Friday, August 22 nd, 2008 Welcome back! 1 st period = hand outs from school (please do not throw away…take them home). Due Dates Have Changed: Materials due Wednesday (8/27). NO EXCUSES. Parent Letter due Wednesday (8/27). Pop Quiz #1 = Tuesday (8/26) on Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Powerpoint Introduction to color-coded Powerpoint Slides White = no notes Black = take notes in composition notebook Powerpoint: Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Materials Needed: Composition notebook, 3-ring binder, paper

EXAMPLE THIS IS AN EXAMPLE.

EXAMPLE THIS IS AN EXAMPLE.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Time Line

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far The Early Days I was born on September 21 st, 1983 in Deerfield Beach, FL (about 45 minutes north of Miami). I grew up with my mother and father. My mother was a social worker (counselor) My father was an auto-body painter. My favorite companion was my golden- retriever, Nugget.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far The Early Days I always wanted to be a veterinarian— probably because I loved all kids of pets. – Unfortunately, later on I was told being a vet. required a lot of money and medical school— so, I changed my mind.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far The Divorce Like many of you in here, my parents got divorced. It happened when I was 9, which was a good age I think. It really didn’t effect me that much because my father really wasn’t around much to begin with.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far The Re-Marriage After a few months of being single, my mother met my future step-father at a conference. They married just over a year later. They have been married ever since (1994- present). Although he can be annoying at times, my step-father is one of my best friends.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far The New Brother After a few years of marriage, my mother and step-father decided it was time to have a child of their own. My brother, Jeremy was born in 1997 (I was in the 7 th grade). Because of his chubby weight, he earned the nickname BUDDHA BELLY.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far “Living things have been doing just that for a long, long time. Through every kind of disaster and setback and catastrophe. We are survivors.”

Unfortunately, my brother passed away from a day-care accident when he was 3 months old. It is one of the most traumatic events of my life to this day. In many ways, this event lead me on a path to being in this very classroom teaching you.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Post-Traumatic Stress Before my brother passed away, I was a B student in school. If I studied hard enough and cared hard enough, I probably could have made A’s. After my brother’s death, I found it hard to deal with school. I constantly wanted to go home and my grades quickly sank…into C’s, then D’s, and eventually F’s.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Post-Traumatic Stress By the time I finished my freshmen year in high school, I had somewhere around a 2.0 GPA. My grades continued to drop in my 10 th grade year. I finished out my semester with a 1.8 GPA. Because of my failing grades, my parents withdrew me to a different school where I could get a fresh start. However, before I left, I did take my FCAT

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far A New Beginning… My parents enrolled me in Westlake School—a private school where the total enrollment was around 100 students (including elementary, middle, and high school). Because of the low number of students per class, I couldn’t goof off anymore (who can goof off in a class of 1?) I finished out my 10th grade semester with a 4.0.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far A New Beginning… The summer in between my 10 th and 11 th grade years…I got back my FCAT scores: – Reading: Level 4 – Math: Level 4 – Writing: 6.0 I thought to myself: maybe I’m not so dumb after all.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Success at Last During my 11 th grade year, I really started to concentrate on my grades. By the end of the year, I was treated as one of the smartest people in the school. – I won Student of the Year in It was during this time, I met Mr. Levine, an English teacher who wasn’t like an English teacher.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far Success at Last Mr. Levine taught me that English really doesn’t have to be boring: it can be interesting and relate to your everyday life. I passed my 11 th grade year with a 4.0. By my senior year, I had a 4-year average of – I was Valedictorian in – (Newspaper Clipping)

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far College Ahoy! I entered my freshmen year of college at the University of Florida with one goal in mind: to become an English teacher. In four years, I graduated with my B.A. in English. I decided that I knew a lot about English, but nothing on how to teach it to high school kids. So, I went after my Masters Degree in English Education.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far My First Job… During the last month of my Masters program, I attended a Job Faire for teachers (Counties set up booths where you learn more about them and then apply for a job). I went to Alachua’s (Gainesville) booth for a job; they didn’t seem very interested in me. By accident, when I left Alachua’s booth, I was standing in Marion’s line. A woman came up to me and asked me, “Do you know where Ocala is?” I honestly said, “No.”

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far My First Job… I decided to interview just so the woman would leave me alone. Out of the 4 people giving interviews, I ended up drawing the only high school principal there: Ms. Quelland. After my interview, she offered me this job teaching 10 th grade.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far In Summary My life has been a series of ups and downs. Sometimes it’s the downs that take us where we need to be in life; if it weren’t for the tragedy in my life… – I would have never gone to Westlake. – I would have never met Mr. Levine. – I would have never wanted to be an English teacher. – I would have never gotten into UF. – I would not be here teaching you right now.

Mr. Hampton’s Life Thus Far What’s On the Pop Quiz? 10 Questions that cover the BASICS of my life… – For example, I would ask you: WAS I BORN IN THE 70’S…80’S….OR 90’S? ARE MY BIOLOGICAL PARENTS STILL TOGETHER? DID I DO WELL IN THE 10 TH GRADE? ETC. Questions, comments, concerns?