for tomorrow. I plan on integrating every form of technology into my room that I am able to use in whatever capacity I am able to utilize it. I also plan to advocate, encourage, as well as educate MY peers in education to broaden their classrooms, teaching in ways that benefit the students in today’s technology based world. Although teachers still must use pencils and paper for documentation, students abilities to process information has changed, so it would stand to reason that the process by which they are being taught must change with it.

Education in my Space

As I have said, I find education fascinating and I love to learn! When I was a child I read books, stared at paintings, watched television shows, or played outside with my friends, by all of this I was learning and I was dreaming! I want my time with my students to not only be productive per their subject matter, or test scores, but I want my students to feel safe, respected, and excited when they enter my room. I believe there are a lot of opportunities for educators to open the world of learning up to many students and it is unfortunate that so many never experience the wonder of learning. Students need to feel appreciated, acknowledged, worthwhile, and have positive reinforcement to assist their own creativity. I propose that students are not fulfilling their potential for themselves or in society not because of the lack of school funding, or racial boundaries, poverty, or due to family collapse, but rather they are not being made to feel they are important, they have important ideas, or that they can overcome whatever cards they have been dealt. Some people are born with and have had nurtured, pride, patriotism, loyalty, respect; yet others were not and this is increasingly tumbling our societies ability to function. My space will be a “one for all and all for one” mentality. We cannot succeed if everyone is not willing to participate! Each person has a unique ability and without their inclusion in the process the outcome will not be as good as it could have been.

What I hope to learn!

I already told you, Learning is my “thing”! So it would not be fitting for me not to ponder what I hope to learn from teaching. First of all I know my students have something for me to learn from them. I am excited to embark on that journey. The world of knowledge is more complex to me than molecular fusion, which I am quite sure is pretty difficult. So of course I know that I do not now know everything, nor will I know everything when I begin to teach, nor (you guessed it) will I know everything once I have taught for 20 years. Learning is an ongoing task. It is like the paintings Leonardo DeVinci never finished, or the architecture the Egyptians never built. I will continue to seek knowledge and truth and justice (yes I wanted to be a super hero too) for all of the years I continue to breath! Perception lends people the ability to see through murky details and sort out possibilities, Education does much the same thing. If you short change yourself the opportunity of continued education, No I’m not merely talking about college, though I am an EXTREME advocate for it, I am instead referencing each person own cognitive critical thinking of life, the world, people, experiences, happiness, pain, if one does not seek to become aware of the information stream available then one lacks the ability to completely process life. I ask “Why does that turtle just sit on that log?” or I wonder, “What is Peanut thinking?” my dog, as he lies beside me appearing to be completely content. Though these questions seem mundane, these are the wonders of my world; I intend to get to the bottom of! I am an Educator; I am a Student of Life!