Becoming A Professional Education At Penn State

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Teaching is one of the most valuable professions. The ability to mold minds and see the creative spark in a child is priceless. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” The importance of education is extremely visible for me and I hope to make an impact with my future profession. For these reasons and many more, I have started the path to become a professional educator at Penn State. I hope to become a secondary or high school teacher with a focus on English. In my paper, I will be discussing why I chose this profession, what I plan to learn at Penn State, and the challenges that come with being an educator.
From a young age, I have always known that I wanted to help others. I
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The college of education at Penn State has an LL ED program or The Language and Literacy Education for four year students. However, there are many prerequisite courses and three entrance to major requirements. Some of the required courses are include a variety of English and education courses. The first entrance requirement is the implementation of entrance criteria. This includes “The PECT: PAPA Tests for Reading, Writing, and Mathematics” and 80 hours of volunteer or paid service with students in the of the target age. The second requirement is the implementation of retention criteria which is simply containing a minimum 3.00 GPA while at Penn State. The final entrance requirement is the implementation of exit criteria or the verification that all requirements throughout the bachelor degree audit. There is also a required student teaching course or CI495 D, F, or E. This is usually taken the seventh or eighth semester and would prepare me for actual teaching situations (“Language and Literacy Education”). Throughout my time at Penn State, I hope to develop skills which help my students grow and retain information, help me neutralize disruptive students, and handle other situations properly. According to Lily Jones from Teaching channel, planning, classroom management, mentoring, and many other skills are essential for first year …show more content…
Our topics have ranged from unions and merit pay to religious and sexual preference. The main issue I see myself having in the future is connecting with my students in a professional way. I fear that since I want to create a friendly environment for my students, I may be too liberal and personal. One solution to this is to constantly remind myself I’m the teacher, not another student. I have worked on this skill for three years at a summer program, however, I believe it could use some work. The second challenge I see myself facing in the future also relates to the environment of my classroom. After discussing issues about sexual preference, religion, and other aspects that make students unique, I worry about maintaining a class that students feel safe in. I’m going to try to defuse sensitive topics without calling too much attention with the students themselves. My last challenge relates to keeping my students’ attention. According to NeaToday, two of the top eight challenges teachers face are the amount of students and technology (Flannery). Keeping students interested in the topic material seems daunting, especially with technology like smart phones, tablets, and laptops. Hopefully, Penn State will prepare me with the skills necessary to create lesson plans that are engaging and help me succeed in the education field. After discussing all the elements that go into my profession, I am excited to continue

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