Reflection Of My Educational Experience

As I enter my last year at Western Illinois University, it is an opportunity to reflect on the educational experiences I have had throughout my life. I have been fortunate enough to attended enriching and award winning schools for my entire learning experience. In particular it was inside the walls of my high school building that I was able to not only grow academically, but transform into a well-rounded citizen. It was because the teachers I have had not only cared about how I preformed in their content area, but how I performed as an individual. They recognized and learned what my strengths and weaknesses were. It is extremely helpful and beneficial to me to receive personalized feedback on all types of assessments. As a student having …show more content…
As a student if I felt the content mattered and was important in my life I was likeier to become engaged in the class/lesson. If I was engaged then I was also more likely to remember the content being taught. One way my junior year American history teacher engaged us was through music. His lessons always resonated within me and one reason I believe they did was because music was and still is a huge part of my life. I believe this is true for many if not all teenagers. When you are a teenager you discover and evaluate many of your feelings through music. My history teacher helped us understand that music transcends all. The world is filled with music and there is a great deal that can be learned about any society through their music. To provide one specific example from junior year American history that I will always remember is when we were learning about the Vietnam War. It was the first time I ever realized what a complex and chaotic time it was in American history. When he was teaching us about the opposition to the war and the hatred for it felt by the American people we listened to “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. My teacher began the lesson by having us just sit and listen to the song. Then he asked who had heard it before, majority of the class had raised their hand myself included. He then proceeded to pass out a copy …show more content…
To begin I am an extremely organized person who does well with structure and routine. I believe being organized will only help in creating a positive and effective learning structure in my classroom. I feel that if a teacher cannot be organized then it hinders a student’s ability to learn how to become organized. Another trait I have been told I have is empathy. I have been told by my friends, family, coworkers, employers, and teachers that I have a high emotional intelligence. It was only recently that I started to believe it too. I can use my emotional intelligence in the classroom when dealing with students. I know that I will care immensely about my student’s success and I know it will be a top priority. I want to create a caring environment where students learn to respect others opinions and differences. Another trait I believe I embody is enthusiasm and energy. Once I get excited and engaged in something I am fully immersed and want to share the enthusiasm with everyone. I believe that my positive energy can be rubbed off on my students and they too can become engaged and enthused. It is hard to get distracted from a teacher who is extremely passionate about what they are teaching. I will use these traits in my teaching journey to become a successful and productive