BLOG F

Since I was about 14 years old, I knew that I loved children. I have had multiple babysitting jobs, I tutored, I peer mentored, and I taught 1st – 8th graders how to ice skate. When I was babysitting, I found it very rewarding to be able to teach those kids different things, whether it be helping them draw, cook, reading to them, or helping them identify different object and animals that we found when we were outside playing or going for walks. Watching them grow and develop was such a great experience. When I began peer mentoring and tutoring, I found myself looking forward to meeting with my young students and helping them get through their homework or even simply just talking to them. Last winter, I worked at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center and my main job was teaching elementary school children how to ice skate as part of their ski/skate program. For me, this job was AMAZING; I loved every second of it. I got to create programs, record progress, and work with them in groups as well as individually. This job made me realize, without a doubt, that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher.

Going into this major I knew that there were not many job perks…..at all! Except for of course, spending every day with children. SED 125, with Grace Denison, was a great class. She is such a cool lady. Although the work load was not that extensive, I learned amazing concepts and ideas from her. She has literally taught every type of student imaginable! She has had teaching jobs everywhere and had lots of experiences to share. Hearing what she was able to teach her students, and what they taught her, definitely reaffirmed that I wanted to be a teacher. Dr. Denison, and her class, made me realize that this is not an easy job and that I would have to be willing to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty. She reinforced the idea that dealing with special needs children, parents, and NCLB can leave you frustrated. With that, she also reminded us of the rewards of teaching children and how in the end, it’s all worth it. Even though with hard to reach students, parents, politics, and all the negative aspects that can make our job messy, taking SED 125 just made me realize even more that I am exactly the right person for the job.

EDU 125 was another very helpful, informative class that I have taken here at UMF. Although a lot of work, all of the research I did and papers I wrote are all things that will help me further along down the road, whether it be with putting together my portfolio or just the general knowledge I gained. I thought that the chapters in our book that focused on actually being a teacher, especially when referring to the pay, left me with a negative impression. I knew that teachers weren’t extremely wealthy people but they really repeated that fact, many times. Although frustrating, I think it is great that we are being informed about the positives, as well as the negatives, so it’s not something that we discover for the first time when we have already become teachers. Really, the whole idea just stresses the fact that if you are a teacher, it is because you really want to be, and not for any other trivial reasons.

I thoroughly enjoyed both SED 125 and EDU 125. Both were extremely informative and helpful. I know so much more about teaching in general, about different students I might be in contact with, and about laws and regulations since taking these two classes. And since gaining this newly obtained knowledge, I can still say, with out a doubt, that I want to be an elementary school teacher!