My name is Chelsey Culberson, and I am from Charlesville, Nova Scotia, a small community

outside of Yarmouth. I am now happily married to my husband Aden and we now live in
Simonds, New Brunswick with our one year old son Oliver. From a very young age I have
desired to work with children in any way possible. When I was younger I loved to babysit and
help out with my five younger siblings. My youngest brothers are six and eight years old.
Something I’ve really enjoy doing when I go home over the breaks and in the spring is helping
them with their homework. I love being able to help them read their books, practice their words,
spelling, and do homework sheets. By helping them I get the glimpse at what a teacher does
when helping students, I also get to see the types of strategies they use and homework teachers
send home. I try to make doing homework fun for them and we have a good time learning. My
love for teaching and children grew from my love for helping and teaching my five younger
siblings.

In high school I signed up for the co-op program in my grade twelve year. In my co-op
placement I was placed with two different teachers/classrooms, the first was a split class with
kindergarten, grade one, and grade two, and the second, was a split class with kindergarten and
grade one French immersion. During co-op I got to experience teaching, planning, and forming
relationships with the students in both of these classes. I also got to experience teaching in two
different languages. At the end of the co-op placement my heart longed for it to go on longer
because I loved teaching, helping and creating relationships with the children. I was able to see
just how much of an impact teachers make in the lives of their students. I also enjoyed staying
after class and helping the teachers prepare for the next day. Through the co-op placement I was
able to test out teaching and as a result I realized that teaching was for a fact what I was called to
do.

In addition to the co-op program I started volunteering with a local preschool. I loved it because I
loved teaching children and planning lessons for them. I love the excitement children have when
learning and accomplishing something new, that is something that will bring me joy in the years
to come as a teacher. Each new experience of teaching children has made me more certain this is
the career for me. Also, during the summer I taught swimming lessons at a local municipal pool
and this has furthered my passion and desire to become a teacher. I was able to put the skills I
have learned from teaching in co-op to practice on my own. When teaching swimming lessons I
had to make a lesson plan according to the Red Cross swimming lesson book and I write them
out each week. When teaching I had to get into the water so I can explain and do the strokes I am
teaching the children. A big thing I have learned from teaching swimming lessons is that fear of
the water for children is real; because of this I have learned how to calm children and be an
encouragement in their little successes. I believe these are skills I can take into the classroom in
the future.

As well as, working with younger children, I also volunteered as a youth leader at the Lewisville
church, and I have gotten to experience leading bible studies and planning events for the middle
school girls small groups. Something that shocked me was I always thought I would not be
comfortable teaching students outside of elementary. But this experience with middle school
students proved me wrong, and I would now happily teach middle school.
In university, I volunteered at Magnetic Hill School doing the Elementary Literacy Friend (ELF)
program with a grade two student. This program consisted of helping a student to reach the grade
two reading level, but also to develop a love for reading. This was not an easy challenge for me
because students who struggle with reading often develop a hate for reading and believe that they
cannot do it therefore they will not even try to read. It took several weeks of reading and
encouragement for this student to feel more comfortable with me and feel a sense of “I can read.”
Even though sometimes I myself became discouraged it brought me great joy to watch this
student transform from “I hate reading to I can read and I want to read more”. One of my favorite
hobbies is reading while enjoying a nice cup of coffee anytime of the day. This experience while
studying as a per-service teacher as made me realize that as a teacher I will take great joy in
instilling a passion for reading in my students, helping those who struggle to catch up and find
their love for reading.

Growing up I was considered a teachers pet, I was always willing to lend a helping hand to the
teacher or my classmates. Over the years that has not changed as I now desire to be a teacher
who is willing to go above and beyond for students and provide accommodations when students
need them. Being a good teacher is important to me because when I was in elementary school I
struggled because of a learning disability, however I had classroom teachers and resource
teachers who were willing to go above and beyond to help me succeed. By the time I got to high
school I was exceling and graduated with honors. My teachers having confidence and providing
extra assistance has made me a stronger person and has inspired me to pursue education. My
struggles and success has made me into the teacher I am and will be. I have chosen to become a
teacher to make lasting impacts in the lives of my students, like my teachers made in mine.