Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

Autobiographical
Furgason, Laura
Instructor: Dr. Egbert
EDUC. 201: Foundations of Education

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Autobiographical

My name is Laura Furgason, and I, am a teacher. I have not yet acquired my

Bachelor's Degree in Education, but I have set out down a path that will lead me into a
classroom filled with students who are all capable of learning. I plan on imparting all of
the knowledge and experience that I can on to my future students. I am striving to further
my education so that I may help students become the best that they can be. My passion
for teaching has grown much in the last couple of years and it continues to grow with
each new experience that I have. Several different concepts have helped that passion
expand and those concepts include my educational background, work history, service and
extracurricular activities, reasons for choosing education and my professional goals.
Educational Background
My educational background begins at Carey Elementary School in Carey, Idaho. I
attended this elementary school from kindergarten to fourth grade. At the end of that year,
my family moved to Shoshone, Idaho where my mother proceeded to teach me at home
for a year. In sixth grade, my mother decided to put us into the local middle school, which
was Shoshone Jr/Sr High. I attended until October of eighth grade where my mother,
once again, decided to home school my brother, sister, and I. Freshman year, my parents
enrolled me in the Idaho Virtual Academy, also known as K12, which is an online high
school. I participated in online classes for another year until my brother, sister, and I
talked my parents into letting us return to Shoshone Jr/ Sr High. I continued out my high
school career at that school and received my high school diploma.
After graduation, I moved out of my parents house to Pocatello, Idaho to attend
Idaho State University to acquire my degree in High School Education. After the first
semester, I moved back to Shoshone, Idaho after some problems in Pocatello, and

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enrolled at the College of Southern Idaho. During my first semester there, I changed my
Elementary Education and that is what I am presently working on. I will be receiving my
Associate's Degree in December of this year.
I did well, grade-wise, all through middle school and high school. I think this was a
big reason that I leaned towards teaching when I was junior. I was also told by fellow
class mates that I taught different concepts well. As I began to watch my teachers, I
decided that was really what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to help students be the
best that they could be.
After arriving at CSI, I began an education class where I had to do field work in a
classroom. On a hunch, I chose a first grade classroom instead of a high school one. This
was the best decision I ever made. I fell in love with those kids. I knew then and there
that I wanted to start teaching children from the very beginning of their school careers. I
wanted to make a lasting impression. It isn't the teachers that I know that lead me to
teaching, it's the children, They make me smile, and keep me moving down my
educational path. Ever since that decision two years ago, I have taken so many classes
that have helped prepare me for being an elementary school teacher. These classes taught
me about music, movement, developmental/individual differences, math and technology
in the classroom. I have acquired so much useful knowledge from my college experience,
thus far.
Work History
My work history doesn't entail much. I didn't have a job until I was almost twentyyears-old. I was hired at a deli inside the local gas station. My roles in the deli include
washing dishes, frying and cooking food, and preparing food for presentation. I also have
to sweep and mop floors, clean counters, and stock inventory. The deli makes all sorts of

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fry food, pizzas, and sandwiches. As a big part of my job, this includes taking orders and
making sandwiches according to how people want them, just like Subway.
This job has taught me so much in the last year and three months. It has taught me
to always be polite, even to people who may not deserve it. It has also taught me to
multitask and to be flexible. Most of all, this job has lead me to be more talkative and
open with people that I work with, and with strangers. I am a very shy, and quiet person,
and this has lead many people to think that I am not friendly. After working this job, I am
much more open with people that I come in contact with. This will serve me well when it
comes to my fellow teachers and to parents that I have to talk with. Children have always
been easy to talk to for me, but adults have always been a challenge. Now, thanks to this
job, I have come over my slight fear of being open.
Service and Extracurricular Activities
As I was growing up, I didn't participate in many extracurricular activities. Through
elementary, I participated in basketball and track, and I joined a cheer team for a short
while. I don't remember much of what those extracurricular activities taught me. In
middle school and high school I didn't do anything outside of normal classes. I was
wrapped up in my boyfriend and my little hobbies that kept me busy. However, during
my senior year I participated in track and field competitions. I wasn't in shape, but I
pushed myself and I improved. I wasn't any good compared to my competitors, but I was
proud of myself for pushing forward and becoming better. This is what I want to continue
to do in all things. I know that I can always be a better teacher, and I want to strive to
always look for better ways to help my students be the best that they can be.
As far as service goes, I participated in several service projects between the age of
twelve and sixteen when I joined the youth group at my church. We got together every

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Wednesday to do fun activities or to do projects that would help other people. These

projects included shoveling snow, racking leaves, weeding gardens, and delivering treats
and meals to people we thought needed them. As a group, we also adopted a highway and
picked up trash all along it. We did this twice a year for every year that I participated.
These service projects taught me to always think about other people and always be
willing to help out. I always want to help my students in all things. I want to help them in
life as well as with their grades. I also want to teach my students to always help others so
that they can be contributing citizens to their community.
Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career
My reason for becoming a teacher may not have been very noble in the
beginning. I was a junior in high school, and teachers kept pressuring my class that we
needed to decide what we were going to do for the rest our lives. So, I picked a
profession that sounded like it was something that I might be good at because my
classmates told me that I was. It seemed like a worthy profession and I went with it. I
chose to be a high school teacher because I had good grades in high school. It wasn't until
my second semester in college that my passion for teaching really sparked. It wasn't until
I had the opportunity to be in a classroom full of first graders that I decided that I really
wanted to teach for the rest of my life.
Those little kids are our future. I want to be a part of helping them become the
best that they can be. I want to be able to create a lasting impression. I want to be one of
those teachers that gets mentioned by a student ten years down the road. I know I have
the ability to help them see how and why things are the way they are. Young children are
so full of life and are so willing to learn. They absorb everything like little sponges.
They're so much fun, and I can't stop smiling when I'm around them. The more I learn

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about education, the more excited I get about my own future classroom. I can't wait to see
understanding on their faces when it comes to new concepts, and to see their smiles when
we listen to songs and play games. I had briefly considered being a web designer,
secretary, or author because I was good at them, but none of these careers seemed to stick
like teaching. Now, I am so glad that I chose to go with my gut and was able to expand on
my teaching passion.
Professional Goals
Presently, my short term goal is to receive my Associate's Degree in Elementary
Education this December. Also to further my own personal education in teaching, I have
accepted a job at my local school as a paraprofessional in the high school Special
Education room. It's not exactly in my field, but my goal is to acquire more experience
teaching children and to learn more about the school environment for a teacher.
My long term goal is to begin my Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education
next fall and acquire it by May 2017. After that, I plan on getting straight into the
classroom that following fall in an elementary school near my home. I plan on teaching
for as long as I can, and helping as many students as I can as I become a more
experienced teacher and role model.
In conclusion, my passion for becoming a teacher as grown more and more from
my journey through the educational process. My classes in high school and college all
helped me learn how important it is to be a teacher and how exciting it is to help students
be successful in all things. I have grown as an individual from my work experience and
extracurricular activities/service projects. My goals will help me be a better teacher who
will better be able to help students. I have the knowledge to better future generations. My
name is Laura Furgason, and I, am a teacher.