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.