My name is Marion Bruner, and like Dr. Coffey, I am that rare and wonderful creature, a Charlotte native! I grew up in charlotte when it was a relatively small town, before liquor by the drink, professional sports teams, or the era of the mega-bank.
I have a husband, three children, and since our house was very quiet when the youngest child left for college, we added a golden retriever puppy named Bailey.
My oldest daughter graduated from UNCC, and works as promotions coordinator for a local radio station. She gets us fgree tickets for concerts and shows, so I love her job! Thanks to her, we have seen Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, the circus,
Avenue Q, The Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked.
My middle daughter is a junior at Appalachian State, majoring in International Business. She will spend six months in Spain beginning January 2010, so she is very excited.
My son is a sophomore at NC State where he shares a house with four other guys, and enjoys all that Raleigh has to offer. He recently bought his first car, and took care of all the details on his own ( with numerous text messages along the way.)
I am a product of CMS schools attending Myers Park Elementary (before it was traditional), A.G, Junior High, and Myers Park high School. I went to East Carolina for a year and hated it. I came back to Charlotte and finished my degree at UNCC. I tell my students stories about the good old days, $100.00a semester tuition, parking right outside Macy, and other wonderful tales of UNCC. There are still a few professors around from when I was an undergrad the first time around.
I graduated from UNCC, and taught elementary school until my second child was born. I stayed at home for two years, then when the younger kids went to pre-school Iwent with them. I taught four year old preschool for about sixteen years, until my middle child started middle school. I decided I need a change, so I went back to UNCC for a second degree in English with the goal of teaching high school English. Along the way I was encouraged to go to Grad School, so while in the school mode, I earned a Master's in English Literature in 2007. I became an adjunct instructor in the English department at both UNCC and Queens University in Septemeber , 2007. The job market for adjuncts is notorious iffy, so I returended to UNCC to work on a graduate certificate in Secondary English as a career back-up. This is my last class before student teaching. I don't know if I will participate in the student teaching sequence, as I am now a 3/4 time instructor at Queens, so have some measure of job security. College teaching is my love, and I want to continue teaching at this level for the rest of my career. I am exploring the option ofeither pursuing a PhD in English, or perhaps working on a MFA in Creative Writing. I do like the idea of the certificate as a back-up, so we'll see what develops over the course of the semester.
As I said, I teach at both Queens University and UNCC. I teach Freshman Composition and in the American Studies dept. One of the favorite things about my job is watching young men and women arrrive on campus in august unsure of their ability to write, to read, and to think critivcally, and to help them develop the skills they need to progress in their chosen academic career.
I chose English because I love to rewad and write. I have written several articles, presented a paper at the Southern Writer's Symposium, have a personal blog, and will read a short piece of fiction at the SAMLA convention in Novemeber, 2009. I read between 4-6 novels a week, so I guess that's my hobby. I also enjoy walking, swimming cooking and trips to the beach. I also love college football, and cheering on my children's teams. Go ASU and State!
I look forward to reading my classmates blogs,and working on strategies for teaching English.
I have a husband, three children, and since our house was very quiet when the youngest child left for college, we added a golden retriever puppy named Bailey.
My oldest daughter graduated from UNCC, and works as promotions coordinator for a local radio station. She gets us fgree tickets for concerts and shows, so I love her job! Thanks to her, we have seen Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, the circus,
Avenue Q, The Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked.
My middle daughter is a junior at Appalachian State, majoring in International Business. She will spend six months in Spain beginning January 2010, so she is very excited.
My son is a sophomore at NC State where he shares a house with four other guys, and enjoys all that Raleigh has to offer. He recently bought his first car, and took care of all the details on his own ( with numerous text messages along the way.)
I am a product of CMS schools attending Myers Park Elementary (before it was traditional), A.G, Junior High, and Myers Park high School. I went to East Carolina for a year and hated it. I came back to Charlotte and finished my degree at UNCC. I tell my students stories about the good old days, $100.00a semester tuition, parking right outside Macy, and other wonderful tales of UNCC. There are still a few professors around from when I was an undergrad the first time around.
I graduated from UNCC, and taught elementary school until my second child was born. I stayed at home for two years, then when the younger kids went to pre-school Iwent with them. I taught four year old preschool for about sixteen years, until my middle child started middle school. I decided I need a change, so I went back to UNCC for a second degree in English with the goal of teaching high school English. Along the way I was encouraged to go to Grad School, so while in the school mode, I earned a Master's in English Literature in 2007. I became an adjunct instructor in the English department at both UNCC and Queens University in Septemeber , 2007. The job market for adjuncts is notorious iffy, so I returended to UNCC to work on a graduate certificate in Secondary English as a career back-up. This is my last class before student teaching. I don't know if I will participate in the student teaching sequence, as I am now a 3/4 time instructor at Queens, so have some measure of job security. College teaching is my love, and I want to continue teaching at this level for the rest of my career. I am exploring the option ofeither pursuing a PhD in English, or perhaps working on a MFA in Creative Writing. I do like the idea of the certificate as a back-up, so we'll see what develops over the course of the semester.
As I said, I teach at both Queens University and UNCC. I teach Freshman Composition and in the American Studies dept. One of the favorite things about my job is watching young men and women arrrive on campus in august unsure of their ability to write, to read, and to think critivcally, and to help them develop the skills they need to progress in their chosen academic career.
I chose English because I love to rewad and write. I have written several articles, presented a paper at the Southern Writer's Symposium, have a personal blog, and will read a short piece of fiction at the SAMLA convention in Novemeber, 2009. I read between 4-6 novels a week, so I guess that's my hobby. I also enjoy walking, swimming cooking and trips to the beach. I also love college football, and cheering on my children's teams. Go ASU and State!
I look forward to reading my classmates blogs,and working on strategies for teaching English.
First, I am a native Charlottean also- however I have since defected.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading all of the detail about your life and family. It helps build a relationship with and mental clarity of the writer.
Do you ever get overwhlemed with all of the reading and writing that you do for fun and for work/school?
It is difficult to make a suggestion, because I kind of feel like the serf telling the nobleman what to improve upon. Maybe you could fill in a little more about why you hated ECU?
Golden Line "One of the favorite things about my job is watching young men and women arrive on campus in August unsure of thier ability to to write, to read,and to think critically, and
to help them develop the skills they need to progress in their chosen academic career." I like this quote because it truly sums up what this teaching stuff is all about.
I like the fact that you give us so much detail about your family.
ReplyDeleteIf you intend on teaching college, why did you choose to get certified in high school (besides the fact that it is a good back-up plan)? What do you enjoy about high school education?
I guess my suggestion lies in the questions I just posed.
Golden Line: "One of the favorite things about my job is watching young men and women arrrive on campus in august unsure of their ability to write, to read, and to think critivcally, and to help them develop the skills they need to progress in their chosen academic career." What C.N said about this statement was right on.