International Student Teaching Fall 2009

Hello! My name is Maria Jarrell and I am double majoring in Elementary Education and Spanish. I am very excited to be student teaching this fall. Since a young age, I have felt called to become a teacher. I believe that a teacher's key purpose in the classroom community is to be a role model for her students, and to be a positive and caring figure who takes an interest in each individual child's life.

Every child who walks through the doors of a classroom is full of unreached potential. It is a teacher's duty to journey with the child as they discover who they are, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to be an active member of our society. The classroom experience should be filled to the brim with learning experiences which will allow students to see the potential in themselves and push them to be the very best they can be. Most importantly, it is a teacher's duty to ensure that they provide students with a learning environment in which they feel safe and secure at all times- safe in a physical manner, safe to learn, safe to make mistakes, and safe to be themselves! I want nothing more than to be able to provide all of these things for a child as they learn, grow, and mature.

This fall, I will be student teaching in a Second Grade class at Fox Road Elementary School in Raleigh, NC. I am looking forward to the opportunity to put into practice the many teaching methods and strategies that I was taught during my time at ASU.
Another thing I am looking forward to is the opportunity I have been given to complete my student teaching experience in Guadalajara, Mexico! I have chosen to participate in this opportunity for several reasons. First, I absolutely love the Latino culture! I have been interested in Spanish and the Latin culture since a young age and I am constantly looking for opportunities to learn more about and immerse myself into the Latino history and way of life.

Living in Guadalajara for a short period of time allows me this opportunity without a doubt. Secondly, I feel that it is important for me, as a prospective teacher, to have many experiences with diverse students, as well as to understand what makes the education system in the US different from the education systems of other countries. Last, I am considering teaching internationally as a vocation. I am not quite sure if this is what I am called to do, and this is the perfect opportunity for me to give it a try and see if it is a good fit for me! While in Guadalajara, I hope to be able to fully immerse myself into the culture, and learn about life in Mexico from my host family. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

My name is Dana Smith and I am a Physical Education major with a minor in human studies. I am student teaching at Davie High School in the Mebane Masters program. I decided to be a teacher when I was a senior in high school. I looked up to my track coach and he was my PE teacher for a few classes. He showed interest in my education and athletics and made sure I did everything I could in both aspects of high school to succeed. I am big into mostly every sport and I am excited to start teaching and do everything I can to decrease obesity in America.

This opportunity of going to Ireland will also give me the chance to spread my ideas about decreasing obesity outside of America. I decided on Ireland because I have always been interested in traveling everywhere around the world. Irish people speak English and that helps too. In high school I was in the AFS club for 4 years and very active in it. The AFS club dealt with the foreign exchange students and every year we went on a short term exchange as a club. In 4 years I went to Cleveland, Toranto, Boston, Buffalo, and San Francisco.

This chance of going to Ireland will now increase my travels and be my first trip out of the country besides the Toranto visit. It will be my first over seas experience. My experience in the AFS club got me interested in traveling early and has had a huge influence in my decision about going to student teach in Ireland. I am excited about this chance to further my education and increase my intelligence about other cultures.

My name is Dani Martin and I will be student teaching in Catawba County at Startown Elementary in a second grade class. At the end of October, however, I will be heading down to Nicoya, Costa Rica for the last five weeks of my student teaching before graduation in December.

I decided to go into education because I love to work with children. There really is nothing better than seeing a child's face light up when you're working with them, and knowing that you had a part in making their day a little brighter. I wish I could say I was one of those people who knew from age seven that they wanted to be a teacher, but I'm not. My whole family is made up of nurses, so naturally that is the path I was going to take.

Before my first year of college my mom noticed that I wasn't completely happy with nursing and encouraged me to do something I really loved. Teaching had been in the back of my mind ever since the internship I had during my senior year of high school with first graders and I knew I wanted to work with children, so I decided to go into education. I have loved every minute of time I've spent in the classroom since then and look forward to having a classroom of my own in the future!

I am so glad that the Reich College of Education at Appalachian offers us the opportunity to travel abroad for the last five weeks of student teaching. I have always enjoyed traveling and experiencing different cultures, particularly Hispanic ones which is why I chose to go to Costa Rica. I am looking forward to learning how the school system in Nicoya works and how the culture is incorporated in their learning. After graduation I plan to look for a teaching job overseas at some point and feel that my experiences in Costa Rica will be very beneficial as I prepare to do so.

My name is Ericka Griffin, and I will be Student Teaching in Wake County at Holly Springs High School. I am very excited because I will be working with Honors Seniors (12th grade); I get to help prepare them for the next big milestone--college!

Ever since I was very young, I knew I was going to have a future career that either incorporated or involved English literature. When I transferred to Appalachian State, my major was English, Creative Writing. However, I soon realized that I wanted to have a job that was challenging yet rewarding, where I could teach and learn within the same day, and where impacts and impressions are mutually exchanged between a multitude of people.

I want to teach because I have had both excellent and poor teachers within the course of my childhood education. One of my favorite high school English teachers encouraged me to pursue poetry and writing. He had read a poem of mine that had not been assigned, and I was able to receive constructive criticism from him. I haven't stopped writing poetry ever since. Even though I had a lot of good learning experiences in high school, I did struggle with my learning disabilities in math. I had a few teachers who told me that I was "cheating my way" through high school, or that I was "being lazy" because I asked them to give me extra time for completing my homework. It's these experiences that have motivated and inspired me to become a teacher!

The first time that I had left the country was when I was 5 years old, and I have loved traveling ever since. I am extremely excited about going to Dublin, Ireland for International Student Teaching this semester. One of the main reasons why I wanted to apply for International Student Teaching was because I would like to teach in an international or an American overseas school after I graduate. I believe that by teaching in a different culture, I will learn about my own culture (as well as Dublin's culture). I would like to learn how a private Irish high school compares/contrasts to an American private high school. I am also interested in learning about the teaching techniques and standards that are incorporated into the lesson plans. And, I am hoping I will learn about the different challenges that Irish students face when wanting to go to a particular college.

My name is Kayla Pearson and I am Student Teaching at Green Valley Elementary School in Boone, North Carolina. For my last five weeks of Student Teaching I will be in Nicoya, Costa Rica!

I transferred to Appalachian State University in the Spring of 2006 as a Pre-Med Biology major. As I began my first semester at ASU in this major I soon realized that it was not the right path for me. Teaching had always been an interest for me and there have several contributing factors to that. First, is my love of learning and children.

In 2005 and 2006 I did volunteer work with a prgram called Communities in Schools, where I went once a week to spend time with a child in an effort to help the child learn successfully and prepare for life. I ended up spending a lot of time with the child and even with his entire class. I found myself staying for hours and doing read alouds and helping students with math. This expereince really encouraged me to become a teacher, I found so much joy in the help that I was able to provide. I also have two younger brothers, Jordan who is 7, and Hayden who is 4. Both of my younger siblings have inspired me to go into education, working and playing with them is the highlight of my life! They have taught me how to let go, get silly and put my imagination to work!

I have chosen to be an International Student Teacher because I love to try new things and I am always eager to learn. I am very excited about the journey that I will be taking to Nicoya in late October and I cannot wait to meet my students there and begin learning about their culture and school life.

Hello! My Name is Heather Stafford and I am currently a senior at Appalachian State University majoring in Elementary Education. Teaching is the career I have decided to pursue due to my passion for children as well as my desire to impact the lives of others. I have always loved working with children through various camps and coaching jobs. In addition, I have always loved helping others in any possible way. I truly hope to make a difference in the lives of my future students.

I am currently student teaching in Jan Meister’s Kindergarten class at Hardin Park Elementary School, which is located in Boone, NC. Mrs. Meister is an exciting and passionate cooperating teacher to work with and learn from. I know my experience at Hardin Park Elementary School will be memorable and applicable toward my future teaching career.

After student teaching at Hardin Park Elementary School during the months of August-October, I get the wonderful opportunity to student teach abroad in Ireland during the month of November. I look forward to teaching in Ireland because I think it will help me gain a deeper understanding as well as a new perspective on teaching in the elementary school.

My name is Jerry Rosell and I am currently student teaching at the Durham School of the Arts in Durham, NC. DSA is a secondary magnet school that specializes in both the visual and performing arts. Throughout the day I teach 5 different 50 min classes which are comprised of a conglomeration of all grades 6th through 12th. Being here allows for me to engage in a first class visual arts program and gain a high level of experience in many art mediums and age groups of students.

Although I enjoy teaching art, I have not always wanted to be an art teacher. In fact, it wasn't until the end of my sophmore year in college that I made a commitment to pursue art education. I have always had a heart to serve others. I have always wanted to give other people the opportunities and experiences that I was unable experience or fortunate enough to have. I knew that I loved kids, and really all people, and I knew that I really enjoyed teaching people. I also figured that I liked art enough to allow that to be my avenue for me to enter into the teaching profession.

In early November I will be leaving Durham and heading to Nicoya, Costa Rica to finsh my student teaching and my art education degree. In the past I have traveled to Costa Rica on two different occasions. One of these was this past winter. I wait with much anticipation to return to this beautiful country and further experience the culture, the wild demographics, and the new and old relationship I will develop. Through my many interests and activities, along with my pursuit of engaging students in the visual arts, I feel I can strongly connect and influnce the local community of Nicoya.

My name is Grace Cunningham, and I am a senior at Appalachian State University majoring in Elementary Education. My love for children, coupled with my desire to be a positive force in the community is what drives me to become an educator. I have a heart for service and I get great joy out of helping others and being a positive force in other’s lives. I decided to become a teacher when my nephews were getting into the public school system, and I became involved with their education.
I am currently teaching at Sharon Elementary School in Statesville, NC. I am working in the 5th grade under the supervision of Mrs. White and Mrs. Shook. Over the next few months, I will be shared between the two classes, teaching Science and Math in Mrs. Shook’s class, and Reading and Language Arts in Mrs. White’s class. I am excited to co-teach with both of these exceptional teachers, and know that I will grow significantly as a teacher during this period.
I feel honored to get the opportunity to complete my student teaching abroad, in Dublin, Ireland. I haven’t had the opportunity to travel prior to this experience, and I believe that it will help me gain a new perspective on different cultures. Also, I feel that I will learn about how to teach diverse students, and learn about a school system that is different than the ones I have been involved in thus far.

My name is Grace Cunningham, and I am a senior at Appalachian State University majoring in Elementary Education. My love for children, coupled with my desire to be a positive force in the community is what drives me to become an educator. I have a heart for service and I get great joy out of helping others and being a positive force in other’s lives. I decided to become a teacher when my nephews were getting into the public school system, and I became involved with their education.
I am currently teaching at Sharon Elementary School in Statesville, NC. I am working in the 5th grade under the supervision of Mrs. White and Mrs. Shook. Over the next few months, I will be shared between the two classes, teaching Science and Math in Mrs. Shook’s class, and Reading and Language Arts in Mrs. White’s class. I am excited to co-teach with both of these exceptional teachers, and know that I will grow significantly as a teacher during this period.
I feel honored to get the opportunity to complete my student teaching abroad, in Dublin, Ireland. I haven’t had the opportunity to travel prior to this experience, and I believe that it will help me gain a new perspective on different cultures. Also, I feel that I will learn about how to teach diverse students, and learn about a school system that is different than the ones I have been involved in thus far.