Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY ABE/1

Autobiographical Essay

Kayla Bordi

Professor Shane Brown

EDUC 201 Foundations of Education

Online, Spring 2018

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Autobiographical Essay

Every one of us journeys through life with unique experiences that make us all one of a

kind. These experiences can define who we are as well as help us decide who we want to

become. In my own personal life journey, my experiences and passions have led me down the

path to become a professional helper in the form of a special education teacher.

Educational Background

I attended my earlier years of elementary school at Sierra View Elementary School in

California. Right before my third grade year my family moved to Kimberly, Idaho where I

received the remainder of my elementary and secondary education from the Kimberly School

District up until my graduation from Kimberly High School in 2016. I am currently attending the

College of Southern Idaho and will graduate with an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts in May

2018.

I have not had any special educational experiences in terms of special schools, but I have

had an extremely beneficial educational experience through my current job as a paraprofessional

at Kimberly Elementary School when coupled with the courses I’ve taken through CSI. These

courses provided me with a foundation of knowledge and ideas that are directly applicable to

everyday tasks and challenges being faced in my job. For example, gaining a deeper

understanding of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development has shed light on the why question I

so-frequently ask myself concerning certain behaviors of preschool- and kindergarten-aged

students. In addition, the courses at CSI have provided a cushion of confidence for me to carry

myself with more weight in the classroom. I’ve gained a more positive view of myself as a being

a professional—rather than “just an aide”—and can feel how that shift in my own attitude has
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directly affected the perceptions that students have of me. I feel more respect for myself and as a

result I feel more respect from others.

Work History

Essentially all of my previous and current work experiences involve childcare of some

sort. During the summer of 2015, I worked as a care-giver for a blind, nonverbal, ten-year-old

girl with cerebral palsy as well as a babysitter for her two siblings. I spent eight hours a day with

her four days a week, and a few of my duties included getting her dressed in the mornings,

getting her to appointments on time, taking her and her siblings swimming, helping her eat

through her feeding tube, and aiding her in using the restroom. This job, being my first, helped

me in my walk towards becoming a professional educator in that it 1) introduced me to the world

of special education and caregiving and 2) gave me valuable experience working with high-

demand children in high-demand situations.

In 2016 I worked at the Twin Falls YMCA as a day camp counselor as well as a childcare

counselor. The day camp was a very stressful job for me as it was my first time actually being in

charge of a group of 5-10 kids ranging in age from 3-12 all by myself. I learned a lot during my

time there including ineffective ways to engage children. My experience as a day camp

counselor definitely made me reconsider if I was really cut out for a job working with children.

However, after the summer was over I was moved to the after-school child care program

at the YMCA and I grew more confident in my abilities. In this position, I gained a lot more

management experience as the circumstances were less taxing and stressful. My responsibilities

included engaging the children in fun games, activities, crafts, sports, etc., all while keeping

them safe. I really enjoyed this job and the things I learned while at the YMCA provided a great
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starting base of hands-on experience and knowledge that I was able to build upon in the second

year of my next job.

Starting in 2017 I began working at Kimberly Elementary School (KES) as a

paraprofessional in the preschool and kindergarten departments, and I worked there for nearly

two years. During the first year I was a one-to-one paraprofessional for a blind, nonverbal boy.

He and I both gained new communication skills as we tried to understand one another. My

responsibilities included aiding him in carrying out all of his everyday tasks like walking, eating,

playing, and I was essentially in charge of planning his 3.5 hour preschool day and implementing

those plans. I regret the things I didn’t know while in this job, but coming right out of high

school I had very little real experience working with this young of an age for so long of a time

period.

The skills I learned at the YMCA didn’t come in handy until my second year at KES

where I was brought back as a small-group leader in the preschool department as well as a one-

to-one supporter for a kindergartener. In this position, I learned a tremendous amount about

effective authoritative tactics—such as tone of voice, seriousness of facial expressions, actions

speaking louder than words—as well as how to effectively engage students in their current task

and how to guide them to the desired finished product. I did a lot in this position as there were

quite a few kids who liked to run out the door, down the hall, and all over the place. Some of

them also liked to scream and cry and whine and hit and kick and scratch and it was definitely a

struggle attempting to deal with various behavior problems, but I had a great team of

administrators and supporters who modeled preventative and de-escalation tactics. For example,

there was a group of students in the preschool class who were best friends one moment and then

hair-pulling, arm-scratching enemies the next. These situations could escalate very quickly and I
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soon realized that the most important thing was to make sure no child ever got extremely hurt

because sometimes those four- and five-year-old kids could be brutal. I learned how to handle

those situations on my own—as well as how not to handle them—and when the appropriate time

to ask for help from other adults is. This job benefited me so much and I am very grateful for the

opportunity I was blessed with. I feel it has given me such a tremendous head-start in the field of

education which is pretty much all about leadership, effective behavior/problem solving skills,

and kids.

Service and Extracurricular Activities

My last two years of high school I was an active member in Student Government as class

Vice President. I participated with and aided other members in various projects including

planning assemblies as well as implementing a district-wide food drive. I also spent forty hours

volunteering for the Twin Falls Valley House during my senior year. I sorted clothes and food,

and I ran a food drive for them at my school as well.

During multiple summers throughout my high school years, I spent countless hours at the

Kimberly Elementary, Middle, and High School libraries volunteering my time to take inventory

and complete various tasks requested by the librarians. In both 2016 and 2017 I helped out with

Kimberly Elementary Summer School where I was placed in a variety of classrooms doing a

variety of tasks on a daily basis. These service and extracurricular activities gave me experience

working alongside peers and authority figures to complete tasks with a specific end goal in sight.

In addition, the time I spent volunteering at KES Summer School gave me valuable experience

working with children of all ages who needed a little extra help.

Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career

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Growing up I went through many dream-job phases like most kids probably do. I wanted

to become a veterinarian, then a chef, then an astronomer, and my parents even got me toys,

books and tools for each one of my phases. It wasn’t until I entered the work-force as a caregiver

the summer before my senior year in high school that I considered pursuing a profession working

with kids. My initial goal was to become a children’s counselor and, after meeting with a private-

practice counselor as well as the counselor at my local elementary school, I was opened up to the

idea of social work. Both of the ladies I met with explained that social workers have more federal

freedoms to practice than counselors do so I spent a year and a half pursuing social work.

While I was going to school for a Social Work degree, I landed my amazing job working

in the special needs preschool and kindergarten departments at Kimberly Elementary School. I

absolutely fell in love with the aspect of helping and teaching kids in the structured school

setting and I realized that working with and helping kids with special needs is what I had wanted

to do all along; I was just going into the wrong field. So once that realization hit, I changed from

a Social Work degree to an Education degree.

I’ve already experienced many rewards in my position at work. Children are so eager to

learn and it’s an incredible thing to aid them through any hardship they may be met with during

the learning process. Watching them become more confident in their abilities and more

dependent upon themselves rather than upon others is yet another incredible reward. Overall,

kids are just so happy and carefree, and a classroom full of them is inevitably a classroom full of

joy.

Professional Goals

My short term goals are simple. I want to gain more experience working in schools and

also begin to build my professional network. I plan to achieve this as I move to Boise for my
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continued education by applying for jobs in elementary schools in the Boise area. I will go about

this by first looking at job postings on the West Ada School District website to see what is

available and what will work with my college class schedule.

My long term goals are currently centered on obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in special

education and early childhood education. I plan to achieve this within the next couple of years

from Boise State University. Once I do get my degree it is my goal to find work as a preschool

teacher, early intervention specialist, special education teacher, or any combination of those in

Idaho.

Another long term goal I have is to start a summer camp for special needs children of all

ages. This is not on the agenda until much further down my road of life but it is a goal

nonetheless. I plan to begin working on this goal by first researching and getting involved with

current summer camps in order to get ideas and build networks for my future.

Conclusion

Learning new things and helping others are two things I am very passionate about and

teaching is the perfect profession that will allow me to act on those passions. I am truly grateful

for my past experiences and am very excited to see what future experiences are in store for me as

I continue on my life journey.