Setting the bar....

I love all the exposure TFA and early Childhood education is getting. Not to mention shout out to Zeta Tau Alpha.

Thank you Las Cruces Hispano Chamber of Commerce!

News news.

City boasts Miss New Mexico/U.S.A.

Kimberly Spinelli and Joseph J. Kolb
The Gallup HeraldGALLUP — Gallup boasts many distinctions. Indian jewelry capital of the world, high rate of per capita millionaires, and the home of the Inter Tribal Indian Ceremonial and Red Rock Balloon Rally. Now added to the mix is the distinction of having two New Mexico beauty queens vying for national crowns. Take that Rio Rancho and Albuquerque.

One is a teacher and the other a student who blend into their respective environments with humility.Miss New Mexico/U.S.A.

Brittany Toll, a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at Rocky View Elementary, was named Miss New Mexico in October and is excited about her upcoming competition on the road to becoming Miss U.S.A. in Las Vegas, Nev., this spring.

Toll, 24, born in Southern California was raised in Las Cruces, N.M. since fifth grade when her family there.  She subsequently earned her degree in marketing and research from New Mexico State University.  From there, Toll applied to be a teacher with Teach for America which places teachers in low income communities or communities that would not have access to “highly prepared individuals” who creatively inspire the education process.

Toll was accepted into the program, signed a two year agreement and was placed at Rocky View Elementary where she  has been teaching for a year and a half and is looking forward to her next career move which might take her out of the Gallup community.

“I’m still not sure, there are a lot of options that I have, I really would like to teach for three more years, I don’t know if I want to stay in New Mexico or explore a new location, I’d like to get my Master’s [degree], or work for Teach for America or some other non profit organization,” she said.

Prior to competing in the Miss New Mexico pageant, Toll had the self proclaimed fulfilling experience of being crowned Miss Teen New Mexico U.S.A.  in 2005 and placed in the top ten in the Miss Teen U.S.A. pageant.  Toll says she enjoyed her experience as Miss Teen New Mexico as she got to do so many wonderful things such as service work, speaking assignments, meeting a lot of people and traveling.

Toll hopes to accomplish even more by holding the title of Miss New Mexico by working with non profit organizations, public speaking and performing community service.

Toll explains that her students, though a little young to understand the complexities of what is involved with the pageant business were excited after she brought her crown and her sash to the classroom and allowed them all to try it on.  She used the experience as a training tool in her classroom to enforce the class motto which is that if you are smart, you can do anything you want and you have to work hard to be smart.

She says that she is always teaching her students that they can accomplish anything if they work hard enough and feels that she followed through by working hard to achieve the things that she has done and continues to strive hard to be a role model for her students.

“They really enjoyed trying everything on,” Toll said.

Toll, mostly a self taught beauty pageant contestant, has trained other contestants and judged other contests and feels that those experiences helped her win her crown.

The pageant begins with the interview process and then is judged on the bathing suits and evening gowns.

According to Toll, there are three separate interview processes, one is an individual interview in private with the judges, and then the two stage questions.

To non supporters of beauty pageants, Toll said that the Miss Universe, which runs the competitions, stress the importance of the interview process and that she feels that it is the most significant part of the process.

She feels that she is involved in something significant and something that can make a big difference in people’s lives with her duties as Miss New Mexico as well as her involvement within the Teach for America program.

Fascinating

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/opinion/21friedman.html?_r=3

TFA and Pageants?

A matriculating Teach For America corps member (in a different region) wanted some insight about balancing both pageant and TFA before she made her final decision to accept the job offer from TFA. She plans on competing for her state in the very near future, and wanted to decide if she could do both.... lucky for her I have been able to experience this first hand.

 (Photo by: Kim Jew)

Here is the email I wrote her, in case there are any other pageant girls out there who would like to do both Teach For America and be their respective state/national title holder. Or, if you just want to give as much of yourself as you possibly can to serving others....

Hi D,

Yes, I too am glad that I could be here to help you prepare for the next year. I feel that this is a very rare situation, so how incredible that I am able to share my experiences with you and help you better understand the role that you may soon have.

It seems as though our state requirements would be the same, although the Miss New Mexico USA Organizations does not expect me to take the year off. In fact, they are quite proud of the fact that I am a teacher and encourage women to be able to balance both career/school and service. Now, if I were to win Miss USA this spring then yes, that would be a full-time job, just like Miss America.

With regards to my experiences thus far, I have found that you have to be creative with your time management, and yes, I have sacrificed many things like free time to read, travel, watch movies and do the artistic things that I love to do. The way I see it though, I'll have time for that all in the future. The books and movies will still be there; but the opportunities might be long gone. I also teach classes and direct the after school program, so I do have very little free time.

So here is a little insight as to how I managed to balance everything. I wake up before school to go to the gym, and I do pageant prep on the weekends. I got all of my sponsors this summer before the school year started. I prepared protein shakes for lunch and yes; I still managed to eat as healthily as ever. Yes, I still plan to teach full time and do the after school program. I feel that this helps make me a more rounded person and while I'm challenging my energy and abilities I'm learning more about myself and my work habits. Being a teacher and a part of TFA has helped mold me into the role model that I am now. It has also helped me learn to communicate with families and master my public speaking skills. When you stand in front of a classroom everyday you have to bring you’re a-game. I have felt the joy of being part of a movement that is so significant and relevant to the needs of the community I serve in. TFA has taught me so many key life skills, I mean just think about the core values, those alone can help you become a better person and leader if you internalize them the way TFA expects you to. I have learned how to suspend judgment and how to give myself more than I could have ever given before. I have felt the feeling of accomplishment and pride at the end of a school year when I helped my students reach their goals. All of that has helped me develop into the leader that I am. I certainly feel more confident and self-assured. I am very proud of my accomplishments and hard work.

I am technically already doing what Miss USA would be doing with her reign. I work daily and unremittingly to make a difference and I manage to take care of myself and promote various organizations as well as my state. I have used my title already to help promote what I am doing and to promote TFA. Newspapers and TV stations are constantly reaching out to me because of this unique situation, which gives me even more of an opportunity to promote something I believe so much in, and develop important communication skills with regards to media relations.

I too am so happy that A connected us. I am so glad that I can offer help and guidance; I would love to further help in any way. Hopefully I answered most of your questions, if you want me to go more in depth please let me know. If you have any other questions please ask as well.

All the best to you, you seem like such a beautiful and amazing woman who wants to do so many wonderful things with her life. I admire you for trying to do everything that you can to make a difference and change lives through education. I appreciate that you have put so much thought and dedication into figuring out how everything will work. What's meant to be will happen, and you will shine regardless of the path you choose. I know this is a tough decision, but look inside yourself and figure out what will make you happy and proud. 

Brittany

  And guess what? She accepted! I would like to hope my advice played a small role in that. :) Regardless, I am super excited for her and I plan to help her prepare for the amazing set of years she has before her. I also encourage anyone else who may need advice to reach out to me as well.

Love & Learning,

B. Toll

My Students Are Famous!

(click on the image to enlarge)

Shout out to my awesome students! They were being so great, paying attention to the discussion we were having about elections while a foreigner to the classroom (the photographer) took pictures.

Monster Mash

Happy Halloween.... a day late.... but I figured that I would still share my adventures....

Morning session in their glorious costumes!

Afternoon session in their spooky attire as well as the vampire teeth I gave to all of them.... which I forgot how nasty those things get, er, especially when they eat their pudding cups with them still in their mouths. Slimy....

Next we made slime that did not consist of saliva (yuck). I love doing this with them. It requires very simple ingredients but I make it quite the presentation:

glue: ghost blood

Borax: skeleton bone dust

green food dye: monster tears

googly eyes: frog eyes

At first they REFUSE to touch it, but eventually they cannot resist it any longer.

Mmmm.... edible play-dough used to make edible snakes (I know, I too cannot believe that this is my job every day)! It was yummy and they really enjoyed filling up their snakes with M&Ms and candy (hey, do I get points for this being a fine motor development strategy??)

Ah, my favorite part of the day.... the costumes:

Elphaba.... ok so I don't think her intention was to be Elphaba, but I do love the green skin!

Edward Cullen... again, maybe not his intention but he's just as cute as Mr. Cullen.

My favorite is when boys wear the fake muscles. I just adore the fake muscles!

One thing I did learn, if you tell a 4-year-old that this is "mud pudding" they will not eat it, no matter what you do.

Show & Tell

Being a teacher has got to be one of the best and most rewarding jobs in the entire world.

My classroom is very goal driven. I have taught my students about the reward of working hard and always doing their best. It was such an incredible experience today to allow their little minds to enter into my world and show them how I am just as much of a dreamer as they are.

Today I brought in the Miss New Mexico USA crown and sash. I introduced the concept by explaining that I had recently been selected for a new job and that I even had a uniform for it. I explained how I had to answer questions that allowed me to display my intelligence and that because of how hard I worked in college I was able to do such. They caught on to the concept very well, I was very impressed ( though they never seize to amaze me).

I pulled the sparkly sash out of it's box and watched as their faces lit up, it was so sweet.....

a.m. class

p.m. class

 Then we passed the crown around, all of my students were able to touch it and feel it. It was a lot of fun....

Next, I let them all try it on, they LOVED this so much, even the boys got really into it!

And finally we took a few group pictures, everyone took turns holding the crown or the sash....

a.m.

a.m.

p.m.

p.m.

I am so lucky to be their teacher. They are magnificent little human beings and it is such an honor to be trusted with their education and their futures. I can only hope that they never lose sight of their big dreams and that one day, many years from now, they will think back and remember that their quirky pre-k teacher knew that there were big things planned for their futures.

It's going to be a great year.

"With a Little Help from My Friends"

(Photo Credit: Sandra Deming, Model: Brooke Boswell)

I can't explain how imperative it is to surround yourself with the most incredible and supportive people. Every angle of your life should involve amazing and inspiring people who fuel your energy and enhance your life. Most importantly, you should always consider yourself lucky and grateful to have their company as an ingredient to your world.

On Saturday October 23rd (the night of the Miss New Mexico USA pageant) I was shocked at how unbelievably calm and relaxed I was, of course I was a nervous wreck and was so surprised and delighted by every advancement I had made throughout the event (top 10 to top 5 to the crowning), but for some reason I was oddly calm. As I stood backstage I asked myself "Brittany, why are you so calm? Do you for some reason not want this?" I was very confused. Of course this was something that I wanted, for the past six years this has been at the top of my mind and the underpinning of my dreams.

I reflected on this unusual calmness even further, and then, all of the sudden it came to me. I was so calm because I was so completely content. I was content with the people in my life and the life that I was leading. I had over 50 people who had traveled from all over (L.A., Denver, Las Vegas, El Paso, Gallup, Las Cruces, Colorado Springs, Farmington) just to show their support. Not to mention the overwhelming support I received via Facebook, Twitter, email, phone calls, cards, flowers and so forth. I was so touched and humbled by all of this. I knew that even if I walked off that stage with nothing more then 10 sore toes from the high-heels and 3 layers of butt glue on my tush that I was so incredibly lucky to be  supported and loved by so many magnificent people. I knew that I would have been perfectly satisfied because I would gracefully have walked off stage only to find myself surrounded by all of the people who had come so far and invested so much just to support little ole' me.

I have no idea why my life has been rewarded. I have no idea why I am so lucky to know so many phenomenal people and I am able to call them my family, friends, co-workers, roommates, sisters, students and so forth. What I do I know is that this is the very element and foundation to all of the success I have found in my life.

Surround yourself with positive, inspiring, and supportive people and constantly cultivate gratitude of such. You will never live a disappointing life if you do this, I can promise you that.

Dream Big

Well, it's time for a major update.

As I was driving back from Ruidoso, NM (more on that later) I was reflecting on all of the ways I can potentially share joy with the world. I immediately thought of this blog and how many people have told me how much they love reading about my experiences in my classroom. I thought I would capitalize on that and add even more about my experiences even outside of my classroom and how everything correlates.

In my classroom we have a little saying, I say to my students every morning "Why do we come to school boys and girls?" and they reply with "To make our brains grow!!!" then I say "Yes! Because if your brain is big that means you are smart, and if you are smart what can you do?" and then they respond with "ANYTHING YOU WANT!!" and they just love this. Every morning we do it and every morning they act as if it is the very meaning and drive to their little lives. Well, now Ms. Toll finally has some concrete proof for them.

This past weekend I was in Ruidoso, competing for Miss New Mexico USA 2011. After six years of preparation it all finally paid off and I became Miss New Mexico USA 2011 on Saturday October 23rd. I attribute a lot of my successes to my education. I have worked extremely hard throughout my educational career and especially during the four years I was in college. I also attribute my success to the incredible people in my life who support me and help me be the best me I can be, many of whom I met in school or at college. Not that my students every doubted me, but hopefully it will be as real as ever to them. I am Miss New Mexico USA because I worked very hard, and now I have been able to be "anything I want."

I hope that my influence with my students doesn't just stop in the classroom. I hope that as Miss New Mexico USA I can motivate and inspire people to work hard and set their minds on "anything they want." I know the world is full of endless possibilities and I want to help empower others to want and earn success. Hopefully this blog will be the very beginning of that.

Please stay tuned as I hope to share many experiences on here as well as other great things that I find to be contributors to a successful and joyous life. It is my hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience greatness and love.

Now go on.... enjoy a cupcake....

Hello Hello

Oh my, it's been far too long since I've written about my wonderful life as a teacher. So much has happened it's unreal, but the good news is... I'm madly in love with my students. I was afraid that I would forever love last years students more, but nope! I love them all equally!

Here are some pics, because I want to share the love....

The bunnies get plenty of attention, as you can plainly see, and my students LOVE them. :)))

Love and Learning,

Brittany

Oh... PS.... Cameron said that he brushes his teeth with "Hot-Cheeto" flavored toothpaste! Oh my gosh! Where can I get some??? Yum!!