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ABE Paper

Desirea Danner

EDUC 201

Shane Brown
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My peers always made me feel so discouraged since I was young because they always

seemed to know what they wanted to be when “they grew up”. I wasn’t one of the many who

knew from day one what they wanted to do for the rest of their life. I went from being a vet to a

nurse and more. Even in college I changed my major over four times, but finally I made my final

decision. Throughout this essay describes why I chose teaching as my final choice and why I am

so excited to be a teacher.

Educational Background

I was born and raised in Nevada and attended Northside Elementary in a small town

called Elko. I stayed at this elementary till I went to an intermediate school, which was grades

fifth through sixth. I only attended Flagview Intermediate School for one year and went to Adobe

Middle School which ranged from grades seventh and eighth. Jumping round from a handful of

schools I then got to finally experience the “best years of a kid’s life” and went to Elko High

School. During that time, I was still unaware of what I wanted to do for my profession, but

looking back at my experiences I realized that the education career is where I would like to head.

For my education path I have decided I am wanting to be a Physical Education Teacher.

The reasoning for this is due to my relationship with my prior Physical Education teacher in

High School. I learned so many certain life lessons from her and realized that teaching isn’t only

education, but life lessons. I would not be the person I am without her help. I have realized what

path I would like to go at the age of twenty-one years old. I figured this out two semesters ago

due to me changing my major again for the fourth time. I could not figure out what direction

would be good for me and finally as much as I denied it, sports and all athletics is what my life

revolves around.
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Work History

Having work experience is a special quality everyone should have and luckily I have had

plenty in a bunch of different areas, but they all can somehow relate to my career in the future. My

very first job was a server and since then I have worked at plenty of different restaurants for about

six years now. This type of work can be really beneficial for communication. I have had to deal

with multiple people and their problems whether that is with food or service. Servers cannot be an

introvert for this job and I think that can also relate to being a teacher, especially a physical

education teacher like I would like to be. Teachers must be able to talk in front of people and

communicate with everyone just like a server.

Another serious job I had in my previous years was lawn maintenance at multiple schools

in my hometown. I had to get a background check and my fingers stamped since I was a part of

the school district. This job was hard work and plenty of hours in the sun. My few staff members

and I mowed the football fields for the high school kids, to the playgrounds for the younger kids.

This being said, I was always around kids from different ages and this job taught me to always pay

attention to my surroundings. I have encountered many bullying situations where I had to let the

administration know and I think that is something very serious a teacher should be able to do.

Keeping an eye out for certain things like bullying or violence is very important. I also learned

patience and what hard work is like with this job.

My most previous job I had was being a Boy and Girls Club Coordinator. I had a ton of

fun with this job, and I wanted to be around kids to learn more about what age I would like to teach

P.E. in. I was in the gym mainly and helped children that were the age of seven to eleven years

old. I taught them certain games and also did multiple fun exercising activities to keep the kids

happy, entertained, and active. That job has been the most fun and intriguing job I have had because
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I got to interact with the children one on one. My other jobs revolved around children, but never

was a part of the child’s world. Learning different techniques for the children and how to react

when certain problems came about was really worthwhile to help me become an educator. It was

very rewarding to have the children be excited when they come and see and also getting excited

for all different athletics. I learned ways to keep the children involved and the activities and

understand the mindset of children.

Service/Extra Curricular

My parents always told me that service work shows true character in a person. I have

participated in multiple volunteer services that are dealt with athletics. During my high school

years, I would help referee younger basketball games and even helped coach. Refereeing taught

me multiple new things about the sport, but the main thing was patience. I was an assistant coach

for a girls’ basketball team my freshmen year of college. The team excelled in defense and did

very well in their season. Seeing the game in all different directions really help me understand

what the proper ways should to coach and teach a child to be.

Another activity I participated in was becoming an Ambassador at The College of Southern

Idaho. This experience has been so beneficial to me because of all the leadership programs I have

been to. Ambassadors is a council at the college that gives tours to perspective students who are

thinking about going to CSI. This has helped me with my social and communication skills with

students and really helped me get out of my comfort zone. I have talked with groups that were up

to fifteen kids and that really benefitted me talking to big groups.

Along with being on ambassadors, I also participated in Program Board. Program Board is

another council at CSI and plans all the events that go on at the college. These events can go from

skate nights to movie nights and they all are free to CSI students if they have a sticker to show
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they are registered in present classes. This council helped me with being organized and figuring

out certain events I thought students would find fun. I also was lucky enough to get an executive

position in this council and be in charge with all the social media.

Why Teach

Becoming an educator has not been what I have always wanted to do. I have changed my

major a handful of times from Dental hygiene to Social Work and more. I could always imagine

myself to fit in those certain areas, but the more I thought about it I realized that I wouldn’t

completely enjoy them. I took a step back and thought about the things I have always loved and

excelled in. Athletics have always been a huge part of my life especially in my high school years.

I played multiple sports and loved every bit of it. I give all my gratitude to my Physical

Education teacher and coaches that have helped me become who I am today. Being an athlete

can be very hard, but worthwhile. This is a big reason on why I want to be a teacher.

I have decided to become a Physical education teacher because of the impact my teacher

and coaches put on me. They have pushed me so hard in my athletics and they have helped me

with so many features. I have learned to push myself towards my goals and competition is a huge

thing for me! I also have learned to never give up and team work is a very beneficial thing to

know. I can use all those features in my life and that’s only some things from my experience in

sports. I love how much athletics have helped me and I want to help kids who need an outlet just

like I did as a student.

I think there will be many rewards for being a teacher. I will be able to build my

connections with my students and help put them on the right path. I want to also be a teacher that

students can rely on if they need any help. That can be either just someone to talk to or help with

finding scholarships and more. My Physical Education teacher was always there for me when I
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had family problems or any other issues and I still remember all the times I talked with her after

class. I look up to my old P.E. teacher so much for always putting her students first and that is

exactly the type of teacher I want to be.

Goals

I have many different goals in my future career, but my main goal is to make a difference

I would like children to look at athletics and fitness and think positively about it. I want kids to

understand what the facts are about good nutrition and health. I feel as if our society today does

not give out the proper way of eating and exercising and that is why our obesity rate for our

country excels. One short term goal is to finish my degree and get a teaching position in my

hometown Elko, Nevada. I would like to be a physical education teacher and look into coaching.

I eventually would like to be the head of the women’s basketball team as well and pursue that.

My long-term goal that I have thought about that goes with teaching is changing my

position as a teacher hopefully. I would like to become the athletic director of the high school. I

know the current athletic director at the school and I admire all the hard work she does for the

students and I am hoping to fill in those shoes one day. Being an athletic director, I could be a

part of all the athletics, which is something I would truly like to do. Go and watch games and

build relationships with the athletes and parents. I understand there is a lot more of a

responsibility for the Athletic Director, but that is my long-term goal for my education degree.

On that path, I would have to look into my masters and see what else I’d have to do to pursue.

Teaching is a hard career that not many understand all the responsibilities that come with

it. I have looked over all the pros and cons of this job and the pros most definitely outweigh the

cons. I want to make a difference and with this career I know I can make a difference every day

with a different child. I have a meaning in this world and teaching is my chance to show my true
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meaning and help children throughout my years. I cannot wait to pursue my dream of being a

teacher.