Embarking on My Teaching Journey

In actuality, my journey began during my time as a student at Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, OK. As a child, I had a desire to become a teacher. I would make notes in my head about how I could make teacher's lessons better or more appealing to my age group. I would think of cool ways to teach certain subjects and dream about the learning that would take place in my own classroom someday. Unfortunately, I neglected to write all these ideas down. Oh, the resource that would have been. Ideas about teaching from a child's perspective.

In high school, I set my dream of teaching aside and looked into becoming a veterinarian, or a web designer, or about a million other things that interested me. In college at The University of Oklahoma, I choose to pursue a degree in Letters which turned out to be entirely impractical. I do however have an extensive knowledge of History, Philosophy, & Literature. :)

I think the experience that had the most impact on my decision to become a teacher came from my time at the YMCA in Riverside, CA. I was there for a short time one summer as a Day Camp Counselor. As I look back on this experience, I see many missed opportunities for learning. I could have done this job so much better if I truly understood anything about teaching then, but I didn't. I may have not been the best teacher, but the kids I took care of taught me a lot. One student in particular, Michael*, showed me how much of an impact one person can have on another person's life. As his teacher, I was a role model. Someone who could teach him about the world, someone who cared for him and wanted the best for him. When I left Michael on my last day, he was crying. If you knew Michael at all you would know this is not a typical behavior for him. He was tough. It was then that I realized the impact that I could have as a teacher. Even if I just reached one child, teaching would be worthwhile.

Thus began my official journey to becoming a teacher as I enrolled at Southern Methodist University to receive a Masters of Education with Certification in May 2010. I have learned so much in 1 year from lectures, field experiences, readings, and my peers. Teaching has become a passion of mine. I can't wait to actually get into the classroom and start teaching my own class.

In this blog, I would like to compile all the things I am learning about teaching. I also would like this to be a place for reflection during my student teaching starting this school year.

*name has been changed