Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

Autobiographical Essay Karen Hatch Carol Billing Educ 201 Spring 2013

2 Autobiographical Essay I have always loved school. For me, it wasnt just about the social interaction as it was about learning. I have always had a love to learn. My dad always taught me that it is important to learn something new every day and I still try to live by that mantra. Educational Background I attended Edahow Elementary school in Pocatello, Idaho. I was enrolled in the afternoon class because my mom knew that I was not a morning kid and that I would do better starting a little later in the day. She was right as always and I loved Kindergarten. It was place that I was starting to make real friends and I vividly remember the different stations; such as the sensory station, the block station and the puzzle station. In first grade, I had to start at a new school because the school district changed their boundaries. I was now attending Gate City Elementary. I wasnt happy leaving my friends and I did not like my teacher at all. I went from a young and vibrant teacher to an old teacher that just had no idea what the word fun meant. One of my least favorite memories of all-time comes from that classroom. It was parent/teacher conferences and I was so nervous from my mom to return from mine. I knew that I had been doing well but it just seemed to take her forever to get home. When she finally did arrive, she had a brand new coloring book for me. I was so excited that I was being rewarded for my great grades but it wasnt that at all. My teacher told my mom that I was an excellent student but she could not get me to color in the lines. I was so disappointed that my new coloring book was in my mind, a punishment. I wasnt able to be creative and color those pages the way I saw them. I had to follow the directions and do what was asked of me. It sounds funny but it wasnt until I was 15 that I actually liked to color again and now I find it

3 Autobiographical Essay cathartic. It was sad that that one teacher had destroyed my creative mind and as an individual it has taken a long time to realize that sometimes we just dont know to color inside those lines. I attended Franklin Jr. High in Pocatello as well. I went there for 7th, 8th and 9th grade. I actually liked junior high. I was making new friends and was able to participate in various sports at school and also joined the drama club. I was also learning time management skills and was the first time I ever had a male teacher. For the most part I liked all my teachers but I adored my 9 th grade English teacher and my 7th and 8th grade Math teacher. These are the type of teachers that I want to model myself after. They were strict and hard but also giving and understanding. They had a great repoire with their students and made learning fun and interesting. I also have to say that it was pretty cool that three of my teachers also taught my older brother and my mom. For high school I attended Highland High School. High school was interesting to say the least. There were some hard life lessons to learn and yet this is where I really learned where my academic interests were. I excelled at Government, History and Business Law. I even won an award for my work in Business Law. I have received numerous awards over my academic years and I am very proud of my accomplishments. I first attended the College of Western Idaho in Twin Falls for my first year of college. I only took general education courses because I was still debating on what I wanted to do for a career. I then moved back to Pocatello and went to Idaho State University. I majored in Early Childhood Education there and also American Studies with an emphasis in history, government and English. I loved my literature summer class I took and the teacher was fantastic. My all-time favorite teacher though was my history teacher. She used autobiography books to teach history and it was so fascinating. She was also accessible and incredibly smart. I then got divorced and

4 Autobiographical Essay remarried and moved to Boise and attended Boise State University. I was a majoring in History at BSU. I liked attending BSU but wanted to finish my associate degree so that I could get a job working for the school district and that is what brought me to CWI. I hope to finish this summer at CWI with a degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in History. Work History Like many young girls my first job was baby-sitting for family members and friends. I learned early on that I had quite a knack for interacting with young children. Throughout high school I worked a few odds and ends job but it was when I accepted a job at a local preschool center when I was a senior in high school that I knew that education is where my heart is. During my first year of college I worked as a nanny for a family with one young child. He was 2 years-old when I was hired and I loved my job. I was able to learn a lot from the family and I enjoyed being able to help teach this little boy some early learning skills. I worked with him on letters, shapes, colors, and numbers. He was a real joy to work with. He picked up the new skills quite easily and was mild mannered which made my job that much more enjoyable. After I married, I moved back to my hometown. I attended Idaho State University and majored in Early Childhood Education. During this time a lot happened in my personal life and my education had to take a back seat to life. A few years later I went to work for a friends in home child care facility. After only a few short months I became her manager and for the most part was running the majority of the daycare on my own. After a year at that job I remarried and moved up to the Treasure Valley. I was a stay-athome mom for a few years as it was cheaper than sending three young children to a daycare center. I was fortunate enough last year to receive a job as a lead 3s teac her at a local Christian

5 Autobiographical Essay preschool center in Nampa. I love this job for many reasons but most of all because I was able to start teaching again. I have a great classroom of students and parents who are wanting and willing to be involved. I have a general curriculum to follow but I am able to create my own lesson plan weekly. It really allows me to have flexibility which is very important when working with 3 year-old students. I also started attending CWI during this time to finish my Education degree. Taking the Education classes has helped me be a better teacher in my classroom and have given me different ideas to incorporate into my classroom. Service and Extracurricular Activities My first real volunteer service came when I was 14 and I volunteered to help the Junior League golf group. I was able to assist in the planning and implementation of the program at a local golf course. I assisted with the organization of groups, tee times, lessons and the final tournament when the summer ended. I was able to work with ages from five-18. I learned a lot from that experience and know that it has helped me gain an understanding how to work with a variety of age group. My most current extra-curricular activity has been at our church. I am on the discipleship committee and we gather quarterly to discuss church matters that will be happening for that quarter, such as the Easter and what the church will do for the children. Last Christmas, I helped to organize and put on the annual Christmas program. This gave me a very good hands experience of having to organize any type of program that I may do with my students. I had to help plan rehearsal time, find a play that was age appropriate, assign parts to the students. I am sure somewhere in my future teaching career, I will have a similar experience.

6 Autobiographical Essay I have also been the Childrens Church coordinator at the church. This position required me to find suitable materials that would relate to the churchs calendar of advents. For example, around Christmas the curriculum would also need to focus on advent as that is what the church would be teaching as well. I would have to find volunteers and provide the different materials to help them teach Childrens Church. This will be helpful in being a future teacher as it has helped me plan curriculum that is age-appropriate and significant to a certain lesson. Reasons For Choosing Education As A Career I remember being a little girl and playing school with my friends. All throughout my schooling experience I always told people that when I grew up I wanted to be a teacher. My best friends mom was an elementary school teacher and I was so envious because I thought that was the coolest thing ever. When I was in high school, I did an internship in my friends moms 3 rd grade class and loved the whole experience. I knew from that moment on that this was the career path for me. Teaching for me is so much more than just curriculum. It offers so many intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that I find to be beneficial. It would allow me to continue working with children which I find to be one of the most rewarding benefits. I have enjoyed working my observation hours and the teacher that I am observing. I always leave feeling like I know this is what I want to do as a career. There are a few other careers I considered I considered over the years. My second choice was to be a nurse and I debated teaching and nursing for quite awhile. Ultimately it came down to my commitment to my family. I have four young children and knew that a teacher schedule would be a better decision for my family than that of a nurse. During high school, I also

7 Autobiographical Essay considered being an attorney but after doing an internship for a family friend who was a judge, I knew that I couldnt pursue that career. I hated the behind the scenes deals and couldnt handle the fact that justice wasnt necessarily being served. I want to have a career that is a positive environment to be around, not one that would constantly eat at my conscience. Even at my current job I know that there are many rewards that come from teaching. My favorite feeling is seeing my students achieve or master a skill that they had difficulty with. There is a great feeling of accomplishment that goes along with that. I also find the little notes and crafts they do and give to me to be very rewarding. Teaching can be very rewarding if you look at rewards on many different levels. A reward can be materialistic or it can be intrinsic, how it makes you feel. Short and Long-Term Goals My first short-term goal on an educational level is to graduate with an Associates Degree in Secondary Education. My original plan was to continue on and receive a Bachelors Degree from Boise State University in Secondary Education with an emphasis in History. After doing my classroom observation in a 4th grade classroom and also having my full-time preschool teaching job now, I am considering doing an Early Childhood Education degree with the ability to instruct up to third grade. I have really enjoyed my time during my observation and also my job and believe that working with younger students is where my heart is. A long-term educational goal is to graduate with a Bachelors Degree in some educational field and work as a teacher at an elementary school or become a director at an Early Childhood Center. As many long term goals are, I have a few options up in there and will just have to see which direction I want to take after I am done with my education.

8 Autobiographical Essay A long-term career goal is to be an elementary school teacher. I think it would be so much fun, albeit hard work to work with students in the lower grade levels. My daughter is currently in Kindergarten and I just love her age group. I know that they are a challenge but they are still manageable and still young enough to really just let loose and have a good time. Another long-term goal would be to own or direct an Early Childhood Center in the Treasure Valley. I have worked in the early childhood field for many years and seen some really good and really bad centers. I would love to open up a center that was NAEYC approved and would truly offer top care for parents without having to cost a top dollar. In todays society it is crucial to have safety be a top priority and parents need to know that when they arent around, that their children are being cared for and loved in a safe and secure establishment.