Dacia Jones
Who am I?
If you knew me at the age of 4, you would immediately recognize that I was destined to be a teacher. I wore my dad's brown-rimmed glasses, my mom's apple-red jacket, and carried a notebook wherever I went. I would line up all of my teddy bears, dolls, and younger siblings in a row and teach them the virtue of chalk on a wall. (This prompted my parents to immediately invest in a chalk board.)
At the age of 8, I knew that I wanted to teach elementary school. I had one favorite teacher who "got" me. She knew that I needed to use my hands to talk. She understood that I needed to move and wiggle to understand math. She appreciated the fact that I needed time to talk so that I could understand.
Upon entering 6th grade, I found a teacher who loved everything about teaching, including the students. He stood on a skateboard the first day of class and sent himself flying across the room by releasing the nozzle of the fire extinguisher. (Many years later I tried the same thing with my first graders and ended up in the hospital). Mr. Porter taught us to blow things up, use hammers and nails to make castles, collect bugs, and have fun while learning….so now I teach!
I am the wife of Steve, a Senior Recreation Director with the City of Hickory. I am the mother to Mollie (student at Appalachian State University) and Katie (senior at Hickory High School) I am the founder of Teaching with Style and enjoy sharing innovative teaching ideas with teachers everywhere. (www.teachingwithstyle.com) I have been teaching for 19 years in North Carolina. I adore camping, reading, music, and loving on my family. I am thrilled to be working with the amazing staff at Claremont and Maiden Elementary as the Instructional Coach. They are teaching me something new every day.