I feel that I have an incredible foundation for being a Middle School English/Language Arts teacher. I also believe that I will make a great teacher in general. I have a love of reading and writing (if you will excuse the shaky punctuation skills). I also see how the foundation of being literate affects the future of a student's life. I am still adding to my teaching pedagogy but have favorites like John Dewey and writing favorites like Don Murray. As for the social aspects of being a teacher, I feel that I can relate to students better than the average first year teacher. I want to talk to them on a level that is not too high for them to relate to but also that challenges them to use their own experiences to boost their academic achievements. My technology skills are on the mid- to low-level compared to a Net-Gen like my future students and I could use some skill boosts, especially since technology has become so pervasive in our lives and yet educators seem to be behind the curve. I want to learn what technology tools are out there for teachers and how they are being integrated into educational settings.
The reason I chose Sidney Sheldon’s “If Tomorrow Comes” as my Journey Book was my visceral reaction to the character’s plight. It was the first time that I felt that I could relate to the characters in the books that I read. It may have been the first time I read a book that had a strong female character that succeeded in obtaining her goals. I love reading all of Sidney Sheldon’s books. I believe that all the books I read before only had male leads and did not relate to real-world skills and events that even as far-fetched as those in Sheldon’s fiction stories could happen.
Professional Self
I have never been a teacher before, but I have been a student almost my whole life, starting in pre-school and before. My mother is a teacher and I think she liked to test her lesson plans on me. I have been through several careers and always felt the pull of teaching but never had the courage to move on it. I am in the MAT program so that I can be the best teacher possible. I believe NCSU has a strong program, even if it is somewhat new. I have learned pedgogy, teaching methods, and the use of technology in my classes and feel very well prepared for the next step of student teaching.
Professional Self Goals
I look forward to being able to apply what I have learned in the MAT program as well as my own personal experiences to teaching in a real classroom.
Literate Self
I read a wide variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction. I have favorite genres like Urban Fantasy and most Science Fiction. But, I also try to read the classics like C.S. Lewis and other ELA cannon books.
Literate Self Goals
Now that I am going to be a middle school teacher I am focusing more on YA books like Rick Riordan and others. I hope to be able to relate to a wide variety of students and their literate interests.
Virtual Self
I am a BIG online gamer, so am very familiar with using an avatar. Second Life is more complicated than what I'm used to but I am very comfortable with the concept. I have many accounts on social and genre websites including FaceBook, Goodreads, DeviantArt and LiveJournal.
Virtual Self Goals
My goals are to use my comfort with technology to connect with the Net Gen students and other teachers.
Through writing this essay I feel that I have found weaknesses and strengths that I did not see before. I hope to work on my technology skills as well as the additional weaknesses and am proud to see the strengths that I already have.
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