Journal 1 - Introduction Page

Greetings and salutations! My name is Erin Hill and I am from Corona, California. I was born at Pomona Valley Hospital after my mother endured almost 24 hours of labor. I was born sunny side up, yep just like an egg! I lived in Corona for my first 12 years, although I did not spend much time there. I was a competitive figure skater, so I was always on the road with my mom traveling to competitions, practicing, or going to dance class. As a result I went to two private schools that were accommodating to the late arrival and earlier dismissal. Sadly, around the rip old age of 13 I developed a knee condition that forced me to let go of my dream of becoming and Olympic figure skater. As a result I dived into the public school system in 8th grade, a year of incredibly embarrassing experiences and serious social missteps that I have conveniently forgotten. However, it all changed rather quickly over the summer leading up to entering Corona Sr. High School. I am not sure what came over me, call it a random act of impulse but I decided to try out for the Cheer Team. Guess what? I made it! I continued to cheer and dance for all four years and then continued into college when I attended University of California, Santa Barbara. I rushed sororities my first quarter and I became a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Even though I went to a school famous for its Del Playa parties, I was on the cheer team, and in a sorority I somehow found the time to double major is Political Science and Law and Society. I was going to get my JD/PhD combo at NYU but I decided to take a year off that turned into four. Rather than taking a senior trip and traveling to Europe to ‘find myself’ I decided to work for my ‘Napoleon syndrome suffering aunt’ who owner her own mortgage company. After the variety of verbal, mental and sometimes physical abuse and harassment I endured I finally wised up and became an outside sales rep for her company. It was on an average sales day of visiting brokers I met my hunky husband, a loan officer. We courted for about 3 months, moved very quickly and found out I was pregnant with our first son. (Needless to say he knocked me off my feet ☺) We pushed up our wedding plans and we got hitched (while I was 4 months pregnant) a year ago this Sunday. I decided, again by some random act of impulse to quit my mortgage job and go back to school to get my credential. After being accepted in the concurrent Special Education/Multiple Subject program and CSUSM I again got the impulse to become an intern. Now I am a RSP teacher in Hemet, CA at Santa Fe Middle School, pregnant with my second child and finishing up my credential, oh and I am the cheer coach at my school site.

When I think of technology I am thunderstruck with two images. One, I think of myself, sitting on my laptop at my kitchen table typing a paper or preparing a power point with my son on one side, eating a toy of some kind, and my husband sitting on the couch watching sports yelling at the TV. The second is the first experience I remember is of my father ticking up on one of the old Apple IIE computers. He showed me how to play Frogger. That was impressive ☺. He too is a teacher, has been for 25 years, in Math. He and my husband are my biggest cheerleaders! Over the years I have become proficient in Microsoft Word and all its applications. I also know how to use programs such as Doc Magic and Point for the mortgage industry. Now being in Special Education I also use EZ IEP software and I use power points daily in my lessons. This helps with my visual learners and keeps them focused on something that is always moving, changing and always different. Technology is something I cannot live without. We are computer driven and we rely heavily on their abilities to accomplish tasks quickly and proficiently.
I believe I am working with Microsoft 2005 on a Dell PC.

The mission statement in the College of Education at CSUSM includes several key components. The one that jumps out and calls me to ‘attention’ is the phrase, ‘collaboration.’ This notion is so critical for teachers in our daily routines, particularly in special education. We collaborate with general education teachers on proper modifications and accommodations for our students in order for them to be successful. We create collaborative classrooms as all students, particularly those with learning disabilities benefit from the opportunity to ‘get together’ with their peers and talk and digest the material. My students engage all their learning modalities and their ability to collaborate on topics and projects seems to guarantee further successes. Collaboration is key to teaching and we should embody this notion as part of best teaching practice.