NAME:
Mrs. Crocker
SCHOOL:
Seguin High School
CLASS:
English III and English III AP
SCHOOL PHONE:
682 867-6700
This is my fifth year at Seguin and I am very excited to be teaching all
Juniors again this year because there is so much good material in American
Lit.,
which I think is often overlooked in the overall body of literature. I came
to teaching via retail management and marketing, and I see many similarities
between the careers. One of my greatest accomplishments is that I returned
to college after 10 years in the workforce, changed my major, and completed
almost 60 credit hours in one calendar year (including 27 hours in one
summer, and maintaining a 4.0 in my major) to receive my B.A. in English.
My husband also teaches at Seguin. We have a house that is almost 100 years
old and haunted, and you can get on our good side by asking about our
dog Wonder. In my (minimal) spare time, I like to camp, listen
to music, work in the yard, do papercrafting, travel, and read. Some of my
favorite
books/authors are: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, anything by Charlaine Harris
(especially the Southern Vampire series, which the HBO series True Blood is
based on), the Harry Potter series, anything by Madeleine L'Engle, poetry by
Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Stand (Stephen King), e. e. cummings poetry, the
Earth's Children series by Jean Auel, C.S. Lewis - both fiction and
nonfiction, Christian romances by Grace Livingston Hill, Phillip Pullman's
His Dark Materials trilogy,Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, Suzanne Collins'
Hunger Games trilogy, SciFi by Robert Heinlein (especially The Moon is a Harsh
Mistress), and the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.
I sponsor the UIL Journalism Team, and this year I will also be coaching the
AcDec quiz league. I'm also hoping to get a book club started for students
who like to read more modern novels that we are not able to get to in class.
More than anything else, this class is about communication. It is my hope
that students will learn different methods of communication and when and how
to use them effectively. Many people don't realize that there is a hidden
subtext in everything from 200-year-old novels to modern television
commercials. If students will apply the techniques we learn in class, they
can decode this subtext and ultimately learn to think for themselves.
My other major goal for my students is to prepare them for life after high
school. I don't believe that college at 18 is the best choice for every
student, but there are expectations that apply to college, business, family,
or anything they want to do after graduation. Some of these expectations
are following directions, accepting personal responsibility, and developing
a strong work ethic. I try to reinforce these expectations in my classroom
every day, and if it seems harsh now, I hope it will stand them in good
stead later when they are on their own.
