Educational Autobiography

Educational Autobiography

            I first started volunteering at Margaret Mead Elementary in Helen Kraft’s fourth grade class.  She had invited me in to teach sign language to her students in 2007, and I jumped at the opportunity.  At first I assumed it would just be an occasion to use my sign language skills in a new way, but after one lesson I fell in love with teaching.  The children were excited and actively participating, and the more I volunteered in the classroom the better I came to know them.  As I finished my Bachelor’s degree and volunteered over the next few years, Helen became a mentor for me in the teaching field.  By observing and sharing in her challenges and triumphs, I came to know the requirements of the career intimately.  Then, in 2008, I received the “Children’s Award” from the PTSA for my volunteer work.  I knew then that the career I had dreamed of having since I was in third grade could soon become a reality.  I cannot imagine myself doing anything else.

            The bulk of my volunteer work has been in Helen’s room, although I have observed other teachers in her pod, substitutes, specialists, as well as a second grade teacher at the school teach.  As I have previously mentioned in our classroom discussions that I have a great appreciation for Helen's creative teaching style.  She actively engages her students and is not afraid to get them out of their desks. Throughout the day she continually refers to the class schedule and previews the types of lessons they have planned.  The students came to understand her expectations and would check to see if, for example, reading away from their desk with a partner was an appropriate choice.  My aim is to recreate a similar structure in a cooperative classroom environment, where the children help shape the rules and therefore feel responsible to uphold them.  My favorite activity in Helen’s class was always on the first day.  Each student received a paper listing different types of learning styles as well as three post-it notes.  They chose the three best qualities that described them, wrote their name on the post-it, and placed it on the class’ larger sheet of paper under the learning style, to form a bar graph.  This gave me a huge appreciation for the different types of learners, and how I would classify myself! One could generalize that children between ages 5-10 have high levels of energy, but that does not mean they all learn best talking in groups.  Some are better individual learners, in a quiet environment, such as myself.  It was a fascinating experiment!  The large bar graph was stuck to the door, and referred to as we began lessons.  Some types of lessons were more collaborative, such as science, and the classroom would be loud.  Some writing assignments were quiet, and she asked more “collaborative” learners to be respectful of the temporary silent environment.

            When I examine the type of teacher I want to be, I imagine a lot of Helen’s teaching techniques.  Helen’s students felt heard, valued, part of a team, and were challenged to produce their best work.  When I think about my own experiences in school, the most influential teacher I had was in fifth and sixth grade; his name was Dale Larson.  Dale’s lessons brought us outside to use our “classification” lesson on plants in the school yard.  I also remember table group teams competing on a classroom “Survivor” game board.  I found my passion for history and science in his class.  Most importantly Dale was supportive of my struggles in reading comprehension, and playground bullying that I was experiencing at the time.  I felt as though I had an advocate, and even a surrogate parent.  Unfortunately Dale passed before I had the opportunity to reconnect and tell him about my goals.  His motto for the class was: “Be all you can be”, I would be honoring his memory to meet those expectations for my own students in the future.

            In my educational experience, kindergarten through my Bachelor’s Degree, I felt most valued and connected when I could apply the task or topic of the lesson, in whole or in part, to my own life.  As I got older, finding the meaning and value of my classes became a skill I refined for myself.  As a child however, it was difficult for me to retain information.  Personal references or understanding the larger significance of the event helped me, and still aid me in remembering.  In junior high each seventh grade student chose a member of their family to report on for a large exposition later in the year.  The project enabled me to interview my maternal grandfather Peter Loos, visit my mother’s birth place, and learn about his service in the U.S. Navy during WWII.  The opportunity to learn about a period of time in reference to a family member, and create a family tree was exciting!

            At times in my educational career, I have felt disconnected when I do not understand the lesson and there is a lack of support from the teacher to help.  For example, I have always worked hard to pass math classes, but it has never come easy to me.  When I entered community college, my pre-calculus teacher made all the difference.  Tony Akhlaghi engaged every student and gave us the opportunity to pass or fail.  Whereas previous instructors provided a couple of examples and then assigned work from a textbook, Tony would actually work through multiple difficult problems on the white board.  We worked together as a class.  Some students helped solve problems on the white board while others made the calculations.  The expectations were clear, and he gave us the tools to succeed. 

            Volunteering, finishing my Bachelor’s Degree, and observing other teachers have forced me to think reflectively about my strengths in leading a classroom.  Helen has pointed out that I enjoy organization and technology, which are two skills I plan on incorporating.  I feel the classroom functions best however, when there are clear academic expectations and rules.  The children then learn respect, cooperation, and other lifeskills while participating in, and helping sculpt classroom management.  The most important attribute of Helen’s class I want to emulate is a shared balance between students and teachers, so both are responsible for creating a safe learning environment.  I originally thought it would feel safer to have total control of the classroom.  However, between Helen’s techniques and other more controlled rooms I’ve observed, I believe students thrive in an environment they help create.