Hi everyone,
My name is Erica Roth and I'm a 5th grade teacher in Ramsey, NJ. This is my fourth year there, and I really love it. I live in Hoboken, which is fun and convenient-- I take the train to work every day to avoid the hassle of parking here. I also work as the Program Director at Gate Hill Day Camp, which is a year round commitment. Most of my leadership experience in terms of management, long term planning, staff training, etc. has been there. I started out at a counselor there for five years, and have worked on the Leadership Team for the past five.
I love spending time in Hoboken and I'm glad to be back here since most of my time in the summer is occupied by camp. I also love to travel and am planning to go to Israel this winter.
After this semester I'll have completed 18 credits toward the Educational Leadership program-- halfway there! I'm taking this course because it's a requirement in the program. I'm not exactly sure of my career goals... I know that I enjoy staff development, so I'll have to see where I wind up. I don't believe that most districts have a Professional Development staff person, but it's usually paired with Curriculum, or some other administrative area. For now, I'm extremely happy teaching, and can see myself staying in the classroom for the next few years. I haven't completely ruled out becoming an Elementary School Principal... But I'll have to see what I think over the next few years.
My parents are both newly retired, and my older sister just celebrated her first wedding anniversary. My boyfriend is shown in the picture; he lives close by in Hoboken too. I'm lucky to have them all in the area.
7 comments:
Hi Erica-
I believe that camp is the greatest training ground for teaching. I was a lifeguard/swim instructor at a day camp for 8 years and loved it. I had to leave when I became a 12 month administrator. :-(
Staff development is a much needed area, but you are right, most districts (except for large ones) don;t have a dedicated position just for that. The nice part about being a principal however is that some of the best principals embed staff development into their job.
I'm jealous that you can take the train to work:) I drive from Ft. Lee to Morristown everyday (I have over 100,000 miles on my car, and it's only 4 years old),and I wish I could take the train...I understand completely the sense of mass transit!
I know what you mean about being an administrator. I too am not really sure if I would like to do it because I just LOVE being in the classroom. The students are GREAT and can't imagine being without them.
In my district, we are fortunate to have a professional development committee. It's made up of our own teachers and we conduct many surveys and interviews to get an idea of what our staff needs. I can honestly say that has been a great system. It may be something that your district may want to look into.
To answer your questions - my daughter is 3.5 years old and my son is only 2 months old.
As far as my favorite states - that's such a loaded question. Each state possesses its own beauty since each state is so different (weather, people, peaceful countryside or busy city, etc). Some states I'd love to go back to are Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, and Maine, to name a few, so I guess that would mean they are among my favorites.
I agree about not being in rush to leave the classroom. I taught for 6 years before staying home with my daughter, and the young teachers I admired most always told me I'd get sick of the classroom by the 7th year. Although I'm on a little hiatus now, I don't think that the "seven year itch" is going to affect me so much when I return! Still, it will be nice to have other options available after finishing up this program.
I'm jealous that you may go to Israel in the winter! I visited Israel about 15 years ago and it was honestly one of the greatest experiences of my life. My old college roommate moved there, and I'd love to go back to see what kind of life she's created there. She lives in the Golan Heights with her 3 (soon to be 4) kids, so I'm guessing it isn't easy.
Hope you have a wonderful time there!
How very green of you to take the train! This year is actually the first time in a long time that I can not take the train to work or school anymore and I miss being able to read along the way. Guess I'll have to get back into the audio book thing, but then again my car commute is only about 15-20 mins.
You are very lucky that you live and work in areas that allow you to take a train.
Like Prof B, I started as a lifeguard/ swim instructor. Although my military career has offered me many leadership positions that I feel I am ready for an Admin position now.
Traveling is fun I have had the opportunity to see a good part of the world.
Post a Comment