Hello to you all!
Currently, I teach ninth and tenth grade English Language Arts at Lakeland High School in the Huron Valley School District. I have been fortuante enough to work in the Huron Valley District for the past three years, teaching both at Milford High school, as well as Lakeland High School.
MY EXPERIENCE:
In order to gain experience and prepare myself to be the most effective teacher possible, I have involved myself in such experiences that revolve around children. For the past two years, I have worked as a camp counselor at Varsity Day Camp which is an all outdoor camp designed for children six to twelve years of age. Among facilitating and teaching activities such as sports games, arts and crafts, boating, archery and fishing, I am also responsible for mentoring and guiding the children whether it be working through a dispute with a peer or an individual having difficulty interacting and participating with others. This experience has allowed me to practice communication skills with younger individuals as well as develop and improve personal teaching strategies and styles through the interaction with a variety of different individuals. Through mentoring and having meaningful discussions with different children, I have developed an assortment of tactics and strategies that I can employ in order to reach a variety of individuals.
In high school, I was part of a club called Four Corners which was a club that celebrated the importance of diversity and attempted to spread awareness about different cultures. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with a school in Guatemala in the creation and exchange of bracelets for proceeds that would benefit their school. The task of my high school was to have students design a bracelet and then vote for the best one. I was privileged to not only be a part of the club, but my bracelet was the design selected. A school in Guatemala then created this bracelet and we sold it in my town to acquire proceeds to benefit their school. This experience allowed me to become more culturally sensitive as well as appreciative for the value in diversity. Regarding other community interaction and services, I have worked in soup kitchens preparing and serving food to those in need in down town Ann Arbor.
Through my pre-intern teaching field work, which i completed at Kalamazoo Central High, I have also gained confidence in my use of communication skills as well as further developed and improved my personal teaching strategies. I have learned an immense amount regarding what is significant to me and why I am passionate about teaching. Being a camp counselor for younger individuals and working with high school students at my pre-internship has allowed me to work with individuals at all adolescent ages. Through a multiplicity of conversations and interactions with the different age groups, I have a better understanding of how to reach different individuals and relate material to their lives. In the course of both experiences, I have demonstrated my understanding of both non-verbal and verbal communication and enacted acts of immediacy to show that I am passionate about teaching, my student’s learning and development as well as their futures.