Ariana Martinez #15

Philosophical Portrait of Myself

3/27/2017

Many people question why anyone would want to become a teacher. Most find the job to

be a daunting task with not enough compensation. When people ask me personally, I like to think

of this quote by Joseph Campbell, "The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in

themselves." I want to be a positive example of what it means to never give up on yourself. I

want to help children find their own ways of learning and ignite the willpower to accomplish

anything they set their minds to.

I fell behind in school at a very young age. I was raised by a single mother who was in

and out of relationships in which most suffered domestic violence issues. Although my mother

loved me more than anything in the world, the high stress home life prevented me from learning

many of the basics. I quickly began to feel as if I was never going catch up. I felt like I didn't

shine in most subjects. Regardless of the circumstances, I did always have confidence in the fact

that my future could be better than the present. I held onto a very positive attitude and although I

felt I was not very good at school, I was always well behaved and responsible in other areas of

my life.

One thing that helped me significantly in high school was the four-year AVID program.

"AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated

to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary

opportunities" -Avid.org. This program took the place of one of my electives and provided me
with brief tutoring sessions as well as lessons on how to take proper notes in class and how to

become and stay organized. The class taught me how to demonstrate professional behaviors,

such as a proper handshake, and had us sit in the front row of all our classes. Even though I had

low test scores all through my prior education, I was taken from my track and was placed in all

honors classes. I am still unsure whether this aspect of the program was a benefit or if it hindered

me. Suddenly, I was in more advanced classes with students who quickly grasped the material. I

felt my self-esteem lowering from always being the one in class that had trouble with each new

lesson. Although it was challenging, I am happy I was in classrooms with more driven students,

which resulted in me making friends with more positive people.

After graduation, I had no idea what I wanted to do for my career. I worked hard at every

job I came by and was always kind. It paid off because I found myself a well-paying career in

sales at a luxury boutique when I was twenty-one years old. I realized I could generate more

sales by quickly memorizing the product knowledge and using it to educate customers and

romance our product. Once I started studying material to teach things to others, it was easy for

me to become excited to learn. This is when I finally found confidence in my intelligence. I

moved up to a supervisor position and for the first time I acquired a comfortable home life.

Admittedly, I never shared a passion for the products I sell, and I do not find this to be my life-

long career. I want to spend my life with a career that makes a positive difference on our

community. I found the courage to return to school to better myself and pursue my dream.

Once we began learning about the different Learning Styles in my Introduction to

Education class, I was able to identify myself as a predominately Visual Learner as well as a

Kinesthetic/Tactile Learner. I then realized why I had been able to learn so quickly in my current

career. I was able to physically see and experience what my collogues were doing to generate
sales, and then incorporate those things into my technique. I was also able to immediately start

restating and utilizing all my newfound knowledge to the clients that came into the store. Now

that I have identified what Learning Styles I have been successful with, I am provided with many

studying techniques that will help me go through college with confidence. This also further fuels

my passion for wanting to help others find confidence in their learning ability.

Going into this course I was curious about becoming an Art teacher. Art is another thing

I became passionate about as an adult but was never driven to attempt as a child. I can't help but

to wonder that if someone would have introduced me to one subject or hobby I felt like I

excelled in during school, if it would have given me the confidence in which I so desperately

needed. Now that I have almost completed my Field Observation, I am wondering if I should

consider taking on one of the Core Classes so I can more effectively use all the Learning Styles

in my own classroom.

In the next 5 years, I see myself continuously trying to find new ways to spark student's

faith in oneself. I want to bring positivity and excitement to a classroom by incorporating ideas

from all the Teaching Styles as well as the Learning Styles. I test highest for Social

Reconstructionism as my philosophy, but I feel that students benefit with incorporating all the

methods. Working in a public school, there will be an enormous range of students from different

backgrounds with different needs. I will focus on the affective domain of my students and

remind them that no matter what they go through in their home lives, they have control of their

future. As an educator I want to remind myself that we can only make a difference to another

person when we try to see through their perspective.