Educational Autobiography
My whole life I’ve always pictured myself working with kids. I have finally gotten the
chance to pursue my dreams of becoming a teacher. My name is Emily Savage and I am
currently a senior studying Elementary Education at Washington State University and pursuing
an endorsement in English as a Second Language. I grew up in Fall City, Washington with my
parents, my two brothers, and two dogs. While I was growing up, I thought about all the different
careers I could do so that I could work with kids. First, I thought about becoming a social
worker. I thought that it would give me a chance to help one-on-one with children who need
extra help in their lives. I realized after more research, it’s not something that would fit well for
me. Secondly, I thought about going into Family Law. Growing up, I had problems in my own
family and I thought that I could do something to help other families in need. My step-father
David Spikers is a lawyer and I always looked up to him. What I didn’t think about was I
wouldn't get as much time as I would like to spend with children. My goal was to find a career
that was focused on helping children every day. My mother is extremely important to me and she
suggested that I look into teaching. So that's exactly what I did. After starting classes at WSU for
Elementary Education, I realized I had made the right decision.
In kindergarten, I was diagnosed with ADHD. This was a huge struggle throughout my
education. I didn’t find learning important until I was in third grade. My third-grade teacher Mrs.
Jones, introduced me to educational topics that I had no idea could be fun. I was introduced to
new types of books and new forms of writing. After that, I was a non-stop reader, writer, and
artist. When I would take my ADHD medication, I would become incredibly focused. But, the
bad thing about that was, I would focus on the wrong things. I would daydream, pick at my nails,
skin, and hair, and I would become incredibly anxious. After being in Mrs. Jones’ class, I started
taking art classes outside of school, participating in summer reading through the local library,
and I would write mini-stories for fun. I had found a way to channel all of my bad habits from
my medication into something that was beneficial for me and it was something that I enjoyed.
I started my teaching career in middle school before I even realized I wanted to become a
teacher. In 6th-8th grade, I took time after school to volunteer at my old elementary school. My
middle school was close enough to the elementary school where I could walk to it. I would go a
couple of days during the week and help the younger students practice their reading and writing.
I would also help the teachers prepare classroom materials. After getting this experience at a
young age, I decided to start babysitting. This made me realize that I enjoyed working with kids
no matter what age they were. I’ve babysat for many different families with children who have
learning disabilities and children who like to “test” their babysitters (I had a child tell me “I like
to see how far I can push my babysitters"). By working with different families, I got to see how
children focus on homework at home and how they function day-to-day.
Through my experiences with working in the classroom, I have realized that being a
teacher is a hard yet extremely important job. As a teacher, you get the chance to change lives.
It’s incredible to think back and remember the influential people we’ve had in our lives. Or the
people that have made the way we think different. Many students have problems outside of the
classroom and as a teacher, you have the ability to make their lives better and to help these
students grow up to become incredible people. Even if you're a first-grade teacher or a high
school teacher. It doesn’t matter the age, children can always be influenced to learn and to make
the right choices in life.
As a teacher, I strive to make an impact in all of my student’s lives. I want to create a
classroom environment that is welcoming and accepting of everyone. I also want to create
lessons that are engaging and exciting for students. I will use resources available to me to create
lessons that are inclusive and can be modified for all different types of students that are in my
class. This also means creating lessons that are culturally acceptable to all students. My main
goal is to provide my students with everything that they need to succeed in life.
