English teacher shares experiences

Jaime Bratton

Reporter

Where did you attend college?

I received my undergraduate degree at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and I got my graduate degree at Emporia State.

How did you decide to become an English professor?

I walked into my adviser’s office whenever I was enrolling in my junior year and I hadn’t decided on a major. She asked what I liked to do, and I said ‘read.’ There you go, I was an English major from that point on.

Was there anything/anyone who helped steer you toward your career?

During my senior year, I had an English professor tell me that I don’t want to be a high school teacher, which is what I was going for at the time. She said to go on and get my master’s and as I was walking out of her office, true story, on the wall was fliers that you pull tabs off of and there was an Emporia State flier. I pulled it off and signed it and got in.

What other careers or jobs did you think about before deciding on your current one?

I really don’t know, another job I had was working at a gas company for four years, that would be the closest thing.

What is the most memorable experience you had while attending college?

I had a history professor come into class, this was on the first day, and he said, ‘you don’t have to be here, you don’t have to attend, just do the exams and pass them and you are good.’ Immediately about half the class stopped showing up. And when he gave the lectures, he used his own notes, not the book. And he gave tests based on those lectures. I found out right then that you better show up to class because you never know what’s going to happen. And all of those students who didn’t show up either dropped out or failed. It was pretty spooky. And word got out in a semester or two that you couldn’t miss his class.

How did you end at Crowder?

I was at Coffeyville Kansas at the time when I saw the job available. I applied for it and I got it. Simple as that, I was looking through the help wanted pages and there it was.

How long have you been teaching at Crowder?

I am finishing my 22nd year.

 

What advice would you give to a student?

Go to class every day. Never miss a class and enjoy yourself.

What are you most proud of?

My children.

What is the most frightening experience you have ever had?

I guess it’d be when I was little and climbed on to the roof of a house and I was too scared to come down, I didn’t know what to do. I climbed up there on a tree but eventually, I had to jump. I was with my brother and three or four other guys and they all jumped; I sat up there a long time before I decided I had to do something and jumped.

Favorite sport and team?

Football and New Orleans Saints.

Best and worst aspects of your job?

The best aspect is being around students, the worst is grading papers.

What is the weirdest thing a student of yours has ever submitted?

Here’s what a student of mine did, she wrote a paper on how to build an iguana terrarium and brought the iguana into class. She had it out in the hall and brought it in after she read her paper. I wouldn’t touch one of those with a six-foot pole, it’s a little too prehistoric for me.

A paper topic that a student thought would make a good how-to, but didn’t?

There was a young man in my class who wrote a paper on how to put together an antique firearm and tried to bring it into the school. He was apprehended by security; I don’t even know how they knew he had it.

A word/phrase that you think should be erased from the English language?

‘At the end of the day,’ I am so tired of hearing this phrase. It’s a worn-out phrase too many people use.

If you were stuck on an island, what three items would you want to have with you?

Water, and assuming there’s food and wildlife, a pen, and a tent.

Who is your role model from history or your own life?

My dad, definitely my dad.

What’s something that seemed monumental or horrific at the time, but you now look back on and laugh?

My dad didn’t let me go and get my driver’s license on my birthday, and it was really a big deal to me at the time. But now I look back and wonder what difference does 24 hours make?

Favorite food?

My mom’s fried potatoes and okra.

Food you would never eat?

Beaver. I had a student who said he ate beaver, but I can’t see it. It’s not like herd animals or foul. I also don’t like deer. It tastes gamey and if you mess up while dressing it, it’ll ruin the meat.