Where did I come from? A question that seems so simple, but has great depth in the answer. I grew up in a small apartment with my mom, dad, and older sister. We lived in this apartment until I was the age of four. Everything in our lives while living in the apartment was valued. Things were never taken for granted. I am very close with my moms’ side of the family where we are based off of Norweigan culture. Every year around Christmas time, we get together to make lefse (a Norweigan food) and decorate our Christmas themed sugar cookies. My summers are typically spent at the cabin with my moms side of the family doing activities outside. Little moments like these make me truly understand the value of family. I feel that this has impacted my decision to become a teacher as I believe every individual should have a place in their life where it feels like a bonded together family. Students spend the majority of their day at school and many times school is their one place where they feel safe. My family has inspired me to allow young children to see the value in bonding, even if the people they bond with are just their classmates and/or teachers.
My story consists of numerous moments that are filled with happiness, and sometimes they are filled hurt. Ever since I was old enough to talk and take steps on my own, I instantly wanted to help others and be involved. This is something my parents constantly taught me to do, to always provide assistance to others. Whether it was just playing a simple game with some friends or helping somebody understand how to do a task, I wanted to be there. I recall numerous times where I would play “school” with my friends, and I always volunteered to be the teacher. I began figure skating when I was three years old and as I grew older, my coach would often ask me to help my peers figure a specific skill out. I loved being the person that was looked up to.
My favourite teacher constantly inspired me to be a good student. It was my grade one teacher named Ms. Carrie. Ms. Carrie inspired me in more ways than I thought was possible. She knew how to make learning fun, but also acknowledged that every child learns at a different pace. Many of our lessons were hands on, which I appreciated at such a young age. She would give us pieces of paper with letters previously drawn on that we would have to trace over. To help my classmates and I remember the way certain words or letters would sound, Ms. Carrie would relate the words to objects. This teaching technique helped us easily remember the sounds because we would draw connections to the objects that she related the sounds to. Another key aspect to her teaching was repetition. We would sound out words until we understood, and then spell them out until we were correct. In the summer, she would organize camps for her students to partake in.
Looking back at these memories with Ms. Carrie, I realize numerous things. She was incredibly dedicated to teaching her students, but also understood that learning at this age had to be fun. Her ways of teaching made me realize that I learn best by hands on work. As for the summer camps she organized, this showed her dedication to teaching. For Ms. Carrie, teaching was more than just a daily job; she built relationships with each of her students and embraced these relationships. I hope to teach like her in my classroom. To build a relationship with each of my students and work with them to understand concepts.
As I mentioned at the beginning, my story also consists of some moments filled with hurt. It was in the 6th grade when my teacher did an action that I felt was wrong. I had many friends in elementary school and we all loved to learn together, at the same level. One day, my grade six teacher decided to move the desks in the classroom around. However, she made two groups with desks that were to last the school year. One of the groups consisted of seven students that she claimed were “more advanced” and the other group had the remaining students that she felt were not as advanced in their learning. All of my friends were placed in the “advanced” group, but I was placed in the other one. This moment hurt me because I was at the same educational level as my friends and therefore lost motivation to do my work to the best of my ability. Thinking back to this day, I see so many things wrong with these actions. A teacher should not physically split students up like this as it makes the “less advanced” group lose motivation because many of them truly feel as though they are excelling in their schooling. This is not how I want my classroom to be formed. I believe that everyone should have a fair chance, with nobody isolated. There are students that might be learning at a faster rate than others, but the students do not need to be split up. I do believe in moving the desks in other ways, besides basic rows. However, the way the desks are split up should not isolate anybody. The learning levels at each group should be balanced between all of the students.
I have been coaching figure skating since the fall of 2018. Before coaching, I competed in figure skating and eventually had to quit due to serious injuries that would affect my body in the future. I made the decision to coach as I simply love the sport and wanted to teach young children how to do the skating skills. I realized something very special while I was coaching, my students always look up to me. Through coaching, I learned my teaching styles. My teaching styles include a lot of hands on work, as well as making adaptations for each skill level in the group. I learned how important making adaptations for each student is when I volunteer with Special Olympics figure skating. I saw how some other coaches taught as well. They would simply tell the students what to do and then just watch, without helping. This is when I realized that I need to be involved and be there to help each of my students.
I feel like there was never a distinct moment when I decided to be a teacher. I knew that I have always loved helping others out ever since I was young. Whatever job I chose, I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world and be a role model. Between coaching skating and my personal school experiences, it drew me to the conclusion that teaching was for me. Growing up, I always looked up to my teachers and was inspired by them. I was the student that always volunteered to help the teacher, I wanted to be like the teacher. After analyzing my life story, I realize that being a teacher has always been in my blood. It just took certain events, such as coaching, for me to realize my future. I want to make a change, and inspire my students just like my teachers did for me.