Soundtrack for My Teaching Life | pg.

1 

Soundtrack Title: Love More 

 
Track 1 ​Surprise Yourself by Jack Garratt 

Track 2 ​ Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson 

Track 3 ​Brand New by Ben Rector 

Track 4 ​Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift 

Track 5 ​Make You Feel My Love by Adele 

Track 6 ​Go The Distance by Roger Bart 

Love More 
Dear Reader, 

My name is Savannah Patton and I from Harrison, Arkansas. I am attending the

University of Arkansas, not only because I have been a Razorback fan since I could walk, but

also, I fell in love with this beautiful campus the moment I toured it. I am majoring in Family

and Consumer Science Education and hope to teach FACS classes after college. I come from a

line of teachers and I would constantly be told that I was going to become a teacher. My inner

childhood rebelion thought other whys. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school, I knew that

I had to embrace my calling and go into the teaching career. My senior year of high school, my

FACS teacher inspired myself, and the other students around me. She made all of her students

feel accepted and loved for who they are and I knew I wanted to become a FACS teacher and

inspire students like she did.

I have created this album called Love More because my story and my songs are really

about just loving others. My album cover represents the love I want to spread in my future

career. I hope to dive deeper into why I became a teacher and what kind of teacher I want to be. I
 Soundtrack for My Teaching Life | pg. 2 

hope that one day I can share these songs with my future students and do a project like this to

learn more about them and for them to learn more about themselves. I hope that I can do projects

like these to push my students out of their comfort zones and teach them more about themselves.

Before I realized my passion for teacher, I thought I wanted to be a vet. I loved all

animals, including my 6 dogs, 1 cat, 8 chickens, 1 pig, and 2 gerbils. Junior years comes around

and I take AP Biology and realize I like playing with animals, more than learning about the

organs in the animals. I discerned I was trying to create a passion for the veterinarian career

while putting off my real passion, teaching. “Surprise Yourself” by Jack Garrett best represent

this moment of triumph for me. I have always loved this song, but looking deeper into the lyrics,

I realized this song represents the start of my teaching career. One line says, “Keep exploring,

seek and find, You know you might surprise yourself”. I took AP Biology thinking it would help

my understanding of my veterinary career, but surprisingly it did the opposite and led me to

another career. “Surprise Yourself” is a reminder to always stay open-minded, and I think that is

a great quality for a teacher, and for teachers to teach students. Teachers always need to be

open-minded because every student is different and learns in different ways.

For the past three summers I have been working at the Harrison Youth Center as a

summer-rec counselor. I worked with kids going into kindergarten and first grade. I loved my job

and the kids I worked with. Although, the job came with lots of challenges, including

misbehaved kids craving attention. In particular one kid was a foster child and all he wanted was

someone to give him attention, and he usually got the attention by acting out. Even though it was

very hard sometimes, I decided to be the counselor that gave him positive attention and made

sure he felt cared for. That is why I chose “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson. I knew I had
 Soundtrack for My Teaching Life | pg. 3 

to change myself so I could try to make a difference in this little boy’s life. I have to gain more

patience, be slow to anger, and become a better listener. With a teaching career, comes lots of

messy family situations, children acting out because that’s all they know to do, and kids pressing

your buttons constantly. My goal as a teacher is to better myself to be a teacher that can help

them, bring a little light to their day, and maybe even make a difference in their lives. One of the

most rewarding days of my job was the very last day. As I said goodbye to all the kids, the little

boy who always acted out came up to starting crying, “I don’t you want to leave”. He held on to

me all the way to the door before we said our final goodbye. I hope to make an impact like that

on my future students. I want to make a secure, safe, and loving classroom for my students.

During the school year, I observed a kindergarten class for an hour a week. I learned so

much about each student. I hated when that hour was up and I had to leave the classroom. One

reason I want to become a teacher is because I love children. One of the greatest blessings for

being in the classroom all year is how I got to see their growth. The first semester they were little

babies learning the alphabet and numbers, and by the end of the year they were big kids reading

four letter words. I chose “Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift, because I wish these kids could

stay little humans forever. I loved seeing them grow up but at the same time, it just seemed like

the time went by too fast. Also, this song has a deeper meaning because I made a mother’s day

video for the class with pictures of them and this song. It was very special and sentimental to

make this video for their moms to watch with them. I know as a teacher, I will be very sensitive

by the end of the year knowing the students will move on to a different grade, or maybe even

graduating.
 Soundtrack for My Teaching Life | pg. 4 

This past year and summer I taught craft and sewing lessons to kids, ages seven to

twelve. It was such a blessing, because I loved seeing something I love bringing joy to other

people. I am representing this experience with the song “Brand New” by Ben Rector. In middle

school I was made fun of for sewing. I stopped sewing for awhile because I was so ashamed of

it. I wanted to show these children the joy and peace sewing can bring you, but also teach them

that it’s an awesome ability to have and a great skill to learn. My favorite line from “Brand New”

is “​Like when I close my eyes and don't even care if anyone sees me dancing”. I love this line

because it is just a reminder to do what you love without caring what other people think about it.

I think one of the biggest struggles of middle schoolers and high schoolers is trying to fit in. As a

teacher I want to teach students to embrace who they are, not who their peers want them to be. I

think that this song is a perfect reminder to enjoy being who you are, without caring what others

think about it.

At the beginning of my junior year of high school, I started noticing how excluded the

special needs students were and how their peers treated them. At lunch, no student acknowledge

them because they were “different”. It broke my heart and I knew that I wanted to change that. I

began sitting at lunch with the special education class and working in their classroom for an hour

a day. I wanted these students to feel loved and accepted not ashamed or excluded. I chose

“Make You Feel My Love” by Adele to represent this experience. I absolutely love these lyrics,

“When the rain is blowing in your face, And the whole world is on your case, I could offer you a

warm embrace, To make you feel my love”. I knew that these students were facing very difficult

obstacles in their lives and I wanted to let them know that I was there for each one of them. I

wanted them to know that I cared about them. I wanted to make a difference in their lives, but in
 Soundtrack for My Teaching Life | pg. 5 

the end, they were the ones making a difference in mine. They inspired me to see the joy in life,

not the negatives. As a teacher, I want each student to know that I care for them and I’m on their

side. I want them to feel loved and accepted in my classroom.

This past year there was a new FACS teacher at my high school. I was a little worried to

take classes with her because she was very intimidating. With hesitation, I ended up taking three

classes with her and I could not be more happy that I did. My senior year I was being made fun

of for lots of different things including my clothes, my hobbies, the people I liked to be around,

and I was going through really hard times. My FACS classes were the only things I looked

forward to. My teacher helped me embrace the person I was and she inspired me to not listen to

what other people were saying, but listen to my heart. She helped me get through my senior year

by making me feel accepted for who I was, but also seeing the person I could become. I chose

“Go the Distance” by Roger Bart for this experience because it is just a reminder to embrace who

you want to become and go after your dreams. Just like the song says, “When I go the distance,

I'll be right where I belong,'' I want to inspire students to chase their dreams and be whoever they

want to be. I want them to feel like they belong in my classroom. My FACS teacher inspired me

so much, here I am becoming a FACS teacher. If I could inspire one student as much as she

inspired me, I would accomplish my goal as a teacher.

Thank you for taking the time to read the soundtrack of my teaching life. I hope that you

enjoy the songs as much as I do. I don’t usually enjoy writing essays but I couldn’t stop writing

this essay. Teaching is something I’m so passionate about and I can’t help but share my journey.

I have enjoyed this project so much because I love music and I’ve learned a lot about myself. I

learned the true little reasons that led me to where I am and who I am today.