"To Teach is to Touch a Life Forever..."

http://www.teachforamerica.org/corps/teaching/diaries/nyc_kinhal_shyla.htm

As mentioned before, my 3 passions that drive me in the direction towards a teaching career are service, children, and Spanish. Teach for America is a program that recruits “recent college graduates and professionals of all academic majors and career interests who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity.” What a perfect opportunity! When browsing their website I came across several teachers’ personal accounts of the lives they had changed during their years of service. One in particular stood out to me. It was about a bilingual 2nd grade teacher who had a student, Chris, who was very behind in school because did not like speaking in front of others and hardly spoke Spanish at all. But after much intentional time and a deliberate investment in his life, Chris wanted to have English speaking parts in the school play!
This author uses her personal experience to encourage others to join the Teach for America Program. I found her approach rather humble, yet very persuasive as well. She effectively pulls at your heart. Retelling a personal story is much more effective than just telling about the program. How it actually changes a child's life is much more gripping than how it could change a child's life. Reading this story makes me realize how influential a teacher can be in the life of a student. As the mother of Chris put it, “Chris, Ms. Kinhal es como tu mama en la escuela. Ella te quiere mucho, así que la tienes que escuchar. Chris, Ms. Kinhal is like your mother in school. She loves you, so you have to listen to her." Children often look to their educators as mentors. I would love to be an encouraging example to students, just as this teacher was to Chris.

Getting educated... both student and teacher!

http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/bilingual_ed/news/

TeAchnology, The Online Teacher Resource serves as an outstanding tool for both parents and teachers about the latest ideas in the bilingual education field. It offers creative activities as well as articles on the latest topics to discuss on growth and development of children. The online tips to teaching are priceless. It has advice for every possible subject from music to tattling. This site also provides links to various other websites that give invaluable information and ideas for teaching. The information offered on this site is useful, not only for a teacher, but anyone who is around children. For example, if I am serving in a Spanish orphanage, there are many great tips and activities given on this site that I could use. Needless to say, the things I learn now and in the next few years will definitely be used later in my professional career as an educator.

What the Future Holds...

As I think about the future and what excites me, three things come to mind: service, children, and Spanish. These are three passions in my life that, no matter what I’m doing, will be my motivation for whichever profession I choose. For the short term future plans, I want to do missionary work. My degrees in international studies and Spanish have greatly prepared me to spend time in another country with a different culture. My focus in international studies is communications and media with a regional concentration of Latin America. My love for Spanish has driven to study this area; also, a Latin American country is where I intend to serve one day. As for a long term sense, I would love to teach early childhood. Before becoming a teacher though, I intend to return school to accomplish my masters in the education field. Depending on my time spent in a Spanish speaking country, I may teach in an international school abroad. My other idea is to be a bilingual educator. My experience working at summer camps and babysitting has caused me realize how much I enjoy seeing a child learn and grow. Many options lay ahead of me. Choosing which path to take will be the challenge in the next couple of years.