Embedded Files
On March 17th, 2000, Madison Lee Stevens was born, a St. Patrick's Day baby. While growing up, Madison developed an old soul and a deep love for her grandparents' stories of the past. By the time she was ten years old, her grandparents had taken her to explore nearly every historic site in Virginia; It was then that her keenness for history began.
After graduating high school, Madison attended a community college in her hometown, where she obtained an Associate’s Degree in General Studies. She often looks back and laughs at herself when she recalls the brief period where she desired to pursue a Business degree, as she knew deep down that her heart was devoted to History and Education. Starting when she was twelve years old, Madison had begun nannying for families around her hometown. By the time she finished at the community college, she had assisted over fifty families. She had even become a Special Needs Care Provider for families who required extra love and patience. At that time, though, she was still unsure of what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. It was not until Madison revisited her middle school to roam the halls and talk with her past teachers of her days well spent as a preteen that Madison finally understood what she wanted. In August of 2021, Madison applied to Old Dominion University and moved four hours away from everything she knew in hopes of achieving her dream to one day become a History teacher.
Today, Madison is a History Major with a concentration in Teaching Preparation. She lives with her boyfriend, Adam, who is attending Old Dominion as a Mechanical Engineering Major; their Cocker-Spaniel, Perry; and many other beloved pets.
As a young girl, Madison witnessed firsthand the discrepancies between economic classes within her county. Additionally, while caring for families with special needs children, she saw a wide array of flaws amongst teachers and their attempts at inclusivity.
Part of her motivation behind becoming a teacher was her desire to bridge those gaps for students by offering a multitude of platforms and creative methods of education for those who needed it. The other side of her motivation came from a burning passion for bringing history to life through story, rather than preaching a strict, harping discourse in which students are disengaged.
With her deep-rooted love for history and Social Studies in general, Madison can provide those around her with an objective explanation of why things are the way they are today. In doing so, she has the potential to spark moral and ethical reflection, which can elevate the minds of those around her.
Throughout her high school years, Madison developed her own organization methods and learned multiple efficient note-taking strategies. She hopes to eventually share her creative methods with her future students, and even colleagues, as they can be utilized in any subject area.
By her retirement, Madison's goal is to have touched many students' lives and have helped them, whether it be with academia or the roller coaster of life.
Being only twenty-one years old, Madison still has many life lessons to learn, both in and out of the classroom. She hopes to become an understanding and even more passionate educator to provide her future students with a safe, elevating learning environment.
While she wants to be an outgoing and sympathetic teacher, she also understands that there is a necessity for respect and control in the classroom. To do this, Madison will need to learn techniques from the careful observation of experienced educators during her time in Old Dominion's teaching preparation courses. Additionally, she strives to engage her students in class and with history that can quickly become a challenge. With that being said, Madison will need to create interactive Social Study lesson plans that can appeal to the diverse groups she will teach. At the beginning of each semester, she plans to learn as much as possible about her students' likes and dislikes, in addition to their needs concerning academia and any kind of out-of-classroom support.
The purpose of education is to elevate the conscious and unconscious mind through knowledge. Madison plans to instill a good moral and ethical foundation into each of her students through learning history. She believes that by acquiring a solid understanding of the past, one has the potential to become a well-rounded citizen who positively contributes to society.
By combining teacher-centered and student-centered methods, Madison believes she will be able to keep students engaged during lessons as well as when given a chance to teach and learn from each other during specific exercises.
Of the five teaching philosophies, Madison strongly believes in Perennialism & Essentialism. Her opinion of Perennialism is that “the classics” help children develop a moral and ethical understanding of the world; While Essentialism helps to round children in a culturally literate way to become an open-minded individuals once they enter society.
In a word, Madison can be described as an "Elevator" as she has the potential to raise awareness and spark critical thinking in her students' minds. On the other hand, her students could be described best as "Sponges" as they will be soaking up the knowledge in which she will bestow upon them throughout their time with her.
If a guest were to wander into Madison's classroom, they would note the circular desk layout that promotes group discussion and centers Madison within the students to encourage control while allowing her to be part of the class rather than the head of the class. The guest would also witness engaged students attentively learning the development of the world in which they live while becoming better people as they do so.
Page updated
Report abuse