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AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

Autobiographical Essay Ashlie Williams-Childs Carol Billing EDU 201 Foundations of Education Online, Fall 2012

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Autobiographical Essay This education class has taught me so much more than I ever thought I could have known in such a short period of time. I was a little bit nervous coming into this class this semester because it was like taking a big step in my own education. And I was right, it was! As a future educator I will take everything I learned and apply it to my everyday life. When writing these ABE journals I learned more about myself and my education than I thought I knew. I had never taken the time to think about the way I learned and my own educational background. I will be forever thankful for the knowledge I acquired in EDU 201. Educational background My educational background begins at Franklin Elementary school where I started Kindergarten. Franklin was a very old school; my own mother had gone there in Kindergarten. Franklin is no longer standing now which is sort of sad for me but I will always have great memories of the school. My family moved in the middle of 1st grade to meridian where I then attended Chaparral Elementary school. This is where I stayed until I graduated from the 5th grade! I remember the last day of 5th grade like it was yesterday. I think this is because I was extremely nervous to be starting middle school at Meridian middle. When I started my first day of middle school I remember being terrified. At 49 and probably only 85 pounds I felt so little walking the hallways. I do not remember a lot from middle school. I changed schools in the 8th grade and attended at Lewis & Clark middle school where I met my now boyfriend. I became a cheerleader and ended the school year with a 4.0. High school was not so scary. In 2005 I started at Mountain View High School. I was a cheerleader and had lots of friends. The schoolwork was harder but I enjoyed it. I focused a

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lot on school but honestly that was more because I was a cheerleader and needed good grades. I loved high school. I cheered all four years and was Captain my senior year. I was also Homecoming Princess in 2007. As you can see, high school was good to me and honestly I did not want it to end. I learned so much throughout my 13 years of school and it flew by in the blink of an eye. One class I really loved was English. I took honors English my junior year and College Prep English my senior year. This led me to believe I wanted to teach English after college. Since then I have learned that I now want to teach Kindergarten or 1st grade. My current level of education is a sophomore in college. It took me awhile to get here at the age young age of 22 because another thing I learned is that sometimes life can get in the way but it can never stop you from living your dreams. My educational background taught me that school is important and to get anywhere in life, we need it! We need the learning and we need to understand. We need teachers and principals to help us further our education. Without these people in our lives we would not have the lives we have today. The teachers who touched my heart are the ones who I inspire to be like someday. I did have a professor just last semester by the name of Michael Kamplain. He was my Psychology teacher and he was funny, laid back, and so smart. He knew how to keep a friendship in students while still maintaining a respectable teacher role. This is the kind of teacher I want to be. Work History My very first job ever was at Roaring Springs Waterpark. I was so excited to finally be 16 and get a job for the summer! My best friend Jacquel got one there as well and we were so excited to work together! I liked the job until my third day of work when I was checking bags. We were told to let visitors know it was not okay to bring in outside food or drink and

ABE especially no coolers. A gentleman along with his family came to get their bags checked. He had a cooler with him and following my work rules I told him it was not allowed in the park. He was outraged and continued to say inappropriate things and yell at me. He then dumped his cooler full of food, drinks, and ice all over me. I was mortified! Thankfully I was sent home for the day and the man and his family were not allowed back to the park for the summer. Even though it was handled very well, I did not want to go back to work. When I was finally ready they kept me away from the bag check area. My second job was at Abercrombie kids where I got to work around my cheerleading schedule which meant I only worked weekends and about 10 hours a week. Cheerleading

itself was a job! I continued with this job throughout high school. After graduation I got a job at a daycare where I got to work with children from the ages of newborn to about 12. In the pre-school room I got to help teach the 4 & 5 years olds how to read and write. This is when I decided that I really wanted to be a teacher. When I taught a child how to write something on paper and they remembered and were able to show their parents, it made me feel so great! I knew I was good at it and I knew I could feel like that for the rest of my life and be okay. Service and/or Extracurricular Activities I was in National Honors Society in high school and Cheerleading. I was also President in 5th grade and Secretary my senior year. I think in a way some of these things helped me decide my future. For example, I took a big role in leading with each of these activities. I learned how to lead more than just a few people. In cheerleading I was leading over 40 girls and being the Secretary senior year, I was helping lead my whole high school. In cheerleading I taught but it was in a different way than you would teach in school. I helped girls learn

ABE certain skills and helped the girls perfect things. I can say that these activities somewhat led to a role in my future of being a teacher, a big role as being a leader. Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career

I first considered education for a career when I was a little girl and would play school with my stuffed animals. I always thought it was fun to set them up as my students and use my window in my room as a whiteboard. I would teach math and English, I would do spelling tests and even grade them. Being a teacher had always been in the back of my mind, even as a young girl. I decided to become a teacher when I realized it was the only thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life career wise. I thought back and forth on the idea quite often after high school and one day it just clicked. I knew that being a teacher is what I wanted to do and I was going to do it. I considered a career in the Nursing area. I had always loved going to the baby section of the hospital and looking at all of the little newborn babies. However, I had my own little brother pass away the day he was born and that made me realize that even though a lot of babies survive, there are some who do not. And as a Nurse it was my job to put on a strong face and take of these sick and dying babies. I changed my mind after Blake had passed away. I was only in 5th grade but I knew that being strong and putting on a brave face was not something I could do that often. Especially after experiencing that pain and seeing my family so sad. The only rewards I expect out of teaching are the ones where I get to see a students face light up when they understand something for the first time. I never thought about how much money I would make or how much time I would have to put into teaching. Those things are rewards on their own but not the ones I chose to teach for.

ABE Professional Goals My long term goals in life consist of becoming a teacher, getting married, and raising a family of my own. These goals have always been the same and they always will be. I intend to achieve these goals easily by graduating from college, getting married to the man I love, and raising a family with him. My short term goals are to live each day as it comes. To finish the homework I have that week, to love the life I live and be happy. I know these seem silly and they are not so much considered professional but they are my goals! I intend to achieve them no matter what! In conclusion, I have learned so much in this class and my other Education classes. From getting to observe in a classroom to even teaching my own lesson plan! I look forward to

finishing school so I can become the teacher I would love to be. I really enjoyed every minute spent in this class, even the homework! I feel that I will be ready to teach comfortably when I graduate and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity that not everyone can have.

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