MY INFLUENCE 1

My Influence on Becoming a Professional Educator

Tarah Chiles

Elementary Education, College of Western Idaho

Doug Rapley

Foundations of Education

March 18, 2021

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Different Influences

I have a set plan for my future, and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my

past experiences. My educational background, work history, ethical reasonings, my

considerations for choosing this career, and my professional goals have influenced my decision

in becoming a professional educator. Many different aspects in my life have impacted who I am.

Educational Background

I attended elementary, and secondary at the same school until my senior year. The school

I was at for most of my education was Sangre De Cristo Undivided High School in Mosca,

Colorado. The summer before my senior year, I moved to Idaho and attended my last year at

Caldwell Senior High School. My current level of education is undergraduate.

A unique educational experience I’ve had was reading to younger students. When I was

in fourth grade, we would pair up with them and help them read books above their reading level.

Another educational experience was taking the adult living class my senior year. I was amazed

by how many students in my class didn’t know how to cook or sew. Growing up I thought

everyone was taught how to cook, but I learned that wasn’t the case. I noticed that the kids who

took the class seriously enjoyed learning the basics.

My education has not only contributed to my development, but it has significantly

influenced my decision on becoming a professional educator. When I was in school, I didn’t

have very much appreciation for my teachers, but looking back now I have realized that they

really did care about me. If it weren’t for my teachers, I would not be where I am today. Yes,

school was difficult, and there were days where I really wanted to give up, but my teachers

showed me that it wasn’t worth it. I learned from them what it meant to be professional. My

teachers had a passion for their jobs, and I never heard them complain about finances. They
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maintained a professional attitude, and even on their bad days they still managed to be the best

teachers. My teachers rarely took personal days, and it really showed how hard working they

were. This influenced me to do the same, I want to have the same impact on students lives and I

hope that I can help them in the same way that my teachers helped me.

Work History Service and/or Extracurricular Activities

I’ve had a few jobs that haven’t necessarily contributed to my decision of becoming a

teacher but brought me closer to it. My first job was in a small-town restaurant where I was a

waitress. Working there was fun, and it was a good first-time job to gain experience. I worked

for 5 hours on Saturdays because we only did breakfast. The job duties were constantly changing

which made it difficult. The only duties that remained the same were making sure the tables were

cleaned off and the customers were taken care of. At that time in my life, I wasn’t sure of what I

wanted to do. This job helped me get out into the world and become a more sociable person. My

second job was in fast food, which was more fast paced than my previous one. During this job I

was going for a business major instead of education. I made it far in this job, I was a supervisor

and had the opportunity to become an assistant manager which I declined. It was also during this

time that I realized and asked myself what I was going to do with a business major. I would say

that this job brought to light that I didn’t want to pursue being in a higher status position or

owning a business. Shortly after leaving fast food, I started working in a nursing home as a

hospitality aide. My family would always mention that I would be a good nurse, but I never

agreed with them. I thought that working in a nursing home would make that decision clearer.

After seeing what nurses go through, I decided that I didn’t want to be one. I can’t quite figure

out what it was about this job that made me decide to be a teacher. Maybe it was sitting with the

same resident that didn’t talk and slept majority of my shift, or maybe it was the inconsistency of
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my everyday life. What I do know is that one day while I was sitting at work watching some

home renovation show the thought of being a teacher crossed my mind, since then it has been

what I wanted to do.

Currently I am not in any services or extracurricular activities, but when I was in high

school, I was in National Honor Society (NHS). One of the requirements of NHS is community

service, so we would pick up trash on the highways, and around the school, we also participated

in a program called WASP. This program was created to teach science to younger kids that were

more interested in the subject. This was the second hands-on experience of teaching and leading

a group of kids. During this I don’t think I realized the impact that day had on my development

as a professional educator. Looking back now it was exciting when the students knew the

answers and understood the content.

Ethical Reasoning in Education

The biggest dilemma I encountered was one of my teachers abusing a child. The teacher

was a librarian, and the kid wasn’t listening, or being quiet. She decided that she was going to tie

him to the chair and then proceeded to duct tape his mouth shut. This teacher got to keep her job

because she was related to the superintendent. A solution for this dilemma is in Principle II:

Educator/Student Relationship. This principle includes that an educator maintains a professional

relationship with all students. For this principle to be upheld, any educator needs to understand

the importance of staying professional in high stress environments. They can’t be unethical

which includes any act of child abuse, soliciting any sexual act or inappropriate images, any act

of harassment, encouraging or consummating a romantic relationship, providing alcohol or

illegal drugs to students, conduct that is detrimental to student’s health or welfare, or deliberately

falsifying information presented to students. In the situation described above the teacher
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shouldn’t have reacted that way. She broke the second principle and serious consequences

should’ve taken place. There are many pros and cons when it comes to disciplining a child. The

pros include the child behaving, and listening to authority, the child also develops manners to

become a contributing adult. The cons include accidentally giving the children trauma, and then

they’ll have to learn how to deal with it when they are older. The side I run towards is

disciplining children with good intentions, this is where Principle II comes into play. If a teacher

can be professional and still run an effective classroom then none of the principles would be

broken. An opposing side to my argument would be that the teacher was right in the way she

disciplined the child. She chose to abuse a child that wasn’t listening to her instead of calmly

handling the situation.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

I should be a teacher because I’m passionate about it and want to contribute to future

generations. I do have self-doubting moments where I think to myself “can I really be a teacher?

Will my anxiety get in the way? Will I even be a good teacher? What if I can’t teach them what

they need to learn? What if I’m not assertive enough?” I try to remind myself that those are

normal questions, everything takes practice, and I might not be the best teacher at first, but I’ll

try to be better in the next years.

Motivation and having empathy for others are the skills that will enable me to be a

teacher. Empathy may not be considered as a skill, but I believe it takes competence to

understand the way someone else is feeling. I know that being motivated will be beneficial for

me as a teacher because it will help me to keep my students engaged in the class. Another skill I

have that would be good in the education field is patience. I’ve had a job where I was a trainer,

and I know that it isn’t related to education, but it involves teaching someone how to perform
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their job duties. I learned that having patience was crucial because they didn’t know how to do it,

and it took them a couple of tries to get it right.

Skills I have that are better suited for other careers are determination, time management

and working well under pressure. I am someone that is determined to get the job done and be to

work on-time or early. I was always told that on-time is late, and 15 minutes early is on-time.

The most recent jobs I’ve had preferred that we showed up at the time we were scheduled to

clock in. I never thought that I worked well under pressure but from recent experiences I have

found that the more tasks I need to complete with less time the more I get done. I don’t

necessarily enjoy being under pressure but if it comes down to it, I work well with managing my

time.

Professional Goals

My long-term goals include completing my bachelor’s and becoming a successful

teacher. The only degree I am considering is my Bachelors in Elementary Education. I’m hoping

to attend Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), where I plan to get my Bachelors. I have

compared Boise State University (BSU) to NNU, and NNU seems like the better option for me

to succeed academically. I intend on achieving these goals by reminding myself what the end

results are. I plan to stay motivated, and I know that college isn’t forever, but my career is, and

that’s the end goal. I also intend on keeping good grades, and not giving myself more than I can

handle. With all of that in mind I’m motivated to stay on top of things to overcome any sudden

hurdles.

My short-term goals in the next six months are staying in college with good grades, not

getting behind in classes, and finding a perfect rhythm for handling my home life and school. Six

months from now I will have one year left until I get my associates in the 2022 Fall Semester.
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For me to focus on short-term goals it is important for me to take a few classes at a time. I know

that if I took more, I would be done quicker but I also know I wouldn’t finish with the best

grades. These short-term goals will help me progress towards my long-term goals because once I

finish and get through these obstacles, I only have a few more classes until I complete my

bachelor’s degree. If I stay in college with good grades it will reflect into my goals for my

students and my future because I know that I pushed myself to succeed. For me staying on top of

how many classes I take each semester is very detrimental for my long-term goals. In six months,

I intend on working full-time as well as going to school full-time, right now it is difficult to

handle both. I know that when I find that rhythm, I’ll be able to achieve my long-term goals with

less stress.

My End Result

I can look back now and realize that this is what I’ve always wanted to do. My

experiences and everything I have encountered have influenced my decisions and they will

continue to do so. I know I will be faced with hurdles that will make me want to give up, but

that’s when I will push myself harder. Remembering my goals and why I chose this career will

help me to become the best teacher that I can be.