Henry Adams, an American Historian once wrote that a teacher affects eternity: they can never tell where their influence stops. Through all my experiences working with and instructing children, Henry Adams’s quote is what I find the most inspiring. As a teacher, one has the ability to affect a child’s life in more ways than anyone can ever imagine. That one smile or kind word you can offer as a teacher just might be the only positive interaction a child has the entire day. Because I feel I have the inborn characteristics that it takes to become a teacher, good management skills, patience, love of learning and most importantly, the love of children, I can reach children on a personal and professional level. I have the ability to bring the curiosity within a child out. Observing a child when they have learned something new is what makes teaching worth while. When I graduate from college, I want a job that I can feel like I have really made a difference in someone’s life and made a positive impact on my community.
Knowledge is the pathway to a new understanding. Giving and obtaining knowledge can better a person’s life in many different ways. I have obtained knowledge as I have matriculated through the University of Akron from several courses, such as, Characteristics of Learners, Teaching and Learning Strategies and Understanding Literacy Development and Phonics. I now posses the skills necessary to be successful in the classroom. Not only will I provide learning opportunities for students, I also will be a positive role model to students (INTASC 1). During a field experience in a kindergarten classroom, I observed a teacher who helped her students by providing structure and discipline in a caring and creative environment. I observed her as she modeled good teaching skills while providing the students with the knowledge they needed to comprehend the lesson. Understanding and providing the concepts and tools of teaching can help to assist the teacher in bettering a child’s education (INTASC 7). I will use the positive teaching methods and strategies I have observed.
In recent years not only has technology become a standard in our curriculum but more importantly, it has become an integral part of day-to-day life. Utilizing and integrating technology into a classroom can enrich the learning environment. Learners should receive the opportunity to work with computer materials that use content and language that are within the range of their conceptual development. In addition, implementing the computer as a means of applying reading strategies to all areas of the curriculum, programs related to science, social studies, and math require the use of strategies for reading comprehension (INTASC 6). Throughout my field experiences I have observed students using computers as a tool to enhance their lessons. They have been used for reading assessments, math tutoring and research. I hope to implement lessons into the classroom that use technologies as a resource and learning tool to help the students better comprehend the material.
In our increasingly diverse society, it is important to raise children with a greater awareness of others around them, especially those that are culturally different. As educators, we should strive to embrace and identify diverse issues that can impact the classroom by fostering an environment that offers instructionally diverse resources (INTASC 3). During my field experiences I have received the opportunity to work in an urban school setting which offers quite a diverse population. During a field observation last fall, I worked in a classroom where the teacher taught the students about a different culture as often as possible. The lesson included beliefs, customs and traditions of the cultures being studied. The rich heritage of each culture was celebrated. As a teacher I want to help foster positive self esteem and self images made by exploring the rich history of all cultures for my students.
Educators have the important responsibility of ensuring that their students become productive and responsible members of society. As an educator I will model to my students respect, value and positive self efficacy. Implementing classroom rules and procedures can help to guide the students in making the correct choices of behavior. Students deserve our trust, honesty, fairness, nuturing and commitment (INTASC 2). I have observed many teachers out in the field that have worked with their students to help them plan and manage their own responsibilities by introducing lessons that contain many aspects of building character. In one particular classroom I observed a teacher who informed me of the pillars of character building; caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness. I, too, will embrace these pillars as an educator. They will be at the forefront in my classroom.
I am looking forward to student teaching and engaging in a school community that strives to foster a positive learning environment. I am hoping to encounter many different situations that will increase my knowledge and understanding of early childhood education. I want to observe and experience first hand the joy of teaching so I can build a positive professional outlook. I feel confident in the courses I have completed that I have the knowledge and ability to implement strategies that will give students a better understanding of the curriculum. I have completed and am thoroughly satisfied with my portfolio required from the University of Akron’s College of Education. My portfolio meets the INTASC standards as well as offers examples of my work completed throughout several required courses. The 210 comprehensive project includes a rhetorical classroom situation and a lesson that has been adapted to the needs of the students developmentally (INTASC 1, 2, 3, 7, 8). The toolbox examples included in my portfolio offer strategies and situations that can help students overcome difficult barriers (INTASC 4, 5). I welcome the challenges I will encounter as an opportunity for growth and development in my career.
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