Biography

Education is the most important concept known to man. So many components come together in the education process just to come to the final outcome of a successful student. The educator’s role has evolved over time; no longer is it just the educator’s job to teach, but the teacher is now the social worker, friend, and an understanding ear. With times changing, there are some common components that stay the same knowledge, diversity, and ethics. A constant state of change in education is technology. All things mentioned come together to create an experience for children to learn and flourish into the best person that they can possibly be.

Knowledge is for me, the main component of education. As the age old phrase goes “knowledge is power.” There are so many places you can go in this world with an education under your belt. I am the first to admit that not all education is delivered properly but when you have determination and the right motivation, knowledge can still be obtained. I plan to make my teaching experience for every child the best one they ever experience. I plan to teach elementary school aged children and this is such an impressionable time that I plan to implant a good experience of learning into every child’s head. It is so much easier to learn when you are having fun and I plan on incorporating current events whether it be music a popular movie or characters in my daily lesson plans so that the child’s everyday life can be wrapped into his/her education making the lesson easy to relate to and easy to absorb. In other words, simply reading off facts to a six year old is perceived by that child as boring, but throwing those facts into a game or put those facts to music is a new experience altogether.

Technology in the world is constantly changing. Things are going from complex to impossible, but as technologically unfamiliar as one may be, it is still our job as educators to make sure our students have the necessary knowledge of the advances in technology so that they can always have the upper hand in this technological driven society. With the age group I am planning to teach, the most commonly used bit of technology I would incorporate is the Computer. At the ages of six and seven most children are reading and able to follow a given list of instructions. A goal of mine would be to have every student familiar with how to start a computer and login to start up multiple programs and be able to access the World Wide Web. This could be tracked with a completion chart. So as the student masters one thing with the computer that task is crossed off of the list and that child at that point would be rewarded for their accomplishment. As a teacher I want my students to be fully prepared for the world around them. As I mentioned earlier, I would tie in current events into my lesson plans including technological advances.

Diversity as an age-old concept that has evolved from the color of ones skin to religious affiliations and more commonly now learning disabilities. As an African American woman I understand diversity fully. Everyone is different for one reason or another and as a teacher it is my job to show that different is not bad it is just that, different. With the children I want to teach being so young that can be a challenging thing to get across. At such a young age that child’s only explanation of different things comes from their parents and if there were a negative connotation put on being different that student would be difficult to crack. An important roll of being a teacher is to understand where a child comes from so you can understand why they act they way they do. As a teacher I plan on having my parents be as involved as possible so that diversity can be taught by eachother. Every child learns different so it is important as a teacher to be able to pin point individuals weak areas and cater to each child where they need a little extra attention. There are so many distractions from the outside that can factor into any given child’s life; my job is to bring out the best in every child I have the opportunity to work with.

Ethics is the most juvenile of the topics discussed here. I think everyone who’s made it this far in college knows what ethical beliefs to stand by, it is just a matter of doing it and enforcing it in your life and teaching. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. As a teacher there are guidelines to follow and rules to abide by but this should not effect your teaching negatively. Every student Is there because they need you to teach them the necessary skills to go on to the next grade level, If you are there doing your job effectively there is no reason to break any ethical or moral codes. As a teacher you are that child’s role model. An adult that those kids look up to. To mold these young people into successful young adults we must lead by example. Practice what you preach so that your students can emulate your actions, in turn leading them on the path for success.

In conclusion, education is the means to an end. Not too many people actually like school so I see it as my job to change that. Teaching such young children I see this as my opportunity to get them started on the right foot so that they have no choice but to grow. Children are our future and with having a child myself I see the importance of teaching and learning effectively. I want nothing more but to leave a positive imprint on the growing minds of many.