Nottingham Page 1

ABE Signature Assignment: How I Got to Where I am Today

Lex Nottingham

Foundations Of Education, College of Western Idaho

EDUC-120-002W

Prof. Wight

12 April 2021
 Nottingham Page 2

I used to think that the only way you would succeed at life is by graduating highschool,

going right into college and getting your degree to start your life, at least that’s how I was raised.

I found out that you only need hope to be successful and to follow your own dreams that you

created for yourself. I started out by going to school and following the rules, then life took a turn

for the “worse”, but the “worse” turned into the best decisions I have ever made for myself. I am

now a 20 year old with hopes and dreams of becoming an amazing teacher that every student

remembers until they graduate high school.

Educational Background

I attended Elementary School at Ronald Reagan Elementary, I still remember my first

day of Kindergarten and I made my mom come into class with me because I was so scared. My

dad was in the Army and had deployed while I was in first grade, it was really hard for me to see

all my classmates bring their dads’ into school with them and I couldn’t.

I attended Middle School at East Valley Middle School for all 3 years. I didn’t like East

Valley because I would get bullied all the time by my old friends. Even though I got bullied I

still tried really hard in orchestra because music became my get away place. Right after one of

my concerts, we got a phone call saying my grandpa had a stroke. A few months went by and my

grandpa was doing great, until I was at basketball practice and my dad walked in saying my

grandpa had another stroke. I like to think my grandpa is a warrior because to this day he has had

a total of 4 strokes and is still the happy old man we all know and love.

In High School I attended Columbia High School until about half way through my Junior

year, I was having a really difficult time and dropped out. I had never experienced bullying this

bad until I went to Columbia. I ended up getting hospitalized for two weeks and had to be
 Nottingham Page 3

transferred into Idaho Virtual Academy (an online school). I had to drop out but was able to get

my GED and get my life back on track in 2019 a year after I was supposed to graduate.

I then went right into Cosmetology School at Paul Mitchell the School Boise and worked

in a salon for about a year before starting at College of Western Idaho and I am now in my

second semester. Going into Cosmetology School was very different for me but a lot of fun. I

loved doing hair but always wanted to be a teacher. I had a client who was a teacher and she told

me not to wait and just go for it.

Work History Service and/or ExtraCurricular Activities

The first job I ever had was at Wahooz Family Fun Zone and I was about 16 years old. I

started out as a waitress in the restaurant and served food. After about 8 months of working for

them I applied to be a party host for birthdays and host big events. It got really hard juggling a

job and volleyball, so I quit working and focused on volleyball. Once I tore my ACL I stopped

playing and got a job again, it was at a trampoline park called Circustrix at the time. I applied for

party hosting but the park didn’t have parties yet so I was just a crewman. After about a year I

left because I never got offered a job in party hosting and that is what I really wanted to work

there for. I quickly got a job at my dad’s hotel and worked the front desk for about a year and a

half. I left to go to Cosmetology school and then worked at a salon for another year after that. I

loved working on kids' hair cuts because it was easier to bond with the kids and their parents

than my other clients. That’s when I knew I needed to go back to school and get my Elementary

Education Degree.

I got asked to work parties at Wahooz without really understanding what that meant at

the time, I didn’t know if I would like it or hate it because I had never worked with kids before. I

really fell in love with hanging out with them, having them play games, watching them color and
 Nottingham Page 4

open their gifts. It was really easy for me to keep their attention focused on what needed to get

done and they all listened to me. Taking a break was great and it led me to becoming a

Cosmetologist and I love that. However, talking with kids again and having clients that are

teachers really made me want to pursue teaching as soon as possible.

The extracurricular activities I did started with volleyball. My mom got me into

volleyball in 3rd grade and took me to summer camps. Once I got into 5th grade my school put

on a volleyball team and I played on that for about a year. I then played on a rec team with a few

classmates and other people I had never met before. It was great getting to know people from

other schools, that meant when school ball came around again I knew some of the girls on the

opposing team. My 7th grade volleyball I got put on the B team, I was asked if I would compete

against another girl to be put on A team. I told that coach no because I was the captain on my

team and I loved being the leader and helping my teammates. My coach that year told me I

would make an amazing teacher one day and I began asking questions and wanting to become a

teacher. As I got older I still played on the school team every year but I was able to play in club

volleyball, I got to play in places like, Spokane, Reno, Las Vegas, Utah and Denver. It was a

good experience and I got to meet so many people. I ended up tearing my ACL and quit playing

volleyball competitively and just started thinking about my future.

Volleyball taught me how to work with all types of people, people from different schools,

people from different states. It showed me that there’s all kinds of different cultures and different

ways people do things. I saw it first hand and I think that is something a lot of first year teachers

only get to experience in the classroom or as a student.

Ethical Reasoning in Education

 Nottingham Page 5

One educational ethical dilemma was the zero tolerance policy in my schools, all of them

if I’m being honest. In highschool I would have a teacher that I was really close with and told

everything to, however when it came to talking about being bullied she would tell me how to fix

it myself, she would never offer to step in. I would explain how I have tried but she would

always say, “if id doesn’t happen in my classroom, then there’s nothing I can do about it”. I

would talk to other teachers, counselors and administrative staff and nothing was ever done

about it.

Based on the Idaho State Department of Education Code of Ethics for Idaho Professional

Educators, one line states that a professional educator must not do anything that is detrimental to

the health or welfare of the students. A solution for teachers to follow this is listen to your

students that are having a hard time, and when they ask for help the teacher needs to help them.

In my case I was depressed and suicidal still getting bullied, that would be against the ethics of

Idaho because that is detrimental to my health and wellbeing.

The Utilitarianism view would be perfect because the staff would be focused on the

students needs. If bullying is occurring the student would be called in and action would be taken,

that way the victim is at a lower risk of being bullied by said student. Bringing in suicide

awareness specialists would be helpful for students struggling because they are getting different

options and information available to them for free. If a student voices their concerns for their

safety or another students safety the school takes action upon it immediately and doesn’t wait for

it to be seen in person by that staff.

Virtue Ethics is based on honesty, courage, compassion and generosity. If a student is

being honest about being bullied and is worried about their health, that staff member also needs

to be honest and help that student out in any way needed. If the student had the courage to speak
 Nottingham Page 6

up about their concerns and about being bullied, that staff member needs to have the courage to

step in or get help from other staff members to put an end to it. Speaking up and asking for help

is very hard, especially when nothing ever gets done about it, that staff member needs to have

compassion for that student and think about their health and what could possibly happen or get

worse if action isn’t taken.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

I should be an elementary teacher because I am very outgoing and I have always wanted

to change student’s lives. I have wanted to be a teacher since I can remember because my aunt

was a teacher, she implemented so many different techniques that I plan to implement in my

teaching as well. She made sure that she got to know the students, not only within the classroom

but at home as well, I want to do the same, I want to keep the parents updated throughout the

school year on their child because of the milestones that the parents miss while their child is at

school. On top of that knowing what happens at home can help a teacher teach the student

effectively and respectfully, if you know the student only has a mom then you can avoid any

awkward “dad” conversations and keep the relationship respectful.

I have many skills that a good teacher needs to have to be effective. I am a storyteller, I

love to get to know people and what their life has consisted of before I met them and I want them

to know me in the same way, it develops trust. I am very good at keeping kids engaged in what is

going on, as a hairstylist I have to keep a child still in my chair for up to an hour, reading to them

and/or having them read to me keeps them distracted as well as gets us talking about things they

love. I am very respectful to others opinions and the decisions they make, if I don’t agree with

what another person views I tend to ask questions to try and understand why they think that way

and try to change my own views on said topic.

 Nottingham Page 7

One main skill I have that allows me to be in the education field is being creative. I love

coming up with different ideas that haven’t been used. If my idea doesn’t work then I change

little things until it does work and if nothing works then I move on to something different. This

can be especially helpful when a student has behavioral troubles or even learning troubles.

I have amazing time management skills and organizational skills. These can be used in

any career. If I am scheduled to be at work at 1pm I will be there an hour early, that is because if

my help is needed I am already available, if something happens on my way to work I am not

rushed and I have time to react and still make it to work on time. I do not procrastinate when

asked to complete something, I will write it down immediately and plan my week/day/month

around what needs to get done then plan what I would like to get done. This goes hand-in-hand

with my organizational skills, I create a list of tasks that need to be completed and once they are

completed I will check it off, along with this list I also take note of when it needs to be

completed and make sure it is completed at least one day before I was asked to get it completed.

Professional Goals

One long term goal would be making a difference. I plan to achieve this goal by getting

to know my students and parents and learning about how I can not only be their teacher but

someone they feel they can talk to when in need of help. I want to have my students partake in

learning how they want to learn, if they like singing songs and remember information that way

then I want to continue that and make my lesson fun to learn.

My short term goals would start out with graduating from CWI with my Elementary

Education Degree. I would then transfer to BSU and major in their Elementary Education

Bachelor’s Degree. I plan on student teaching through BSU at an Elementary school nearby and

then hopefully go right into teaching 1st-4th grade. I plan to achieve going right into a school to
 Nottingham Page 8

teach by keeping my grades up. My first semester here at CWI I made it on the dean’s list and I

plan to continue getting good grades to have a good back up when applying for jobs.

Conclusion:

Although you may think in your childhood that what your mom and dad want you to do

with your life is correct, you won’t be happy until you do something for yourself first. I know I

will be a great teacher because there’s plenty of resources around me that I can utilize for the

best education I can get. I get to make my own decisions for myself with help from the people

that support my goals and dreams. I will make my dreams come true and become the best

elementary teacher that I can be.