semester
at
Drake
University,
from
which
I
will
be
receiving
my
degree
in
Elementary
Education
with
endorsements
in
reading
and
ESL.
I
spent
my
first
student
teaching
placement
working
with
ELLs,
and
my
second
placement
working
with
P3
children
in
Northern
Ireland
(P3
is
roughly
equivalent
to
first/second
grade).
My
desire
to
be
a
teacher
stems
from
my
belief
that
every
child
deserves
the
chance
to
learn
and
succeed,
regardless
of
any
outside
factors.
As
an
educator,
I
have
a
real
chance
to
make
an
impact
in
the
lives
of
young
people
a
chance
I
do
not
take
lightly.
I
want
to
work
with
children
in
an
urban
setting:
children
for
whom
English
is
not
their
first
language,
children
who
come
from
poverty.
I
feel
that
these
are
the
children
who
need
me
the
most,
children
who
need
someone
to
believe
in
them
and
push
them
to
meet
their
full
potential.
In
my
first
placement,
I
learned
an
incredible
number
of
management
techniques,
learning
strategies,
and
differentiation
tools.
I
worked
with
children
in
grades
K-5th,
meeting
with
nine
groups
of
students
each
day.
I
cannot
express
how
wonderful
this
experience
was,
or
how
much
it
taught
me.
Going
into
the
placement,
I
had
been
unsure
if
I
wanted
to
teach
ESL
at
the
beginning
of
my
career,
but
after
the
first
few
days
of
working
with
students,
I
knew
it
was
the
right
place
for
me.
My
second
placement
has
been
a
bit
of
an
adventure.
It
was
frightening
to
come
into
a
school
in
a
different
country
with
different
standards
and
a
different
curriculum
not
knowing
what
was
really
expected
of
me.
I
should
not
have
been
concerned;
my
mentor
teacher
and
the
students
are
wonderful,
and
though
it
is
challenging
to
work
with
an
unfamiliar
system,
I
have
learned
so
much
about
myself
as
an
educator
and
about
teaching
in
general.
I
have
met
so
many
inspirational
students
and
teachers
during
my
time
as
a
student
teacher;
I
know
that
I
will
finish
my
time
as
a
student
teacher
ready
to
face
the
challenges
and
triumphs
of
teaching.