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Welcome and Greetings from The University of West Alabama!

Kenric Minges from Tuscaloosa, Alabama here. I have been married for thirty-eight years and have two children, both of whom are now married. We have two grandchildren and another is due this summer. I have visited countries all over the world and I have found that good food is available everywhere! I have a BA, an MBA, and I am currently working to complete a Master of Education. I hope to teach secondary language arts in West Alabama. Although literature is my first love, history is a passion of mine and I like to read historical non-fiction. My picture below was taken in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg where I learned to enjoy Belgian waffles with syrup and whipped cream.

My //learning style// is a good balance of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual tops the list, though, with the highest score. My top three //intelligences// are Linguistic, Naturalistic, and Spatial. My Social score equals my Spatial as well.

A brief statement of my professional goals.

Any statement of my professional goals must include a reference to my personal history. I have taught two years in Alabama public schools. One year I taught ninth and tenth grade language arts and the next year I taught seventh and eighth grades. I think I like the middle schoolers best. Entering the teaching profession late, I soon realized that I lacked the skills and the basic knowledge of the art of pedagogy that is so necessary to be an effective classroom teacher. I saw myself failing miserably as a teacher, but I know I wanted to be a good teacher. I knew what good teachers had done with me, and I want to learn now how they did what they did! I read my assignments in UWA’s MEd program with a purpose. I want to gain that knowledge that will empower me to perform in the classroom as an effective teacher, learning facilitator, or any other way you wish to define it. My goal is simple: I want to be a better teacher.

A cynical quote concerning watching television rather than reading a book made by Maria, a Portuguese mother and my grandchildren's nanny:

“I try to make TV watching a complete forfeiture of experience. You should see how I keep my jaw slack so my mouth hangs open. I try not to swallow either, so I drool. And I keep my eyes half-focused so that I don't use any muscles at all. I take on passive entertainment and take passivity to my entire being. I wallow in my lack of participation and response. I become utterly inert and I can almost feel my neural transmitters shutting down...”