Community Support

I live in Kosciusko county and within my county I live in Milford. Milford is a small town, but it serves its community members well. We have lots of opportunities to get involved, and a lot of events are geared towards our youth. One specific contribution center is our public library. Our library holds many after school programs that pertain to reading or other social activities. Also the library holds special times for tutoring or extra help with school work. In neighboring areas you will also find the YMCA which fosters a lot educational resources and activities. Not only does it deal with physical aspects, but also with educational needs like art classes and much more. I believe as an aspiring teacher that community involvement is very crucial, and ultimately shows others that you care. Therefore, I would like to stress how making these opportunities available to our school systems will better students outlook on community strength and at the same time provide additional resources.

Family Conference

I felt that the family conference was a good experience, and definitely something I have never really thought that much about. I liked the first part of the conference. It was more relaxed and easier to talk to the parent when they were simply listening and following along. As for the second conference, having the parent approach you in negative manner, was really difficult. I always tended to think that everything went smoothly in conferences, but unfortunately that is not always the case. It was intimidating having someone question my ability as a teacher. However, these situations are practical and therefore it is good to be exposed to them early. I thought overall it went really well. I learned a lot about myself and how I would handle a difficult situation.

Drug Abuse

Drug abuse in any form or substance is harmful to not only the person consuming, but those around who are watching it take place. While watching this video I felt the same as I have always felt when it comes to drug use, disgusting and harmful. Children of drug users are definitely affected by the financial and emotional aspect of drug usage. For instance, most of the time a big percentage of a person's pay check would go to buying drugs, which results in the child not receiving the best care possible. It could also affect where the child attends school and how he/she acts in school. A child could feel uncomfortable or unloved when at home and when they come to school they could feel disconnected or lost. They may not get the attention they need at home and that could result in a need for it at school. All in all, drug usage is an unfortunate act that affects many who come encounter with it and you have to be careful as a teacher when dealing with the issue in order to have the best outcome possible.

Poverty

Poverty has increased throughout America, and one of the age groups it is affecting is our youth. Poverty has become a struggle for the younger generations and some have had to grow up a lot faster than normal. This may because they have had to take care of themselves or sometimes even their entire families. Our youth is our future and when someone experiences poverty it can affect their education, social life, and enjoyment of being an adolescent. Education is very crucial in anyones life. Education helps people prosper and when the burden of poverty is in ones' life, education becomes second or sometimes not even an option.
Also, poverty is a problem for youth because it can affect their whole outlook on lifes goals and acomplishments. When a young person deals with stress at an early age or even disapointment and struggle it can hurt their futures. When they grow up and only know what it is like to go without, it can be frusting and hope for a better future seems out of reach. In actuality that is far from the truth but in ruff circumstances it can be hard to imagine.
When I become a teacher I want to be aware of my students backgrounds. Not only is that important for academic purposes, but also for their social purposes. I would address the issue in my classroom by first being supportive and secondly being understanding of the issue. I think sometimes school is a release from stress that students may encounter at home, and I want my classroom to be a comfortable place they feel they can come to and feel safe. I think when you take the time to notice your students' home circumstances it makes a difference as to how they succeed in the classroom. I believe always being supportive is important because like in all situations you never really know what that person is going through and therefore having an
understanding attitude can make the world of difference to that person.

Why Education?

As a little girl I would always play school. I would be the teacher and I would always act like my dolls were my students. My joy for teaching never really changed as I got older. I was fortunate to have very good teachers throughout my academic career. An event that really touched me and continued to value my love for teaching was my 12th grade english teacher, Mr. Schmidt. Not only was he an awesome teacher, but he believed in his students and encouraged their goals. I was 18 years old and I was in my last tri-mester of my last year in high school. The fact that he took the time to actually sit down with me and talk about anything whether it was school work or if I was having a rough time outside of school, it showed he cared. He always said you will be a great teacher someday I have no doubts about it. He was truley someone to look up to. I always thought that I would like to be the same someday, and be a role model for my students. I have had many events that have lead me to my major. Another one would be cadet teaching my senior year and I was 18. I had a child with autism that I got to work with in the classroom. He was left out of some activities that the rest of his peers got to enjoy. Sometimes he would not be in the classroom but and hour a day. I really focused my attention on him cause he had so much potential. When others started to notice some improvement he was showing, I felt like I was really helping him and he was benefiting from the time we spent working together. I think the feeling of acomplishment in anything thing you do just drives you to keep going. That is why I decided to be an elementary education major because I like the feeling that I am making a difference in someones life.