Who is teaching language arts to my child?
Mrs. Marsha Anderson-Smith Nall
(Anderson-Smith is her maiden name, same as her four sisters, brother, father, grandfather, etc. Since we’re speaking of her family of origin here, it might be interesting to note that her two older sisters are also teachers (one at CBHS, the other at St. Francis), while the two younger ones, respectively, became a nurse and a businesswoman. Her brother moved to Alaska [Where would you go if you had five sisters?] and is involved in genome research at the university in Anchorage.)
Personal Information
She was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, sometime after the great earthquake that formed the Oxbow at Reelfoot.
Her family moved to Memphis sometime after the War of Northern Aggression, otherwise known as the War Between the States, never acknowledged as a civil war. She attended St. Louis School for a few years but was graduated from White Station High School sometime after the Korean Police Conflict. (It never was a Congressionally declared war!)
Her children are all adults now, and she has three adorable, precious, wonderful, sweet grandchildren.
Professional Information
She was graduated from Memphis State University with two majors: English and Russian. (Alas, it has been decades since she has read or spoken Russian, and since she didn’t use it, she did indeed lose it.)
For many years she worked for Memphis and Shelby County Public Library and actually worked for several years at the Collierville Branch Library back when it was by the town square. Then she decided to be a stay-at-home mom (Yes, she did have children by then so she could legitimately be a stay-at-home mom; eventually, she and her husband were blessed with three beautiful girls [inside and out!] and one son [Can we say handsome inside and out?] ) but worked part-time for several years at The Carpenter’s Shop bookstore or at First Evangelical Church in the mother’s day out program.
When her youngest was close to school age, she experienced what some might call a mid-life crisis which caused her to go back to college for a master’s degree. After successful completion of course work, thesis (Would you like to read it?), and student teaching, she began teaching at Collierville Middle School in 1989. In 2002 her husband’s job was transferred to Middle Tennesse, so she decided she probably ought to go with him as he had become something of a habit after 30 years. She taught in the program for gifted students for several years in Rutherford County before returning to the Memphis area and has been at Schilling Farms since 2006.
She is one of the Beta Club sponsors and trains and takes students to the National Junior Beta Club State Convention where the students compete in academic competitions.
She is a member of National Council of Teachers of English, National Association of Gifted Children, and Christian Educators Association, International. She has been chosen as the Rotary Club Teacher of the Year, and has been in Who’s Who Among America’s High School Teachers three times. (This is considered a very high accolade because that recognition comes from former students who are selected as students for Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students who are then asked to choose their best teacher from grades K-12.)
In her spare time she is an avid reader, works crossword puzzles, plays Scrabble, enjoys cooking, and has been known to watch some of the reality TV shows. She loves middle-schoolers, reading, writing, literature in general, word games, and teaching.
