Running head: ABE ESSAY

Autobiographical Essay
Justine Shankel
College of Southern Idaho
Professor Fox
Foundations of Education
Spring 2015

Author Note: This essay was prepared for EDUC 201 C03A taught by Professor Fox.

ABE ESSAY

2
Autobiographical Essay

Introduction
I want to make a difference in future generations and the best way that I can make a
difference is by teaching our future generations to be smart, brave, and independent individuals. I
have a huge passion for children and I definitely want to make an impact for the better on every
child that I can. One of the best ways to make a difference with children is by helping build their
self-confidence. A great tool that enables children to build themselves up is asking open ended
questions that allow the children to come up with their own unique answers. I also believe that
by constantly telling children good job, or that they did great at a certain task, that it creates a
sense of reliance on the teacher, or adult for approval furthermore creating a sense of dependence
on others for their self-confidence. By asking children how they thought they did on their work
it allows them to reflect on themselves and evaluate their efforts on their own. After working at
the College of Southern Idaho Early Childhood Education Lab it has enabled me to view
teaching in a different light that allows students to grow and develop those traits which builds
strong, independent students for the future.
Educational Background
I attended Hubbard, Teed, and Ross for my elementary schooling in Kuna, Idaho. I then
went on to Kuna High where I graduated in 2014 last spring. I am currently enrolled at the
College of Southern Idaho and my major is Elementary Education. I chose this as my major
because I enjoy working with children in classrooms, it is extremely rewarding to watch the
progress of the students. I was able to get plenty of field experience because for the past seven
years because my mother has been a teacher and also taught summer school classes and

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programs. I have more hands on experience in the classroom than most others my age because
my mom brought me into her classroom and allowed me to help with her classes.
Another avenue of experience I have is from the hours I have spent working at the CSI
Early Childhood Education Lab. This has been a great experience because the process of
teaching at this preschool is completely different than what I had experienced at the public
elementary school, Reed, where I had worked with my mom. The biggest difference between the
two is the way in which the teachers interact with the students. At Reed Elementary there seemed
to be a hard line between the teachers and students which made it more difficult for students to
feel comfortable enough to share answers with the class during sharing time. The overall
demeanor of the majority of the teachers at Reed was critical toward fellow teachers and all of
their students. Moreover, the focus seemed to be more on discipline at Reed, instead of learning.
It was refreshing seeing how the Early Childhood Education Lab was run. Teachers were able to
engage their students better because the students felt comfortable and accepted by their teachers.
The teachers at this school were also concerned with the childrens self-esteem and confidence
levels and had great teaching tools that helped and allowed the children to build themselves up. I
have been extremely fortunate to have been able to be a part of such a skilled set of teachers at
this Pre-School.
Work History
From age ten to age seventeen I have been able to work in the summers at my moms
school assisting her and her fellow teachers with their jump start programs. This experience
enabled me to determine if I was able to work well with children as well as with the teachers I
was assisting. Children have extremely short attention spans which allowed me to also work on
my patience. Besides working at my moms school I also worked at our local grocery store,

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Pauls, where I was trained in Customer Service and communication skills. This will contribute
to my teaching career as it is vitally important to be able to compatible in any occupation and I
feel that having strong Customer Service skills and communication skills does just that.
Service and/or Extracurricular Activities
I have been extremely involved in my community throughout my life. I was in the Happy
Valley Livestock 4-H club for six years until I went to high school. In high school I was an FFA
member in which I held two offices my junior and senior years. My junior year of high school I
was the Scrapbook Reporter. This required me to attend all FFA events in order to document
them in the scrapbook. I also had to help organize articles about our FFA chapter so that we
could enter them into our local newspaper. My second office I held was Historian, this position
required me to write articles about our FFA chapter and submit them to our newspaper. I was also
in charge of notifying everyone in our school and FFA chapter of any upcoming events. Between
my involvement in 4-H and FFA, I showed sheep at two fairs every summer for ten consecutive
years. It was incredibly competitive and I had to practice walking my sheep every day from May
until August when I would show my sheep at the fairs. Another huge benefit I got from being
involved in these clubs was that these organizations required hundreds of hours of community
service. In addition I have been a member of the Junior National Honor Society and National
Honor Society all throughout middle school and high school. Lastly I ran track and cross country
for six years throughout middle school and high school. Running long distance made me realize
the importance of perseverance and shows how much hard work really does pay off.

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Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career

I first considered education as a career when I was a first grader. I had the best teacher
possible and when my classmates and I all made a book together saying what we wanted to be
when we grew up I wrote down that I wanted to be a mom and a teacher. I have always loved
being around children and seem to have a passion for them in particular. Going through high
school with good grades and a high GPA made me rethink being a teacher somewhat. This is
because all of my close friends were trying to convince me to enter into a career that would offer
a better salary and other extrinsic rewards such as that. In the end I realized that I want to enjoy
what I do for a living therefore teaching offers me the most promising future.
Professional Goals
My long-term goals consist of earning my bachelors degree in Elementary Education
and having a successful career as a teacher. One in which I am able to influence my students to
be the hardest workers and the most eager to learn more about this crazy world we live in. I want
to raise up students who understand the importance of kind heartedness and respect, but most of
all I want to make an impact on our future generations. My short term goals consist mainly of
doing what I can now as a college student to keep making steady progress towards my goal of
becoming an elementary teacher.
Conclusion
One of the greatest things in life is to be able to do what you love for a living and that is
exactly what I plan on doing. I know that if I am able to reach all of my goals and teach children
for a living that I will be a much happier person because children are my passion. After having
such amazing experiences with my field experience class it has definitely led me to want to
revolve my life around teaching children. Throughout my experiences with teaching young

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children I have learned how to be more responsible and patient in my everyday life. I have also
learned to appreciate the little things in life that make it all worth it, such as listening to Lilly tell
me all about her My Little Pony adventures she has at her house and pushing Addie and Naomi
on the swing. Most elementary students look up to their teachers in an abundant amount of ways,
but I think as a teacher there is much to be learned from your children. The most important
aspect to remember as a teacher is that we are all learners in this world and that what we do for
our students could change their entire outlook on life.