AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY ABE 1

Autobiographical Essay

Cooper Schlund

Department of Education, College of Southern Idaho

EDUC 201 C20W Foundations of Education

Prof. Samra Culum

Spring 2020
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Autobiographical Essay

My decision to pursue the wonderful profession that is teaching came very unexpectedly

in my life, but I know that it was the right decision. This was a decision that came from the gut

and from the heart, therefore I know it must be the right one. Ever since volunteering at an

elementary school in my senior year of high school I have felt as if it was my calling to teach

because it came so naturally to me and I struck up true joy doing it. As a Spanish teacher I hope

to change my student’s perspective on the world and to widen their cultural perspective. I also

hope to teach students to appreciate the beauty of language, the opportunity that language brings,

and the cultures one is exposed to by learning to speak another’s natural tongue. By pursuing

teaching, I hope to make a difference in the thinking patterns of young learners and leave them

with an important set of knowledge and values that will guide them through life.

Educational Background

I first began my educational journey at Lincoln Elementary School and continued to stay

at this school through to the first half of fifth grade. I quite enjoyed elementary school and was

always very excited to learn. I was always a good student and maintained my grades without

having to be asked to.

Once I started fifth grade my parents decided to transfer me to Xavier Charter School

because they wanted me to be in a more academically challenging environment. This was a

difficult adjustment, but I eventually got used to the workload and the school culture. I continued

to stay at Xavier up until graduating high school. Overall, I gained a lot of useful skills at a

liberal arts charter school than I would have at a public school. As a charter school the board was

able to curate the curriculum the way they wanted, but keeping the common core standards
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intact. Our curriculum was centered around virtue, philosophy, and the arts. It was a challenging

experience, but it was overall very beneficial.

I am currently enrolled as a Sophomore in my fourth semester at the College of Southern

Idaho. I am pursuing my Associate of Arts degree in hopes to eventually transfer to a four-year

university to obtain my bachelor’s and possibly my master’s degree. My end goal is to double

major in secondary education and Spanish.

My educational experience, especially in high school, will help me to be a better educator

because I will be able to understand that my students might better thrive in a Socratic-based

classroom rather than a teacher-student focused classroom. I will also be able to portray the

importance of living virtuously and aiming to be a lifelong learner.

Work History

My first job in the official, taxed workforce was my job at Lytle Signs Inc. as their

Summer “grunt” as I like to say. I would take care of the work that rest of the employees didn’t

have time for (i.e. organizing, deep-cleaning, day to day chores, etc.). This job taught me to

appreciate the work that is done on all “levels” of the wage ladder.

After working as a Summer custodian, I then began a job as a floor staff member at

Magic Valley Cinema West. I did various jobs here and really enjoyed my job here. The social

network of this job is what made it so enjoyable and joyous. This job taught me to find the

brighter side of any work that one may do and to create a healthy social environment in the

workplace as to make it more enjoyable for the team.

I then continued to grow up the wage ladder and worked as a host at Applebee’s over a

Summer. This was not a great work experience mainly due to the lack of involvement by

management. I then moved to JCPenney as a result and am currently enjoying my job there.
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The biggest lessons I’ve learned that contribute to my future teaching career is that one

must be optimistic and look for the brightest moments. I also realized that as the manager of the

classroom I must be involved to achieve happiness in my students and for their academic

success. The most encompassing ideas I reaped from working minimum wage jobs is that one

must find beauty in any work they do, but also that money is not the ultimate goal for a career to

be fruitful. To pursue a job that doesn’t pay the best is better than to be indebted to your spirit.

Service and/or Extracurricular Activities

The most notable volunteering that I’ve done was teaching rudimentary Spanish to

second graders at Lincoln Elementary School for my Senior Compendium Project. This was the

project that made me realize I wanted to pursue teaching, despite its challenges. I struggled to

reach the children at times, but in the end I found ways to help them comprehend the

information. Regarding my future teaching career, I think that this experience has taught me the

importance of recognizing your students’ learning style/preference. This was a great experience

for me and it really inspired a sort of motivation to be better for not only the students but for

myself as well.

Reasons for Choosing a Career in Education

The overarching reason that I am studying to be an educator is because I believe that

knowledge is the key to personal growth and enlightenment. If I can guide my students to

graduate with the skills to think critically and be lifelong learners and to be curious individuals

then I will know that I have done my job correctly.

On a more specific note, I am studying to be a Spanish teacher because I think that

knowing any second language broadens one’s cultural perspective and world view. The ability to

communicate with another culture in their mother tongue is one of the most rewarding things to
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do. With the growing Hispanic population in the United States it is an even more rewarding

experience to speak to a whole other group of people who have another cultural background than

you.

As a teacher I also hope to demonstrate certain values to the kids as well so that they can

also be inspired to be good human beings. I hope to show my students respect, kindness, and to

always be integrous. I hope that these values show through to my students and that they will in

turn show respect and kindness not only to me but to others as well.

Professional Goals

My most direct goal I have right now is to graduate with an Associate of Arts and

continue to take courses that grow me as a person. I also hope to continue to practice active

learning rather than passively learning information for it just to disappear from my memory later

on in life. In the past I have learned for the test and had bad study habits which led to a deficit of

knowledge on my part. I hope to develop healthy learning habits here at CSI so that I can be the

most efficient educator and learner.

My more long-term goals are to finish my current degree and to double major in both

secondary education and Spanish at a four-year university. I hope to also take course throughout

my education that will help me to better understand learning techniques and child psychology as

to better understand my students’ perspectives.

A very distant dream of mine is to eventually be involved in the legislature for education

and curriculum requirements. I hope to possibly be involved in a movement that will require

students to take a minimum of two years in a foreign language, or for students to start learning a

Spanish at the elementary level. I think that these sorts of requirements would yield an increase

in student performance. More specifically, students learning a second language would be more
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literate in the grammar of their first language, be more culturally understanding of those around

them, and possibly even expand their worldview.

Of course, this is all with time so for now I will try to be the best learner I can be so that I

can be an efficient educator in the future. I hope to be able to grow as an educator past my

studies at the college level so that I can reach my students and create the best possible

environment for them to flourish. I hope to achieve this by possibly teaching English in Central

or South America. By being immersed in the language and culture I will be able to strengthen my

Spanish foundation and cultural knowledge. I will also be practicing my skills in teaching a

second language.

Conclusion

I am choosing to be an educator because it is the profession that speaks most to my spirit

and heart. I have a genuine, motivated interest in secondary education and the Spanish language

and hope to show others how beautiful the Spanish language can be. I hope to teacher others the

joy of learning a second language and how empowering it can be. I hope to emanate the positive

aspects of my schooling throughout high school in regards to a humanistic, virtue-focused

curriculum. The same could be said for my workplace experiences. I have had a range of

workplace experiences that have made me realize that money is but a means to a material end

and that following your heart is the most rewarding way to live one’s life. Of course, this all

takes time and growth, so for right now I hope to grow myself intellectually and virtuously so

that I can be the best educator for my prospective students.