Gail+Fiddyment



Hi, I’m Gail Fiddyment, and I am a Ph.D. student in the Gifted and Creative Education program here at UGA. I grew up in central North Carolina and earned a B.A. in Studio Art at UNC-Greensboro. I came to Atlanta to work in sales and ended up earning my M.B.A. in Marketing from Georgia State. I got married and took 10 years off from work to raise 3 children, and when I went back to work, realized my heart was no longer in sales. I knew I wanted to work with children and was hired as a paraprofessional at the elementary school my children attended. Two years later, Fulton County offered a cohort program in conjunction with Georgia State to gain initial certification in Special Education. So it was back to school once again. I earned my M.Ed. and have taught Special Ed for 10 years. I have taught every elementary grade except kindergarten, although I have taught 5th grade for 3 years now.

A couple of year ago, I realized I really wanted to teach gifted kids, so I got my gifted endorsement by completing the UGA coursework. I fell in love with the field and was accepted into the Ph.D. program. I am about halfway through and have just completed my chosen minor in literacy (which also earned me a reading endorsement). I was fortunate enough to be offered an assistantship this fall, working with Dr. Knapp (Ed Psyc) to train middle and high school teachers on how to infuse reading into content areas. Unfortunately for me, the school system in which I taught for 10 years refused to allow me to take a leave of absence for a year, so I ended up resigning, and will be looking for a job after this year!

My 3 kids are now pretty well grown—my oldest son just got his master’s in Math from UGA and will leave in a couple of weeks for Boston University, where he will work toward his Ph.D. in Applied Math in Neuroscience (whatever that is!). My daughter just graduated from UGA with a degree in Classics and is working for a local veterinarian. And my youngest is attending Gainesville State. In my “spare time” (which will be rare this year!) I love to read (my favorite novels lately have been the Stieg Larson series), play and teach piano, travel, and play with my Shelties, Chipper and Laney.

My contact information is (cell) 404-405-0149, and email gailf@uga.edu. I look forward to getting to know everyone and working with some of you this semester!

I think teaching is like creating a recipe...A dash of this, a dash of that, then taste to see if the ingredients work together to accomplish the intended goal. Sometimes you make a mess of a recipe and have to throw it out and start over (not that you throw the kids out :) but sometimes you have to throw your plans out and seize the teachable moment). It takes a number of considerations to make something taste good--main ingredients, a little spice, some seaoning, maybe a hint of sweet, and then your own "secret" touch. Main ingredients are like the core academic subjects--the basis for teaching and learning. You start with the basics and incorporate your own beliefs, experience, and values into those core areas. You try to make it interesting and motivating while considering students' needs (spice/seasoning), maybe use rewards (sweet), and do it with your own creative style (the secret touch). Not everyone will like your final recipe, and it might not win a cooking competition, but you put your best efforts into it, knowing what you know about cooking.

Raisin' Brains I really enjoyed the personal stories in this book and can relate to many of the family dilemmas. I think I am probably most like Magnolia, the third child. I realized that with 5 children, the 3rd IS the middle child, and that was my role (middle out of 3). Somehow, that middle child seems determined (in her case AND mine) to blaze a different trail than older siblings, and tends to be very independent and slightly :-) non-compliant! I am different, though, in that I always had my nose in a book when I was younger (well, actually, I STILL read a lot!). But I can identify with the hoarding (in my case, it wasn't food, it was just whatever caught my eye) and with the rather flippant attitude toward parental authority. I definitely shared her feelings about school and homework (even though I ALWAYS did mine, since my mom would have KILLED me if I hadn't!)--worksheets and report cards could have been eliminated and I would have been happy as a clam--Whoever thought up these instruments of torture, anyway?!