Running Head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 1

Autobiographical

Howell, LaKiah

Instructor: Dr. Egbert

EDUC. 201: Foundations of Education

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Autobiographical

I want to become an educator for various reasons and my educational, work, and

extracurricular activities have all come together to prepare me for success in my future goals. I

have been to many places and tried a great number of things, but I always seem to come back to

wanting to teach. I know that with my skills, determination, and passion, I will be a great student

and future teacher

Educational Background

Throughout my life, I have attended many different schools. For my time in elementary

school, I attended Pioneer Elementary in Boise from kindergarten to half of the third grade. I

moved to Dworshak Elementary in Burley and finished my third-grade year there. After that, I

moved back to Boise where I started fourth grade at Gateway Elementary. I moved in fifth grade

to Idaho City where I finished elementary school at Idaho City Elementary. After 6th grade, I

went to Idaho City Middle School until halfway through my eighth-grade year when my family

moved to Declo where I finished middle school at Declo Junior High School. I got to attend

Declo Senior High School until I graduated. I am currently in my second year of college at CSI. I

will get my associate's degree in Education in one more year. I was in special programs to catch

up for having bad grades in elementary school. As I got older and moved to middle school, my

grades became much better and I was put into the STEM club after school. I also got to be a big

part of the art and drama departments in my high school, along with being a member of the

Honor Society.

My education has helped me to understand much more about what it takes to be a good

teacher. The most important thing it taught me that will help me in the future is how differently I
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learned compared to my peers. I found that I couldn’t rely on memorization. I did far better in

school with projects and lessons that incorporated more hands-on elements. Different learning

styles apply to all students and always will. Knowing this as a teacher will help me to give

lessons in a variety of ways. By doing this, I will allow different learners to get an opportunity to

know what works well for them. This is important because if a teacher chooses to teach in one

way, only part of the class with that specific learning style will understand the material well. If

someone isn’t one of those students, it can be very easy for them to feel like they aren’t as smart

as their classmates, simply because they aren’t grasping the materials as well. This can cause a

student to fall behind and struggle to catch up.

Work History

I have worked in a large variety of fields. I have been a cashier and cook for a cafe, a

roofer, a carpenter, a daycare teaching assistant, a barista, and a server. As a cashier and cook, I

was responsible for being able to work in every position with a small staff. This required math

skills, time management, food safety knowledge, and the ability to work under pressure. As a

roofer and carpenter, I worked for my dad. I was in the position of being his assistant, and after a

few months, I was in charge of managing the other workers on the jobs we went to. As a barista

and a server, I gained customer service experience. With these jobs, I was also responsible for

ensuring a customer was satisfied and felt genuinely cared about. Finally, as a daycare teaching

assistant, I got to help my lead teacher sustain strict routines for two-year-olds. I also got to teach

simple lessons and lead carpet time.

These experiences have given me the tools to become a better teacher, and overall, a

better individual. I learned such an immense amount from the combination of these jobs. I

learned time management and how to work under pressure, how students need structure in the
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classroom, how to problem solve, how to keep a positive attitude, and most importantly, how

much I love leading. This will help me in my future to run a wonderful classroom full of support

and structure. Having patience, optimism, passion, and organization skills are all key

components to successful teaching.

Service and Extracurricular Activities

In high school, I was in the Art Club, and I was president of the Drama Club. These clubs

were opportunities that truly helped me to break out of my shell. It's safe to say that I attended a

lot of schools. Always being the “new kid” fed into me being fairly closed off and shy. I had a

tough time building strong connections and speaking up when I wanted to. Through these club

experiences, I found a small community of people like me. This taught me to be more social and

connected.

Being the president of the Drama Club taught me that being confident and outspoken was

important as a leader. This is something I will use to teach. Being confident and outspoken will

help me to be a strong educator for my students in a positive way. I can show the children in my

class that I am leading them rather than commanding them. Mutual respect will help students not

to feel afraid to ask me questions. This is important for strong student-teacher relationships and a

good classroom environment.

Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career

I first considered teaching when I was in elementary school. I loved to play “school” with

my siblings. I would be the pretend teacher and run the classroom. I was always drawn to it.

After high school, I had quite a few jobs. I had no idea what I wanted to do or if I wanted to go to

college. After three years of working in a variety of positions, I realized how much I loved being

“Ms. Howell” at the daycare I worked for. I found myself looking forward to the time I got to
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spend with the kids in my class. I decided to become a teacher because of how much I missed the

students at that daycare.

I considered multiple careers besides teaching. The ones with the most potential were

carpentry, interior design, and nursing. My greatest rewards for choosing to be an educator will

be intrinsic. My desire to teach certainly doesn’t come from the pay. I will be rewarded through

the things that truly matter like connection, growth, and the success of my students. Being in a

position to make a positive impact on a child is the greatest reward.

Professional Goals

My long-term goal is to be a successful mother and teacher. I want to be able to have a

positive home and classroom environment. I will be caring and open-minded to my classroom

and household members. I plan to find a healthy balance between work and family. I will achieve

this by working hard in school to understand what it takes to be a good teacher. I will also learn

from my family about how to be a good parent.

My short-term goal is to get my associate's degree with a high GPA. I would also like to

make it through the majority of school with no student loans. I will achieve this by working hard

and having my priorities straight. By getting good grades, I have better opportunities for

financial aid so I can be debt-free. I am going to put my schoolwork first to accomplish this goal.

Fazit

All of my work and educational experiences have built upon eachother to create the

perfect recipe for my passion and future in teaching. They have given me all the tools I need to

be the best educator I can be. From being a student myself to the person leading young minds, I

have always and will always love my time in any school.