Bperk004

Brian Perkins

Education: BS, Radio/TV Management, Middle Tennessee State University

Intro: I was born and raised in Halifax County, Virginia. I have lived here all of my life, except while in college. I spent those three years in Murfreesboro, TN, which is about 30 minutes from Nashville. I have spent most of my time since graduating working hard jobs for good money, but largely feeling unfulfilled with my careers. Now, I work as a teacher's aide, barely paying my bills, but for the first time I feel like I am making a difference. It is the greatest job in the world when you can have a positive impact on the lives of children. Outside of work, I spend most of my time hunting, fishing, watching baseball and listening to or writing music.

Philosophy of Education: My philosophy of education is that all children deserve the best from their teachers. This belief started when I was in high school. The students can tell which teachers enjoy their job and I think it has a positive influence on them when they know the teacher cares. I had two teachers in high school that brought out the most in me. My goal as a teacher is to have that influence on my students. The only difference between those two teachers and all of the others that I had, was the enjoyment they showed in their job. I feel enjoying what you do is the most important part of the job. The true job of a teacher is getting students to learn. I think we need to find as many ways as we can to make learning a fun process. The more hands on a class is, the better chance a student has to retain the information that is being taught. Each student deserves a chance to reach their full potential. Todays classrooms make that even harder because so much is geared towards SOL's. I feel like teachers must find better ways to meet the standards, not simply teach towards the test.