Some Stories Imprint on Our Hearts

Katie Spence

Ms. Spence

English I Pre-AP – 7

22 August 2016

I am blessed with a wonderful story. I was born and raised in Kingwood, Texas, and my parents worked hard to make sure that my brothers and I were able to pursue any dream that we set on our hearts and minds. My mom was a nurse when we were younger, and she became a stay-at-home mom once our school schedules started pulling her in different directions. My father still works long hours for ExxonMobil, and he has worked on several oil production and development projects around the world. I am the youngest of three; my two older brothers have always looked out for me. Their job pursuits have taken them to other parts of the country, but we try to schedule regular video chats and phone conversations in order to stay close. As a people-oriented individual, teaching is a profession that just felt natural to me. I have been teaching for six years, and this is my fourth year at Atascocita High School. Most of my “free time” is spent grading huge stacks of multi-page essays and creating PowerPoints for class.

When I do get a school-free moment, I enjoy reading books on my Kindle, catching up with friends at Starbucks, and binge-watching my favorite television shows on Netflix. As an English teacher, I not only love stories written on pages, but also the stories of my students. I chose my six word memoir because when we interact with other people, our stories have the power to influence lives.

According to the Myers-Briggs personality test, I am an ENFJ. Appropriately nicknamed

“the teacher,” ENFJs are outgoing individuals who dedicate their lives to helping those around them be the best they can be. Even though we are not one of the more popular personality types,

ENFJs prioritize relationships and emotions above all else, which is why we are considered Spence 2 expert motivators and humanitarians. We tend to be schedule dependent because our brains prefer the structure and organization of a firm plan as opposed to just going with the flow. We are not without our faults, as we have a tendency to take on too many tasks; we never want to say no to someone in need. Some famous ENFJs include Dr. Phil McGraw, Oprah Winfrey, and

Pope John Paul II. Overall, I believe that this personality type matches who I am. I am an empathetic and sociable individual, and I want to help others find their unique path in life. I even found the ENFJ flaws to be accurate to my personality. Sometimes I can feel overwhelmed with all of my commitments because I want to help everyone.

Stories have always been a part of my life, and I can still remember my parents reading to me before bedtime. We would read from The Berenstain Bears collection or an adventure from

Bemelmans’ Madeline. Even though I was enthralled with the storytelling, I actually struggled with reading at a young age. In elementary school, I spent time with a reading specialist who had to help me decode the letters and make sense of the sentence patterns. My parents were very supportive and increased our reading time in the evenings to help me. Someone recommended to my parents that I learn to read music and play an instrument as that would help me with reading the letters in a book. My mom taught me how to play the piano and read sheet music, and after that, reading just clicked in my brain. When I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the fifth grade, my world changed. It was the Harry Potter series that instilled in me a deep love for reading. I anticipated each new installment; I could not get enough of the daring adventure and heart-warming characters. In order to cope with having to wait two years for JK Rowling to write the next Harry Potter book, I bridged out to other books in the fantasy and sci-fi genre, and the rest, as they say, is history. I could not stop reading after that. Naturally, my appetite for reading carried over into the realm of writing. I enrolled in journalism and newspaper classes in Spence 3 high school, and I was the editor my senior year for our school paper. Writing is a daunting task as it requires you to take risks and be vulnerable with your reader. We are naturally self- conscious about any vulnerability we have, which is why I admire individuals who share their writing with the world.

I chose to be an English teacher because it combines all of my greatest passions. I get to work with students and help them reach their full potential. I love being able to bring life to a story and help students read more than just the words on the page. Together we see meaning and learn life lessons from the experiences of the characters. I get to talk with students about great

Shakespearean works and meaningful social issues; we get to explore life’s ups and downs together. I’m looking forward to this new school year, and I cannot wait to get to know each of my students.

My goal for the school year is to return graded work in a timely fashion. Even though I get assignments graded with a quick turnaround rate, I struggle with finding the time in class to pass back old work while still accomplishing the lesson for the day. When you only have 47 minutes in a class period, the time quickly gets eaten up with other tasks. I plan to have students help me this year pass back work during moments of free time or transition. It is important that students get back their original work, so that they can see where improvement is necessary for next time. I’m counting on my students to hold me accountable to my goal.