Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Elevator Speech
Hello, my name is Reece Rada. I am a junior at Flowery Branch High school. Throughout the year, I spent two hours of my school days mentoring at Spout Springs Elementary, inside Mrs. Smallwood's first grade classroom. The mentorship was a wonderful experience, as I learned many new things and grew in my love for children. In the eighth grade, I decided I wanted to be an early childhood teacher. I took classes in high school based on teaching and early education, and I also currently work in the nursery at my church weekly. The biggest topic that came across my mind that I wanted to learn more about while in my internship was how to positively impact a student. Since this topic is very dear to my heart, I decided that I was going to do my final project for Honors Mentorship on this subject. My essential question was to distinguish how an early childhood teacher can positively impact a students life. To answer this question, I studied on what an effective teacher is, what their qualities are, and what the difference is between being effective and qualified. Overall, my mentorship experience was very beneficial to me, and provided me with many lessons that I will carry on as I continue to aim to be the best and most effective teacher I can be in my near future.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Week of 5/5
1. What impact did this experience have on my personal growth?\
My mentorship experienced helped me grow in my patience, responsibility, and love for children.
2.What was my greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment was working throughout the year with two individual students, watching them grow both in academics and in their social life.
3.What did you find most challenging about the mentorship?
What I found most challenging was dealing with students with troubling behavior. It required a lot of patience.
4.What did you discover about yourself?
At my mentorship, I discovered that I'm very patient and have a heart for children.
5.What influence will this experience have on your future academic and career choices?
This experience has greatly influenced my academic and career choices. While I thought I knew I wanted to go into teaching before my internship, I now am certain. I'm looking into colleges who specialize in education all throughout the south east.
6.What did you learn from people you admire in this organization?
The person I admired the most was my mentor, Mrs. Smallwood. By working with her daily, I learned the importance in the balance of sternness and positivity, and making sure the students strive to their very best.
My mentorship experienced helped me grow in my patience, responsibility, and love for children.
2.What was my greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment was working throughout the year with two individual students, watching them grow both in academics and in their social life.
3.What did you find most challenging about the mentorship?
What I found most challenging was dealing with students with troubling behavior. It required a lot of patience.
4.What did you discover about yourself?
At my mentorship, I discovered that I'm very patient and have a heart for children.
5.What influence will this experience have on your future academic and career choices?
This experience has greatly influenced my academic and career choices. While I thought I knew I wanted to go into teaching before my internship, I now am certain. I'm looking into colleges who specialize in education all throughout the south east.
6.What did you learn from people you admire in this organization?
The person I admired the most was my mentor, Mrs. Smallwood. By working with her daily, I learned the importance in the balance of sternness and positivity, and making sure the students strive to their very best.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
3/31
1. What successes have you experienced at your mentor ship? What did they mean to you?
Some successes I have experienced would be helping certain students I work individually with to grow in their academic levels. It meant a lot to me, knowing I am making a difference.
2. What setbacks have you experienced? What did you learn from those setbacks?
An example of a setback in my mentor ship would be not knowing how to handle improper conduct from the students early in the year. I have learned ways to handle such issues now, with experience throughout the year, and with the help of my mentor.
3/24
1. If you wanted to follow in the career path of someone at your internship site, what would you need to do to make this happen?
To follow in the career path of my mentor, I would need to go into an early childhood education major in college. Taking this internship is a great step to prepare to be a teacher as well. I would need to also do internships in college and student-teach.
2.How does the organization distribute the level of work among the staff? How equitable do you believe the distribution is?
Teaching at an elementary school is very different from most other careers. While you do have teamwork among the teachers in preparing lessons for the standards needed to be taught, it's all very independent. It is very equitable, because you are doing the work that applies to you, while other teachers are doing their work that belongs to them.
3. What types of tasks are you discovering that you enjoy or excel at completing? Which ones are less attractive or fulfilling?
I enjoy working with students one-on-one, either in small groups or just helping in group activities. Some activities that are less attractive are speaking in front of the class as a whole, mainly because of my shy personality.
To follow in the career path of my mentor, I would need to go into an early childhood education major in college. Taking this internship is a great step to prepare to be a teacher as well. I would need to also do internships in college and student-teach.
2.How does the organization distribute the level of work among the staff? How equitable do you believe the distribution is?
Teaching at an elementary school is very different from most other careers. While you do have teamwork among the teachers in preparing lessons for the standards needed to be taught, it's all very independent. It is very equitable, because you are doing the work that applies to you, while other teachers are doing their work that belongs to them.
3. What types of tasks are you discovering that you enjoy or excel at completing? Which ones are less attractive or fulfilling?
I enjoy working with students one-on-one, either in small groups or just helping in group activities. Some activities that are less attractive are speaking in front of the class as a whole, mainly because of my shy personality.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Interpersonal Skills
1. How would you describe the culture within your organization (ways in which co-workers interact or don’t interact) and how does this fit with your “ideal” employer?
in my mentorship, the culture is very friendly and professional. A lot of teamwork is involved, mainly between all the teachers. The co-workers are very close and are always open to helping each other out.
2. Describe the way in which the organization collaborates with other groups in the area.
At the elementary school, all groups interact with each other in one way or another. Between taking kids to specials, assemblies, and clusters, teachers from all over the school are always interacting with each other.
3. In what ways have you experienced or witnessed either informal or formal mentoring taking place within the organization, other than the mentoring you are experiencing?
In the first grade classroom, I have come across difficult experiences, to where I did not know how to properly handle it. One example would be the constant misbehavior of a child, and not knowing how to to give the proper consequence. My mentor then would come in and handled the situation formally and in the right way, which taught me another new skill.
in my mentorship, the culture is very friendly and professional. A lot of teamwork is involved, mainly between all the teachers. The co-workers are very close and are always open to helping each other out.
2. Describe the way in which the organization collaborates with other groups in the area.
At the elementary school, all groups interact with each other in one way or another. Between taking kids to specials, assemblies, and clusters, teachers from all over the school are always interacting with each other.
3. In what ways have you experienced or witnessed either informal or formal mentoring taking place within the organization, other than the mentoring you are experiencing?
In the first grade classroom, I have come across difficult experiences, to where I did not know how to properly handle it. One example would be the constant misbehavior of a child, and not knowing how to to give the proper consequence. My mentor then would come in and handled the situation formally and in the right way, which taught me another new skill.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Interview
For my interview, I chose to ask my wonderful mentor, Mrs. Smallwood, about questions relating to both the academic and nurturing sides of being a teacher.
1. What qualities do you believe you need to be an effective teacher?
- "Patience, flexibility, and a showing of professionalism and humility. Also, being a team player."
2. Does nurturing or academics impact the students more?
- "Nurturing impacts the younger students more. You need nurturing to under-lye the academics in all ages, because without it, it has the potential to be ineffective."
2. Have you had any students come back to tell you how you impacted them? What did they say?
- "Yes, as a matter of fact I have one student who comes to visit me every year on open house. The students mainly say it was because I showed interest in their life, rather than just teaching the material and treating them as just any ordinary student."
4. At what point do you decide to report a situation regarding educational issues (such as speech therapy or diagnosing ADD) or home issues?
- "There is a big difference between the two. With educational situations, we have to run tests and document data, in a long process. If I ever saw a possibility of a home problem, I would report it right as I suspected it."
5. What is the difference in a qualified teacher vs. an effective teacher?
- "An effective teacher is more nurturing, and gets to really know his/her students. Having a high degree in teaching doesn't always make you a good teacher. You need a mix of both."
6. Do you believe that a teacher can affect a child's behavior? Why?
- "Yes. To do so effectively, you need to find out the underlying cause of the bad behavior. There's normally a reason for any bad behavior. For example, a student constantly blurting out may do so to seek attention they may not receive at home. Without finding the cause, it's just a cycle and it won't change. It's all about how you approach the situation."
7. 20 years from now, do you think your students will remember experiences from your class? What do you hope they remember?
- "I hope so. I hope they know I loved them and believed in them."
8. Switching things up, how have the students impacted you?
- "They have impacted me by me growing in my patience and flexibility. I've also learned to look at each child individually instead of just a group of 22."
9. Are there certain students that stand out to you? Why?
- "Yes, because of the impact they made on me. There have been many with high academic strengths, and especially weaknesses who have made it to be so successful.
10. What advice would you give me walking into the career of teaching to be a future mpactful teacher?
- "Keep your eyes wide open. Have high expectations, but don't be dissapointed if things don't work out; rather, learn from it. Get to know your kids, have a good grasp with the curriculum, and always be open to learning more. Another big thing is to always bring out the positive qualities in the students, and to make sure they know you believe in them."
All of Mrs. Smallwood's answers gave me a great insight into the mind of a great teacher. She really proved my point in saying that nurturing can have much more of an effect on a student later in life. I agree with every bit of what she said, and I really hope I can be half as wonderful of a teacher as she is one day
1. What qualities do you believe you need to be an effective teacher?
- "Patience, flexibility, and a showing of professionalism and humility. Also, being a team player."
2. Does nurturing or academics impact the students more?
- "Nurturing impacts the younger students more. You need nurturing to under-lye the academics in all ages, because without it, it has the potential to be ineffective."
2. Have you had any students come back to tell you how you impacted them? What did they say?
- "Yes, as a matter of fact I have one student who comes to visit me every year on open house. The students mainly say it was because I showed interest in their life, rather than just teaching the material and treating them as just any ordinary student."
4. At what point do you decide to report a situation regarding educational issues (such as speech therapy or diagnosing ADD) or home issues?
- "There is a big difference between the two. With educational situations, we have to run tests and document data, in a long process. If I ever saw a possibility of a home problem, I would report it right as I suspected it."
5. What is the difference in a qualified teacher vs. an effective teacher?
- "An effective teacher is more nurturing, and gets to really know his/her students. Having a high degree in teaching doesn't always make you a good teacher. You need a mix of both."
6. Do you believe that a teacher can affect a child's behavior? Why?
- "Yes. To do so effectively, you need to find out the underlying cause of the bad behavior. There's normally a reason for any bad behavior. For example, a student constantly blurting out may do so to seek attention they may not receive at home. Without finding the cause, it's just a cycle and it won't change. It's all about how you approach the situation."
7. 20 years from now, do you think your students will remember experiences from your class? What do you hope they remember?
- "I hope so. I hope they know I loved them and believed in them."
8. Switching things up, how have the students impacted you?
- "They have impacted me by me growing in my patience and flexibility. I've also learned to look at each child individually instead of just a group of 22."
9. Are there certain students that stand out to you? Why?
- "Yes, because of the impact they made on me. There have been many with high academic strengths, and especially weaknesses who have made it to be so successful.
10. What advice would you give me walking into the career of teaching to be a future mpactful teacher?
- "Keep your eyes wide open. Have high expectations, but don't be dissapointed if things don't work out; rather, learn from it. Get to know your kids, have a good grasp with the curriculum, and always be open to learning more. Another big thing is to always bring out the positive qualities in the students, and to make sure they know you believe in them."
All of Mrs. Smallwood's answers gave me a great insight into the mind of a great teacher. She really proved my point in saying that nurturing can have much more of an effect on a student later in life. I agree with every bit of what she said, and I really hope I can be half as wonderful of a teacher as she is one day
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Week of 1/21
1. My most memorable moment last semester at my mentorship was the classroom Christmas party. I met all of the parents of the students, when many of them told me on the effect I've had on their children and how they look up to me. I love all the students so much, so hearing that warmed my heart. Before I left, one of the mothers stopped me and gave me a big plate with a Christmas tree on it. On the tree, all of the students put fingerprints on the tree to look like ornaments. It was the sweetest moment and I was so honored.
2. My biggest lesson learned is to gain patience and to approach problems in a calm and patient way.
3.This mentorship experience will provide me with a lot of knowledge and skills for when I pursue my actual teaching career. Taking this class will also increase my chances for college acceptance, for it provides me with a lot of experience before-hand.
4. The experience at Spout Springs has made me fall in love with the idea of teaching. I am more excited now then before to pursue this career.
2. My biggest lesson learned is to gain patience and to approach problems in a calm and patient way.
3.This mentorship experience will provide me with a lot of knowledge and skills for when I pursue my actual teaching career. Taking this class will also increase my chances for college acceptance, for it provides me with a lot of experience before-hand.
4. The experience at Spout Springs has made me fall in love with the idea of teaching. I am more excited now then before to pursue this career.
Week of 1/13
1.I really want to know the importance of the negative or positive effect of a teacher on a young child's life. The drive for my research is due to my extreme interest in impacting one's life.
2.Distinguish how an early childhood teacher can impact the rest of a child's life at such an early age.
3. a powerpoint, prezi, or poster.
4. A survey on high school students or adults on whether they were affected by their early childhood teachers.
2.Distinguish how an early childhood teacher can impact the rest of a child's life at such an early age.
3. a powerpoint, prezi, or poster.
4. A survey on high school students or adults on whether they were affected by their early childhood teachers.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Discovering dynamics in my mentorship
Social Conscience: Working in a first grade classroom at Spout Springs Elementary has shown me the importance in education. These early years of school are where students receive their foundation for the rest of their life. If taught right, both in academics and in morals, these students could strive to be the next Bill Gates, Oprah, or MLK J.R. Early childhood education can greatly cause a future improvement in the world.
Community: Community goes right along with Social Conscience. Education is an extremely active member of the community, for every child goes to a school of some sort. Learning the right things in school can cause the current children to grow up and make a huge impact on their community and the world.
My essential question
EQ: Distinguish how an early childhood teacher can impact the rest of a child's life at such an early age.
1. Why did you select this as your essential question? I selected my essential question simply because I know students lives are deeply impacted at a young age. I would like to know exactly how a kindergarten or first grade teacher would help shape their lives.
2. What excites you most about finding the answer to this essential question? What excites me most about finding the answer to my EQ is the stories and personal memories of how early teachers shape people. This topic can bring up the impact with education, or with positive or negative life decisions children may make in the future, and it's very interesting to me.
3. Do you feel that this question accurately reflects a desire/need that you have to find out more about this topic? I feel that this question reflects a desire to find out more about this topic. I always strive to positively impact anyone I associate with, and I would like to see how this topic correlates with my personal goals.
1. Why did you select this as your essential question? I selected my essential question simply because I know students lives are deeply impacted at a young age. I would like to know exactly how a kindergarten or first grade teacher would help shape their lives.
2. What excites you most about finding the answer to this essential question? What excites me most about finding the answer to my EQ is the stories and personal memories of how early teachers shape people. This topic can bring up the impact with education, or with positive or negative life decisions children may make in the future, and it's very interesting to me.
3. Do you feel that this question accurately reflects a desire/need that you have to find out more about this topic? I feel that this question reflects a desire to find out more about this topic. I always strive to positively impact anyone I associate with, and I would like to see how this topic correlates with my personal goals.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Reflection of October
In the past month, I have learned and experienced a lot at my mentorship. Every Wednesday, the students went to career clusters and experienced an hour and fifteen minutes of a possible career of your choice. I went with Mrs. Smallwood to "Kids In the Kitchen", where students learned about food substitution and healthy eating, and also got to make food of their own! Every other day in the classroom, I have had a ton of chances to be hands on with the kids. I personally have been working with the same few children daily, to enhance their phonics and reading skills. It has taught me patience, and tricks to improve my teaching abilities.
Last year, I took a class called Intro to Early Childhood Education. Out of all my high school classes, this class probably helped me the most with my internship. In that class, we learned all about the standards of teaching, the making of lesson plans, and even then we were hands on by going to the elementary school every other Wednesday. That class provided more of an inside look on the big picture of teaching, rather than just being in the classroom every day. We also got a glimpse on special education, which opened up my curiosity for all the different areas I will have to choose to teach.
Last year, I took a class called Intro to Early Childhood Education. Out of all my high school classes, this class probably helped me the most with my internship. In that class, we learned all about the standards of teaching, the making of lesson plans, and even then we were hands on by going to the elementary school every other Wednesday. That class provided more of an inside look on the big picture of teaching, rather than just being in the classroom every day. We also got a glimpse on special education, which opened up my curiosity for all the different areas I will have to choose to teach.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Plagiarism
1) how would you define plagiarism?
- I would define plagiarism as stealing someone else's work or ideas.
- Yes I think preventing plagiarism is very important. You should be writing about what YOU think and your ideas, not using someone else's.
- I could see students struggling with plagiarism when they have an assignment or essay based on something they don't know very well. When researching things about the subject, it's often hard to change the views to meet how you feel vs how the writer of the article/ other essay felt.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Learning Revolutions
After reviewing the speech made by Ken Robinson about the case of personalized learning, we were told to reflect on the following questions:
1. What would you pursue or study if you had unlimited time and resources? I believe even though I would have unlimited time and resources, i would still pursue the career in Early Childhood education. That's where my heart lies, and I can't think of anything I would want to do more.
2.Which has more influence, aptitude or attitude, and why? I believe aptitude and attitude come hand in hand. You can't have a strong positive attitude in something you can't properly achieve, no matter how hard you try. For example, a positive attitude in me wanting to be a singer wouldn't get me far in the case that my aptitude to do so is not very high.
3. Do you think that our current grading system needs to be abolished? What alternative do you recommend? I do believe the current grading system should be abolished. It's unfair to the student population. I believe grading should be based on the individuals level in education. It should definitely be on a more personal level rather than giving the same test to everyone, no matter what their level of knowledge.
4. Some of the HMP class goals are: to help students develop time management skills, foster a sense of independence and accountability, and real life problem solving. This class requires a lot of student motivation since you are not meeting with a teacher on a daily basis. What areas of improvement or areas of personal growth has this class brought to your attention? Honors mentorship has definitely brought many areas of personal growth to my attention. One big one is time management, due to having a bunch of time on my hands and the choice on how to spend that time, whether it be wisely or to be foolish. This class has helped me to make better, responsible decisions with my time. Another thing it has brought to my attention is my communication skills. Working in a classroom with a bunch of six year olds definitely doesn't give me the chance to be shy and quiet, but rather to speak up and make decisions. It has improved my maturity and self motivation as well.
1. What would you pursue or study if you had unlimited time and resources? I believe even though I would have unlimited time and resources, i would still pursue the career in Early Childhood education. That's where my heart lies, and I can't think of anything I would want to do more.
2.Which has more influence, aptitude or attitude, and why? I believe aptitude and attitude come hand in hand. You can't have a strong positive attitude in something you can't properly achieve, no matter how hard you try. For example, a positive attitude in me wanting to be a singer wouldn't get me far in the case that my aptitude to do so is not very high.
3. Do you think that our current grading system needs to be abolished? What alternative do you recommend? I do believe the current grading system should be abolished. It's unfair to the student population. I believe grading should be based on the individuals level in education. It should definitely be on a more personal level rather than giving the same test to everyone, no matter what their level of knowledge.
4. Some of the HMP class goals are: to help students develop time management skills, foster a sense of independence and accountability, and real life problem solving. This class requires a lot of student motivation since you are not meeting with a teacher on a daily basis. What areas of improvement or areas of personal growth has this class brought to your attention? Honors mentorship has definitely brought many areas of personal growth to my attention. One big one is time management, due to having a bunch of time on my hands and the choice on how to spend that time, whether it be wisely or to be foolish. This class has helped me to make better, responsible decisions with my time. Another thing it has brought to my attention is my communication skills. Working in a classroom with a bunch of six year olds definitely doesn't give me the chance to be shy and quiet, but rather to speak up and make decisions. It has improved my maturity and self motivation as well.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
College Search Survey
After taking a survey over the career field I'm studying on Collegesearch.com, I found out plenty of information about colleges to pursue my dream in becoming a teacher. With the degree field I'm studying, I began to look at three schools:
After researching and going on ngcf.org, I found several potential scholarships that will apply to me when I graduate:
- University of South Carolina. Located in Columbia, SC. www.sc.edu
- University of North Georgia. Located in Dahlonega, GA. www.northgeorgia.edu
- Liberty University. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia. www.liberty.edu/
After researching and going on ngcf.org, I found several potential scholarships that will apply to me when I graduate:
- Tommy Aaron/ Charlie Aaron Foundation Scholarship
- Otis Spunkmeyer Scholarship (DECA)
- The National Beta Club Scholarships
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Growing Leaders
After reading a post off of Tim Elmore's blog, Growing Leaders, I realized the importance in not only first impressions, but keeping that impression throughtout your intern experience. People say first impressions are everything, but what do they matter if you completely change the way you act a week after you get the job or internship? Tim Elmore told a story of a friend of his who had a bad experience with six college students doing an internship for him. After recieving the internship, the students quickly went back to their immature, college behavior, causing Tim's friend to want to end the internship a month after it began. Tim gave his friend advice, telling him to tell the interns that "An internship is a 12 week interview. It is a stimulation the job you will have one day." Doing so makes them realize that they are being observed, while observing their future career. After telling the interns that, they completely turned around and "had great work ethic, great passion for their jobs, and great hunger to grow as emerging leaders." When I finished reading this inspiring article, I felt compelled to make a change in my own internship experience, to focus on growing in to the responsible, initiative leader I know I can be. While in my mentorship, some concrete things I can do to to make sure I have a good impression all year long include being punctual, energetic, and eager to learn from my mentor.The thing I found to be most relevant in the blog is that the internship is not available to just blow off, it's there to help us learn and grow into the leaders we were called to be.
Tim Elmore's blog: http://growingleaders.com/blog/
Tim Elmore's blog: http://growingleaders.com/blog/
Sunday, September 8, 2013
The Problem with Money
In America, some people say money is what makes the world go round, while others say its what corrupts the world, but what's the true deciding factor? I believe it is the person who holds the money that makes the decision based on how wisely they use what they have, and it seems that that is also what Dave Ramsey, a personal money management expert, also thinks. In his book, The Total Money Makeover, he shares some facts about the credit card debt, interest rates, and the industry itself. If the total American consumer debt is more than 2.7 trillion dollars, I would not agree with the thought that money problems are only for the poor. It seems that every family is dealing with having to borrow money to pay back someone else they borrowed from. It's all a vicious cycle that needs to come to an end, But how do we end it? Dave Ramsey seems to have the answer. "We do not break the bad habit of debt through earning more money, but rather we break any habit by replacing it with a better one." This quote basically says that making more money won't get you out of debt. The way to get out is all about the choices you make in spending whatever money you have. It's all about saving, and not spending on things that are not a necessity. Because of economic situations I have seen from family and friends families around me, I believe I have seen what not to do, and what to do with my finances in the future. I am grasping the fact that you need to set and live by your priorities and boundaries. After starting my first job last February, I have started good habits (such as putting half of my paycheck into savings) that I will set in stone to live by as an adult. Money factors into my future career path as a teacher in early childhood education. Originally I wanted to be a preschool teacher until I researched and realized that an elementary school teacher had a higher salary. Since they both were around the same path, I chose the one with the higher pay because it would be more beneficial. I don't think money SHOULD be a major consideration, but more that it HAS to be. It would be ideal to do exactly what you WANT to do, but sometimes we have to do what we HAVE to do in order to live a healthy, debt free life. It's all about balancing the profit you'll get and doing what you love to do. Working as an anesthesiologist would be great because of the high income, but I wouldn't enjoy it for I have no interest in the health care path.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Ethics
Ethics- a word many use without knowing the true meaning. What is the actual definition of ethics? According to dictionary.com, ethics are moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior. But I believe the word has a much deeper meaning than any definition can describe. From the ages of 4-10, the average person establishes their ethical beliefs based on what they hear and see from people around them. The ethics made as a child more times than not lay a foundation for the rest of their life. They come from people such as siblings, parents, or any person who may have an impact on their life. Unlike morals, ethics are made by other people. Morals, on the other hand, are all about yourself. They both are about deciding what is right and wrong, but morals are from the individual themself, and ethics are from an external source. I do not believe one person is more ethical than the other. Everyone's ethics are based off of the same principles. There is a vague idea of what is truly right and wrong for everyone. For example, we all know that murder and theft is bad. Although some may have stronger opinions for certain subjects than others, it doesn't make them more or less ethical. Training to be a teacher in Early Childcare, I know there will be many times there will be ethical dilemmas. If a student I am helping has a different idea on ethics than me, I will have to respect them and move on rather than starting a disagreement. Or in the future when I may be a teacher, there may be things in the teaching standards that don't agree with my ethical beliefs that I will have to teach anyways. It's all about being calm and respectful towards others, and a lot of times just sucking it up and doing what you have to do.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Week 2: Perfectly Polished
Last Friday, the Honors Mentorship students took a trip to Gainesville for a "Perfectly Polished" meeting, held by ms. Lassiter, to help prepare us in being professional in the business world. One thing she stressed on that was important was handshakes. Before going to this seminar, I always thought that right when you meet someone, you reach your hand out and give them a firm handshake, but she went way beyond my knowledge. I learned that you introduce yourself before shaking hands, and to also make eye contact with the person while doing it. She also mentioned that giving too firm of a handshake could be a bad thing, and taught the students how to give proper ones. Another thing she coached us on was proper introductions. Ms. Lassiter explained how using the persons name around three times in one introduction shows that you think that person is important to you. She gave us great tips on what to say, and when to say it. Not only did she teach us how to introduce ourselves, she taught on how to introduce others. She showed us to always mention the more important person first. Before I went to the meeting, I never would have even thought of that.. One other thing she shared was about what to do with your hands while speaking with someone. Having your hands down by your side shows you are confident, not hiding anything, and is completely open to hearing what the other is saying. Until this seminar, I never realized that what you did with your hands actually showed things about you. "Perfectly Polished" trained me to be professional in so many ways, and I can't wait to use my new knowledge from it in my every day life.
Week 2: Dare to Dream
This year, I will be studying what it's like to be a teacher in Early Childhood Education by going to Spout Springs Elementary School. By participating in the Honors Mentorship Program, I will gain knowledge and experience about the career I am pursuing, To ensure I get the most from my experience, I will be as involved as I can to teach and help the children in the classroom. I have also been getting to the school at 7:25 rather than 8:25 to have more time to learn and grow each day. By being involved with this amazing opportunity, I will be preparing myself for what it will be like in the real world as a teacher. It will show me both the negative and positive aspects of the career, and will prepare me on how to handle situations down the road more effectively. When I go to seek a job in this career, it will benefit me because it will give me knowledge and a better understanding of the field.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Mission Statement
My mission in life is to make a positive impact on at least one person a day. I will be encouraging and compassionate towards everyone around me. I will be the best friend I can be to any and all of my friends. I will show respect and appreciation to my parents, teachers, mentors, managers, and any other elder. I will be a diligent, responsible, and a very hard worker with everything I do. I will stand tall and be confident in accomplishing all of my goals to work towards success in my future. I will do anything I can to strive to be the best I can be.
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