A Little Bit More About Me
There has always been an understanding with the people that I have known well that I worked well with people. Not just people, but especially children. This isn't something especially rare in my family but I think that because I am the oldest boy of three it gained special attention.
This eventually led me to Appalachian State University, which is one of the premier education schools in the country. After four years and several "all-nighters" I find myself in the final semester of my college "career" student teaching at Southwest Elementary School in Winston-Salem, NC.
I don't think that liking children is a prerequisite for teaching though it does help. A good teacher is someone who is passionate about knowledge. The best teachers are, I find, those who are naturally inquisitive and even have a tendency to stretch the norm. I am a curious person. More important I love trying to get other people to think. I want me students to leave my classroom excited about how much they know and how much they don't know.
As part of the International Student Teaching Program I will be student teaching at Instituto D' Amicis a Puebla Mexico. I knew when I applied for the this program that I wanted to spend my five weeks in some Latin American country. Of the several possible locations in Mexico I revered the two locations at Chetumal and Puebla. Chetumal ended up not working out and so Puebla it was! I didn't want to go to Mexico City because I wanted to see the less commercial side of Mexico. Puebla's combination of historical and modern city as well as the local natural beauties in Parque Natural La Malinche and Parque Natural Izta-Popo makes for a great place to spend five weeks.
My main goals in going to Mexico with this program is to enhance my understanding of the Spanish language and to gain ideas about how education is done outside of America.
I can't wait till the 7th of November when I leave!