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EDU 201 Artifact #3

Kaylie Lord

EDU 201 1003

Professor Bridges

April 5, 2022
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Becoming a teacher has always been a dream that I set aside in my head growing up.

From as early on in my life as I can remember, I used to align my dolls in my bedroom and play

“school” with them and my younger sister. I grew up very introverted but always had a way with

small children where my anxiety would lift and I would be comfortable. Throughout my middle

school years, I began serving at my local church where I would watch and play with the young

children between the ages of 1 and 6 at the Sunday school. I also had numerous babysitting jobs

on the side. When I got to high school, I was told I needed at least one year of a Career and

Technical Education (CTE) course. I explored my options and decided to go with my gut on

Teaching and Training. The first year of this course was essentially the basics to teaching and the

workforce. It came natural to me and I loved the concepts we studied and explored. She told us

that the following year of the course, or the second level of the overall CTE is when you begin to

have the opportunity to work with the life skills program and practice performing your lesson

plans. By this time, I was sold and took it for the second year in my high school career. I was so

glad I chose to stick with it as this easily became my favorite class. We would put on the Special

Education Talent Show, the Special Olympics, and I got the opportunity to volunteer my time to

read to the elementary school kids at our zoned elementary for their reading week. This was my

first initial experience of “teaching” within an elementary class and I really fell in love with it.

Their focus, and eagerness to learn, their comments, and watching their faces light up is the most

rewarding thing from a teacher's perspective. I again, decided to take the course for my third and

last year of high school as I graduated early. It was unfortunate that it had to be online but that

did not stop us from creating lesson plans and teaching the life skills students 2-3 times each

week. I am most excited to inspire children to follow their heart, watch them grow and develop,
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and accomplish things they did not think they could. Self confidence goes a very long way in

learning and it is something that I have always lacked. If they believe they can do it, they are one

step ahead of the curve to getting where they need or want to be. My field observations for this

course pretty much made up my mind indefinitely. I absolutely loved watching the first graders

learn new things, learn how things rolled within her classroom and watching the behaviors and

the focus of the students. Things may not always be black and white and simple but I think that

the beauty in teaching is that no two days will ever look the same.

Based on what I have assessed within myself, my philosophical orientations include

essentialism and existentialism. I truly believe that routine and a systematic structured class is

key and that students are better and more likely to thrive when they know exactly what is

expected of them. I also feel that school should be a time where students learn who they are,

what they want in life and find specific meaning to their lives. I also think that my psychological

orientation is the humanist teacher. I feel that the greatest battle in learning is your mindset and I

want students to grasp the concept that they are capable of doing whatever it is they set their

minds to. The Education for All Handicap Children Act passed by Congress which extended

greater educational opportunities to children with disabilities in 1975 is one of the most

important historical events when it comes to my views of teaching. Just because a student has a

disability does not make them unable to learn. It is important that we, as teachers, ensure that the

student realizes this and is encouraged to go on.

I plan to have multiple ways of learning. Growing up, I was always a very kinesthetic

learner and hated having to read or listen and try to comprehend certain concepts. I hope to

implement centers into my classroom to reach all of my student’s learning styles in order to

boost their confidence. Things such as videos, small group work, lectures, and even some
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physical visuals that students can physically feel in order to help them master concepts within

my class will be used. I know that each and every day, I will be assessing my students and will

pull them aside during small group time to encourage them that they can do it and give them a

little bit of extra help to master things. I plan to try several approaches to fit the needs of the

student.

In order to fulfill my goals and become a teacher, I will need to keep up with my courses

in college to put me on the right track to graduating with a degree. I have a ton of experience and

volunteer work within the field but you can never do too much of what you love. I look forward

to my student teaching years where I can really learn the students of the classroom and grow a

relationship with them. I cannot wait for what my future holds as an educator for the young souls

of our overall future life of living.