turning it in...

The dissertation draft is in the hands of the SAM. I am under no illusion that it is finished, but the appendices and references are in place and the acknowledgments have been written. I emailed my committee to set up a time for the oral defense and it looks right now like it will happen on May 1st at 3:00pm. I will have editing and revising and also the bureaucracy related to graduation before then.

Oh my word...... or words.... lots of them. In the interest of brevity I will not include them all here. Rather here are my dedication and acknowledgments...

Dedication




To the teachers in my life




Acknowledgments




I have been blessed with many great teachers during my life, without them, I could not have completed this endeavor.




First my mom –R., you taught me about love and sacrifice, you always made decisions with my best interest in mind, you told me that I could do and be anything I wanted to be and supported me in each pursuit. This belongs to you.



To my dad- D., you taught me how to balance my checkbook, ride a bike and persevere, you taught me that life wasn’t fair and worked to give me every advantage, you taught me that faith was about actions more than words. This belongs to you.



To my brother –A, you taught me about excellence, you reminded me that someone would always be richer, smarter and prettier and then told me I was blessed, smart and beautiful. This belongs to you.



To my elementary teachers– Mrs. B., you believed in me and told me that I was lovable and capable. Mr. P., you taught me about rigor and humor. This belongs to you.



To my teaching colleagues – R.S., you loved me and weren’t afraid to speak truth into my life.W. G., you always worked to learn more and be a better teacher, and taught me about being myself as a person and a teacher. T. M., you taught me about planning, challenging students and laughing so hard you cry. This belongs to you.




To my grad school supporters, the Friendly Frogs and J.W., you have taught me to hear and accept critical feedback. You have read drafts of this paper to numerous to count and my writing and this work are better for it. This belongs to you




To my friends and sisters in Christ –E. H., S. N., S. S., M.W., B. Y. and many others – You taught me about friendship, trust, and rising to challenging and fearless pursuits. You have prayed for me, encouraged me and celebrated with me. This belongs to you.




To my readers, B. Y. and R.S., you read this work and found misplaced comma and dangling modifiers and questioned my assumptions. This belongs to you.





To my sister-in-law, S. you taught me about discipline, mothering and putting family first; you are always willing to help when I need it. Thank you. This belongs to you.




To my niece and nephew, G. and D., you taught me about joy, living in the moment and laughter. This belongs to you.




To my husband, N., the words that tell what you have taught me are insufficient: passion, hard work, joy, contentment, humor, problem-solving and most of all sacrificial love. You model all these for me daily. Without your love, encouragement and support I would have given up long ago. This belongs to you.




To the boy, my angel, you have taught me to live outside myself, to truly live sacrificially, but most of all you have taught me to enjoy each moment and reminded me daily, that I do have time for what is most important. I am a better person because I am your mother. This belongs to you.





To my committee – you have challenged me to produce excellent work and asked me questions that pushed me to think about the issues in new and different ways. This belongs to you.




To Rose Jackson, Margaret Anderson, and Douglas Parker – you opened your classrooms and your lives to me and taught me about quality teaching. You taught me that the best teachers know how to be themselves and enjoy each day. This belongs to you




Finally, to SAM– you have taught me what it means to be a scholar but more importantly you taught me that hard work and honesty are the best tools for success. You remind me to be myself and keep writing. Peace and Cheers to you! This belongs to you.


(of course in the document I used everyone's actual name)



I am feeling tired, and excited and overwhelmed and happy - happy to be here at home with my boy, working in the yard and thinking about what to put into the garden. I will continue to work on the class I am teaching and trying to get a proposal together for NAECTE, which is in Washington, D. C. next fall. I will work over the summer to try to get a piece together for a journal submission and figuring out what I am going to do for a job next fall.