About Me
.JPG) |
I am from Mount Vernon, Iowa and graduated from Mt. Vernon High School. I moved to Waverly, Iowa to attend Wartburg College, a private Lutheran institution.
Left: In Mexico City, Mexico during a May term Spanish trip abroad in 2005. |
At Wartburg, I have centered my talents and passions on becoming a teacher of young children. I came to Wartburg to run on the track team, and met most of my friends through participating in an intercollegiate sport. Now, I am no longer on the track team, but running and staying fit is still very important in my life. My positive experiences with sports led me to become certified to be a coach. I want to help shape positive memories and a love for fitness in young athletes.
Right: A picture of me with my family in 2006. |
.JPG) |
 |
It took many classes and experiences for me to decide on a direction for my education and future. I now know that I am going to become a teacher, helping students learn and influencing their lives. Two of my passions in education include Spanish and reading. In May of my first year at Wartburg, I spent three weeks in Mexico- studying, learning about Mexican people and culture, and having the experience of a lifetime. Because of these loves, I have Spanish and reading endorsements so that I will be prepared to teach my students some of the Spanish language and will be prepared to teach effective reading instruction. I love spending time in the classroom and cannot wait to begin teaching! Left: Christmas caroling at the Waverly Health Center in 2006 with Phi Eta Sigma (a first year national honor society of which I was an executive officer). |
My philosophy as a teacher essentially centers around two ideas. When students leave my classroom at the end of the school year and move on to continue their education, I want them to have gained lifetime memories and lifetime skills, and to have had a positive, constructive experience. In order to achieve these two yearly goals for my students, I will be a passionate teacher. I want to be known by students, parents, and colleagues as a caring and challenging instructor. For each student to gain lifetime memories and skills, I want to have fun in class as we learn about and grow in each content area. Along with assessing achievement, I will be looking for individual effort and improvement over the course of the year. The skills and concepts students learn in my class should be truly lifelong building blocks for the rest of their learning. |
If children leave my classroom and reflect on the year as a good experience they will hopefully be excited about school and learning. So I need to create a positive learning environment in which all students feel comfortable to be themselves and are engaged in a combination of constructive activities and explicit instruction. This goal also incorporates the parents' experience. I plan to inform and involve parents through take home notes, welcoming visitors occasionally, and clear, honest parent-teacher conferences. These two goals encompass many different concepts I will integrate into my teaching style, but fundamentally exhibit the whole experience I want each individual student to have when in my classroom. |
Above: Some of the children I visited at the Mexican orphanage Nuestros Hermanos Pequenos in Mexico in 2005. |
Above: Exploring the ruins at Tenochtitlan, Mexico in 2005. |
