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My Birth
I was born in Aurora, Colorado. I have an older sister and an older brother. -
The "weird" years
So, we hit Middle School and things get a bit more challenging. Theres hormones involved and such. For my peers it was a bit scarier because we attended a Secondary School, we were walking the hallways with HS Seniors! At the time, to us, they were totally adults. Because these years seem awkward and hard for some folks, and it breaks my heart to hear people had horrid MS and HS experiences, I'd like to be a teacher that makes a difference! That makes them enjoy their time growing up. -
Middle School Honors English
When I entered middle school up North, at Robinson Secondary, I was placed in Honors courses. My teachers really pushed my creative growth and encouraged my learning. -
Assistant Dance Teacher
After years of being on company at my studio back in elementary and middle school, I was asked to assistant teach. I fell in love with sharing my passion. This experience taught me that a teacher can also learn from their students, and that's the beauty of learning, we never cease to stop learning. -
Freshman English Extra Credit
My freshman year of High School my teacher could tell the course was slowly paced for me. She offered us students extra credit for reading books and writing one page synposes about them. She would always take my papers and use them as examples. In fact, the paper I wrote on the novel "Buddha Boy" she still shows to her students today. -
Technical Theater Arts Camp
For 3 years I taught technical theatre and acting to campers each summer. I loved this camp beause as regimented as our schedule was it was basically "be as goofy as possible" camp. At the time I was having a blast not realizing I was learning a lot about how to take a lesson plan and make it entirely interactive, interesting, engaging, and fun. The kids gave me and my coworkers outstanding reviews, we had return campers every summer who spoke about us in high regard. -
English isn't always boring
My sophomore year teacher was extremely creative in how he taught English. He related many of his topics to The Simpsons, used Fall Out Boy lyrics to teach us about technique, and accepted all of mine and my bestfriend's B.S. papers about Ringo Star, and how someone's art project reminded us of how whaling is a huge problem in Japan. He was just happy we were doing the assignments, and were creative. -
Horrible Junior Old Teacher
My junior year I had a very old, very confused English teacher. She spoke with a southern accent but wasn't from there., she couldn't read her own handwriting, she told us her professors told her never to teach English (which I suppose I commend her for following her passion), and she thought quotes from the book that showed up on TurnItIn.Com meant you plagarized.....I vowed to NEVER be a teacher like this because she killed everyone's love for English. -
Best Psychology Teacher Ever
I took two years of Higher Level IB psychology. The entire time we watched SNL skits, got hit with super soakers, pranked eachother, shared YouTube videos, got passes to pick up Chipotle, Bagels, and those soft frosted cookies from Safeway for my teacher and the class. However, all of us scored high on our exams and passed the IB tests. My teacher taught me that learning doesn't have to be boring, you can relate to your students, be there for them. They won't realize they're learning! -
Schwarzy
My senior year of High School, I had this awesome teacher Cara Schwarz. She was extremely constructive regarding my writing yet very supportive and genuinely enjoyed it. She was young and relatable to her students, and she understood when we needed chill time. She was understanding of outside circumstances as well, allowing us to come in late if we brought her smoothies, etc. But no one failed even the hardest tests in her class because they respected her. I want to be a teacher like that. -
Graduation
Upon graduation, I didn't really know which direction I wanted to go but my mother is excellent at English, utilizing her skills within her job for the Department of Defense, and my family has always supported me in whatever my choice. I can't help but love English as well and wish to incite that love within others. I think English is dying within our culture and I find that so sad. -
City of Fairfax Parks and Rec
The past two summers I have been a counselor at a summer camp up North which is really just glorified babysitting. However, I have the wonderful opportunity of working with mainly teachers. I've received lots of advice and been able ot hear many stories. Through their insight, I've learned how to handle, or to better handle, certain situations. I also learned that i do NOT want to teach ages 3 to 9. I respect people who do, but it's not for me. -
Old Dominion University
Now I am here at ODU studying English Education, hoping to one day reach my career goals. I'm hoping to learn an effective way to be relatable to my students, while at the same time commanding respect and holding a postion of authority. Highschoolers can be very testing and difficult these days and I'd like to find the ways to reach out to even the most difficult of them. I'm hoping I'll walk away with some lesson plan ideas which encompass all these.
