Educational Experiences

An event during my education where I was inspired to perform happened when I was transitioning into high school. My mom had been working at my high school for 25 years before I came in, and I also had an older brother who was a senior when I was a freshman. This situation inspired me to become the best student I possibly could. There was obviously some pressure, but it wasn't negative coming from my family. It was more of a desire to make myself happy and hopefully make my mom proud of having both of her kids attending the same school. Both of my parents motivated me during school through athletics where I played water polo. This was a huge external factor in my education because I loved playing for my school and with my friends. I had success in both athletics and academics, which helped me get into CSULB to play water polo in college.  At this point I thought that I had made my family proud, but most of all I was happy that I had achieved that moment. I loved feeling that type of pressure where you are inspired, nervous, and excited all at the same time.

Unfortunately the event that inspired me to perform led to an educational experience where I felt extremely deflated. During my first three years in college I was doing what I was supposed to do in the classroom, and also training with CSULB's water polo team. Before my fourth year in college I had injured my shoulder, which halted my water polo career. My grades began to drop, and I didn't seem to care about my education as much as I did before. I felt completely deflated and lost, but I went back to my support system and spoke with my family. I remember speaking to them and talking about how I was doing, and what they needed to do in order for me to get back on track. I restored faith in myself by getting back into the swing of school, and putting one foot in front of the other with my classes. I was able to get back to my old habits and finished school with the support of friends and family. I am a huge John Wooden fan and I remember discussing him with my dad and how he looked at certain situations. This quote has always made me feel better about any situation I was in. 

Through my personal experiences I have found a lot of things my teachers did were extremely helpful, but there were others who made it hard for me. One of the things that I am certain I will do in the classroom is make to make sure that all students come into class comfortable and stress free. Obviously there are certain things you cannot control, but putting extra pressure on students where it is not needed can really disrupt their learning development. This leads to students not being confident in themselves, which is counterproductive as teachers. Having open communication with students is another important factor. I always felt that the teachers who were approachable really helped build confidence and certain social skills.

As I mentioned before one of the things I would avoid as a teacher is putting pressure on students. If a student is having trouble in class they are obviously having a difficult time in the first place, I don't believe that adding any type of pressure will help them in a positive way. I also think that there are many situations where issues outside of the classroom may be impacting the student in a negative way. This is why I would always be approachable and welcoming in the classroom.