After diving into my first education class, Introduction to Education, I am now confident that becoming a teacher is the career path for me. I was introduced to the basics of teacher education. Various topics were discussed in the classroom, ranging from learning styles, gender issues, and the exceptional learner, to parental involvement, classroom management, and standardized testing, among others. Guest speakers also aided in presenting different views in the field of education, including the principle from Highland Junior High School, an administrator form Galveston Elementary School, and an instructional specialist who presented the classroom management program, Tribes. I watched several movies, participated in many classroom discussions, read numerous articles, and wrote various papers to assist in my journey to teaching as a career. Among these papers, I was able to research the different pros and cons to each 2004 presidential candidates’ view on education, which was extremely informative. I was also able to create my own philosophy of education through one of these papers. The most rewarding part of my experiences in my Introduction to Education course was the opportunity to participate hands on in the classroom through service learning. I worked with students for a total of thirty hours through this course and was able to evaluate my goals and views as a teacher. All in all, Introduction to Education was a guide that taught me new information in the field of education and confirmed my decision to become a teacher.
Graphic: personal collection