Stephanie Dodds

Who am I?

I am a 26 year old woman, daughter, friend, fiancée, student, Nail Technician and my newest favorite, a mother. Growing up in a military family has taught me how to adapt to new situations quickly. I was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent a portion of my childhood in Italy, Arizona, and California. The majority of my time was spent in Virginia Beach, VA where I reside. Throughout the 26 years of my life I have been fortunate to experience love, loss, friendship, hardships, success, failure and mental growth which has molded me into the person I am today. If you asked me 2 years ago what my career goal was, I would have given you a completely different answer. My desire to Teach came to me when my son Archie was born. Call it motherly instinct if you will but my desire to nurture illuminated my passion to teach children.

My whole world!

My little Jedi Knight!

What I Know

I love this scene from the movie 'Pursuit of Happiness'. Will Smith's character realizes that what he told his son was wrong and corrects himself. He tells his son that in life people will try to dim your light because they are too afraid to ignite their own and to never let anyone stand in the way of your dreams not even your own parents.

With love comes a great deal of loss. Having experienced the greatest loss of my father has enabled me to become a strong, present, and empathetic individual. As a future teacher and leader it is my duty to be aware and knowledgable of my students personal life and to be able to support them when their world comes crashing down.
With success comes failure. The only way to win is to lose over and over again. It is how we learn and become better humans. It does not matter how many times we fall, what matters is how many times we get back up and keep moving forward. Giving up or being a sore loser is not an option in life if you want to be successful.
It is important to know that power does not make you powerful. Wealth and power go hand in hand and is desired by many. However, once an inch of wealth and power is achieved, people tend to replace their morals with ego. Once this happens it is a long and winding road back to purity. You should always stay true to who you are and what you believe in no matter the status you hold.

What I Have to Learn

Professional learning experience through practice.
Plan an adequate lesson plan that meets the needs of each individual student and the classroom as a whole.
How to evaluate my students' individual success properly.
Be knowledgeable of the supports and resources available for my students at all times.

The Teacher I Will Become

The teacher I hope to become is someone that children see as a beacon when there is no light. I hope to inspire, teach, and leave an imprint on my students' lives. I will be a teacher that students are able to trust and confide in whenever necessary. I will be a patient, caring and kind teacher. I believe that in order to have a productive learning environment the students must feel safe and comfortable at all times. I will be knowledgeable in all subjects that I teach and ensure that the students are grasping the criteria and not falling behind. I believe in the student-centered philosophy of learning, specifically Progressivism as I stand by developing my students' moral compass. I will implement acts of kindness and equality within my classroom so that my students become kind and mindful adults in the future to come.