Ever since I was a young girl, I have always felt captivated by the world of words. My parents used Dr. Seuss' ABC to teach me how to read, and I learned at a very young age. Growing up, I was always that nerd girl who spent long hours in her room reading whatever she could get her hands on. I never really thought about a career involving reading until I got to high school, when my 9th grade English teacher Mrs. Schutte and my 10th grade English teacher Mrs. McCuien both pushed me in that direction. They showed me that I could write well also, and helped me develop a love for writing both academically and creatively.
I integrated my love for writing into my love for the arts, and I found out that the same creative energy I used in countless hours of dance classes after school flourished on paper. I also began volunteering to teach lessons to the younger kids in my youth group at church. In high school, I had heard the words "verbal-linguistic intelligence" and "right-brained learning" thrown at me without really understanding their meaning, but Mrs. Schutte and Mrs. McCuien really helped me understand how to use this knowledge to grow intellectually. They encouraged me to develop my love for reading and writing, and at that time I had thoughts about becoming a teacher, but never really had a definite idea of what career path I wanted to pursue.
When I came to Lyon, I knew I wanted to take English classes but still did not have a definite career choice in mind. When I took my first class with Dr. Tebbetts, Intro to Western Lit, his passion for teaching and love for the art forms he shared with us really moved me. I wanted to carry that same spirit into the career field I chose, and I began to think more and more about teaching. That first semester of college, I got the opportunity to teach a young kids' dance class every week at Concord School. The kids' enthusiasm for learning gave me so much joy, and I realized then that my calling was to share the things I love with young people. I thought the secondary age group would be best for me to work with, so I declared Secondary Education as my concentration with my English major. As I have progressed through college, adding a creative writing program in England as well as many experiences in classrooms to my resume, that calling to be a teacher has only grown stronger.
While I was in England, I got the wonderful opportunity to take a master poetry class with David Morley, a very talented poet and acclaimed professor at the University of Warwick. He led us through many exercises to give us inspiration for writing, and one of the best pieces of advice he shared was to "create a universe out of anything, and that is where you can write." I have carried this philosophy with me and I believe teachers can use it to benefit their students. As a teacher, I want to create my own "universe" where my students can learn, and not be afraid to make mistakes. I want to inspire my students like the teachers I have named inspired me, and I want them to learn that the world doesn't have to be a frightening place. When you create your own universe, you create a myriad of possibilities along with it, and I want my students to learn to do this with their own lives.
"To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."
-William Blake
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