Monday, May 24, 2010

Tutoring Jobs

Last year I tutored a 13 year old ESL student through a tutoring agency and I have decided to try tutoring again.

I have just sent out a few resumés to a few tutoring agencies so hopefully I can pick up a few students over the summer before I start the BeD program.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

This blog was originally ....

This blog originally began because of a project I had to do for an EDCI class at University. However, I would like to turn it in to a blog about my experiences as I become a high school English teacher.

Why English? Well, here is my story:

I am the last person on earth who you would think is an English teacher. First of all, I don't enjoy reading. Instead, I choose the instant gratification of watching a one hour television show (in which I would see the beginning middle and end of the story in only 60 minutes). As a young adult it was hard for me to find books that really interested me. When I was younger I used to read all the babysitters club books, choose your own adventures, and the unicorn club books (a book spawned from the Sweet Valley High series but focused on the girls as middle school students instead).

Second of all, I cannot spell. I am the worst speller ever. End of story.

And thirdly, I am terrible with words. Due to my lack of reading and my fast-paced speech I am not the best with words nor do I know the definition of many of them. I never truly learned the importance of editing online work (E-mails, texts, blogs, etc.) and so I often would spell things wrong or create short-forms that were just plain ridiculous (for instance say 'u' instead of 'you'). I also mix up words like weather and whether or waist and waste--elementary mistakes.

And so you ask, why is it that I would like to be an ENGLISH teacher out of all the subjects?

My answer:

I originally wanted to be a theatre teacher but learned I had to major in a widely taught subject (math, science, social studies, english) and so I chose English....then I found out that the University I went to (The University of Victoria) did not offer the classes I would need to become a theatre teacher to students not in the Theatre Major program! AND SO here I am, with a BA with a Major in English. I also have some Spanish classes and a bunch of Psychology classes under my belt (as well as some Theatre and Philosophy).

So my plan?
Well, my plan is to get my Bachelors of Education and my teaching Certificate in December of 2011. This summer I am attempting to learn the grade 9 Math curriculum with help from my grade 9 and 12 math teacher who has kindly lent me some books to work through. Also, I plan on spending my summers taking more courses in Spanish so that I can teach Spanish...and of course... attempting to learn the Math 10-12 curriculum.

My goals for the next ten years?

1. Taking a leadership role in drug awareness courses/programs at the high schools in my area. My dream is to create an elective course about drugs and their social, physical and environmental effects on people.
2. Going back to school and getting my Masters in Education Psychology (a 2 year program) and becoming a School Councillor.