An Introduction

Hello and welcome to my Teaching Blog.  This blog was started as part of an assignment for C&I 214 at Illinois State, but I plan on maintaining it throughout the rest of my certification and hopefully throughout my career as an educator.

First off, my name is Harry Smith and I am from central Ohio.  I was born in Columbus, grew up in London, and graduated Cum Laude from The Ohio State University with a BA in English, with a focus in Creative Writing.  I moved to Normal, IL in 2008 with my wife Emily Smith while she pursued her MFA in Sculpture at ISU.  After working from home for 8 months or so, I decided to explore substitute teaching and possibly a return to school.  I had a fantastic time working with the kids as a substitute teacher, and took the plunge to go back to school the following fall.  In August of 2009, I started classes at Heartland Community College at the behest of my advisor.  And in January, 2010, I began the Secondary Ed certification program at Illinois State.  It is a decision that has never felt more right.

I haven't always wanted to be an English Teacher.  Whenever anyone would find out that I was an English major at OSU, their first question would inevitably be, "Oh, are you going to be a teacher?"  My inevitable response would be an emphatic "No!"  I could never be a teacher.  I didn't have the patience, I didn't like kids, I didn't KNOW enough.  Never.

Eight months waiting tables, six months managing a hotel and three years at a foreclosure law firm later, and I feel that I am finally ready to begin shaping minds.

So here we are, I am about halfway through my teaching certification and this time next year I will be trying to find gainful employment as a high school English teacher in Cincinnati, OH.  In the meantime, I will be posting periodically to this space, lesson plans, ideas, concepts, philosophy and questions.  Welcome to my small corner of the internet and please, make yourself at home.