My name is Christi Knowles. I currently teach 9th grade Advanced Biology, AP Biology, Physics, and an ACT prep course at Monroe County High School in Monroeville, Alabama. (That's two hours away, so if I seem a little distant or disinterested in class, I am probably just dreading the drive home or imagining what I could have said to that really slow driver that I could not pass on the way to class.) This is my second year teaching and I absolutely love it! The teaching part that is! The paperwork is AWFUL and seemingly endless. Faculty meetings and most professional development days are quite dreadful too, but the kids and the teaching are great! I graduated from the University of Montevallo in May 2004 with my bachelor's degree in Biology, and I am now an alternative route M.Ed student at UWA who is hoping to graduate this summer.
I also have a daughter who will turn 3 in a month. I can not imagine my life without her! And I don't think I would be as successful a teacher without her. Because of her, I look at my students differently. When I have to make a decision about a student, I try to put myself in the position of that student's parent and think about what I would want to see the teacher do. I believe she makes me a more compassionate teacher.
