I have been teaching for almost 10 years and have taught many unique learners along the way. When thinking about this assignment, I could not decide on which student to describe. Since I teach 740+ students in grades k-5, I have decided to write about myself.Here goes, I'll start from the beginning. I was born in 1976 and attended my first nursery school when I was three. I started elementary school in when I was 5. Early on in my school career, it was very evident that I was going to be a talker. My parents knew this, of course, but it didn't take long for my kindergarten teacher (Ms. Hurst) to realize this. When my parents came in for the first teacher conference my teacher told them that I was having trouble staying quiet and on task. Back in 1981, Attention Deficit Disorder was not common like today, but I'm sure that is what caused some of my early difficulties. Throughout elementary school and high school I dealt with this in a variety of ways, but I've never taken medicine for it. One way I deal with ADD, is by eliminating as many distractions as I can. When I study or do homework I do not listen to music or TV. I always go to the quietest place I can find. Another thing that has really helped me is frequent breaks. This has worked well for me and I continue this forever.
Now onto college and beyond. I entered college in 1994 and knew I wanted to become a teacher. I knew I wanted to be a teacher very early in my life. My first semester I did not do well and the second semester was not all that much better. In hindsight, I realize that too many distractions were present. When I started my second year I did much better because I always went to the library or computer lab to study. My third year I moved of campus and my grades continued to improve because I didn't have the distractions of dorm life. I graduated in 1999 and accepted my first licensed teaching job.
Now onto the present. This is my third online graduate course and so far it has been great. Being "Easily Distracted" is good and bad for distance learning. The good thing is I can take breaks when I need to and I do not have to sit through all the face to face class time. The bad part is I sometimes find myself doing various things around the house instead of my school work. Overall, though I have enjoyed distance education and hope to complete my masters in Instructional Technology by 2010.
1 comment:
I think easily distract was my middle name when I entered college. I share the same experience when it comes to not doing my best the first semester of college. In high school studying consisted with the book open, music going in the background, eating, and maybe answering the phone when it rang. So, when I went to college I thought studying would be just as easy. Well, it does not take long to learn otherwise. Graduating in 2003 from ECU, I went on to teaching middle school. Now four years later, I am having to retreat back to the place of no distractions. I close myself into the computer room and get to work. I figure by the time I finish this instructional technology degree, my wife and I will have to sell everything in the computer room from feeling tired of being in the presence of the same furniture.
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