Week 4 - Narrative Writing

I remember the night before my first day of school.  I was near the dining table with my mom and older sister anticipating how the next day will be.  I had my school supplies laid out and organized in my school box.  Mom was going through the checklist and naming the items off to make sure we had everything.  The next morning the school bus came to a halt on my long dusty gravel road.  My sister was entering the 8th grade while my three older brothers were in high school.  I was relieved to have my sister along with me to make me feel better about this new journey as a Kindergartner.

I remember my Kindergarten teacher.  She was stern, knowledgeable, and had many years of experience as a teacher.  She was intimidating and even scary to us at times, but her classroom was fun and memorable.  I learned a lot of information from her and my other teachers at High Point.  High Point is a small rural K-8 school.  Besides the Kindergarten class, we had two grades in each classroom.  I was blessed to have multiple memorable and influential teachers that made a positive difference in my life both academically and personally.  They taught me how to read, write, speak, history, science, math, etc.  I enjoyed school during most of these years, until I reached 7th and 8th grade.  I started to lack in my studies during 6th grade due to my increasing interest in my social life and sports.  My grades began to decline during 7th and 8th grade, which was largely due to my 7th and 8th teacher (1 teacher per classroom of 2 grades) that lacked the heart to teach.  This teacher was new to our district and did not put forth the effort into teaching.  I began to fall behind in math because I wasn't able to understand the concept(s) before we moved on to a new one.  Although this teacher was not the best one I had, he taught me how important it is to provide examples, give great instruction, reach different learning styles, and put forth the effort into my teaching.  Otherwise, I enjoyed school and excelled in it until around the 6th - 7th grade.  I loved reading, English, and writing.  I even enjoyed and excelled in math until 7th grade.  I used to be on the math team and would compete in math contests.  Once I started to get behind though, I became disappointed, disengaged, and frustrated.  This is when my interest and grades in school declined.

Unfortunately, this attitude stuck with me throughout my high school years, too.  I no longer enjoyed reading and I especially didn't enjoy math.  I was more focused on my social life and sports during high school and did enough to get by when it came to academics.  In high school, most students want to fit in and/or gets caught up in other social aspects.  I regret not trying and applying myself during my high school years.  I can admit that I've paid the price for that throughout my college years.  I will use my experiences and knowledge to inform my future students how important it is to apply yourself in your studies.  I will also encourage them to speak up and let me know when they are confused or not ready to move on so they don't feel like I did.  I want to be that influential teacher that will be able to reach each student and help them succeed.

I have been enrolled in college since I graduated high school in 2008.  I was not focused or motivated to be in college and my grades reflected that.  I took extended breaks throughout these 10 years because of my grades and did not know what degree I wanted to pursue.  Once I decided that I will pursue my childhood dream of becoming a teacher, I became motivated and determined.  School became my priority and nothing stopped me from excelling in my courses.  I had to overcome many obstacles throughout the years.  It took me 10 years to graduate with a Bachelor's degree, which I just accomplished this last month on April 28th.  I was supposed to student teach in August along with many of my classmates that I've been on this journey with since the beginning.  Due to family situations and financial reasons, I had to make a difficult decision.  The logical answer versus what I want to do are two different things.  I had to make the difficult choice of withdrawing my student teaching request (already placed at the school just not with a teacher yet) and postpone it.  That's why I decided to graduate in April and go post-bac to finish out my student teaching to become certified at a later date.  Unfortunately, many people have to make tough decisions in life that may detour them from their goals for however long and this time it was me.  Although I recently made this decision that truly saddens me, I will not quit.  I will fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher within the next year or so.  I can't wait until the night before I anticipate my first day of school as a teacher.  I'm sure i will have all my supplies laid out and going through my checklist in preparation for the big day just like I did before my first day of Kindergarten decades ago.

http://quotesfact.com/going-away-to-college-quotes/going-away-to-college-quotes-012/