While my entire life has been preparation for the classroom, I have spent very little time actually

in one. Every class or activity that I have joined, every excursion or path that I have taken have all impacted my student learning and will lead me to become a better teacher. Specifically, I believe that my travels to other countries and my reading of professional literature have sharpened my understandings of what it is to be a good teacher and bolstered my beliefs. As I detail each of these accomplishments, I will also relate how it has worked to impact my student learning. In my more recent travels, my service mission to Ecuador in 2011 was the most impactful. I rotated between five different cities over nearly two weeks doing various work with my group. Interacting with people was difficult at first we come from different cultures, backgrounds, and, most obviously, languages. Speaking very little Spanish, I felt very isolated and unsure of what to do. Our small group of Americans was isolated from Ecuadorians on bus rides and in restaurants; I realized then that I was the other. It was a unique and entirely new experience that shocked me from my privileged, white American mindset. Because I was being otherized for circumstances outside of my control (not being Ecuadorian), I was angry and wanted to shut down. This caused me to think about how non-white Americans feel on a daily basis; specifically, how would my future students react to being otherized? Would they, too, want to shut down? Is this the source of their anger? I realized, then and there, that as an educator I would always work toward the dismantling of otherizing people groups; I never want my students to feel a disconnect between me, other students, or my class because of circumstances beyond their control like status, ethnicity, or culture. I feel that I have become a stronger teacher in light of this because I am personally motivated to ensure that my students never feel turned away as I felt in Ecuador those first days.

In my Methods, Curriculum, and Practicum classes prior to student teaching, I read myriad articles and book chapters of professional literature that all culminated in my broadened idea of teaching. However, there were two articles that stood out from the rest and impacted me personally. Though the prime of his career was over 100 years ago, John Dewey (1897) had incredibly contemporary ideas of education. In My Pedagogic Creed, Dewey states education, therefore, must begin with a psychological insight into the childs capacities, interests, and habits (p. 1). Until reading this, I wanted to become a teacher so that I could teach history the way I wanted to learn it. I realized that I could not become a teacher with a selfish mindset; I am not teaching for me, I am teaching for my students. This has affected my teaching because I realize the gravity of getting to know my students individually their likes and dislikes. If I can create a curriculum of strategies and methods that are personally fit for them, I believe that their willingness to learn will be greatly increased, therefore making my job much more enjoyable. Similarly, H. L. Erickson (2007), in the book Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, so boldly states artful teachers engage students emotionally, creatively, and intellectually to instill deep and passionate curiosity in learning (p. 6). I find it important to note that intellectually is stated last in this list of evocations teachers bring; until my students have a level of rapport with me both creatively and emotionally, they will not care about the knowledge or intellect that I bring forth. This has shaped my teaching by helping me understand that my students are first and foremost children, and they want to know that someone will be there for them as they journey through school. As the saying goes, students will not care what I know until they know that I care. As I reflect on my life before I enter the real world, I realize that who I am outside the classroom makes me the person that I am inside of it. I am not a teacher because of a degree; I

am a teacher because I am a continuous learner. Everything that happens outside of the classroom can be reflected upon as a teacher and compared to the classroom; I must always strive to be a better teacher.