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Autobiographical Essay

Jasmine Lopez

Professor Damaris Wight

EDUC 120 Foundations of Education

Fall 2021
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Introduction

I have always wanted to be an educator since I was little. I always thought how cool it

was to get to be the one to help children learn and grow and to see their progress along the way.

Although I am still learning I think that I have learned a lot and have grown some much from my

educational background, work history, considerations for this career, and my professional goals.

Many of my experiences have led me to my passion today.

Educational Background

I attended elementary school at Roosevelt Elementary in a small town in California called

Selma. After elementary school I moved up to middle school at Abraham Lincoln middle school

also in Selma, CA. From there I did my freshman year of high school at Selma High school

before moving to Idaho and going to Capital high school for the rest of my high school

education. Right now, I am currently at College of Western Idaho. Right now, I am only at the

start of my second year of college.

During my education one of my unique educational experiences was in elementary

school. I have been hard of hearing in both ears my whole life and have worn hearing aids my

whole life as well. While in my elementary school I was able to get support from my teachers

and principal with certain needs such as an FM system (a device that connects to my hearing aids

that the teacher wears). I had many teachers that were able to understand that using the FM

would help me understand what they were saying but I also had a teacher that didn’t want to and

wasn’t so supportive to it. One time one of the students had a question about why the teacher had

my FM on her and she was able to explain what it was and why she had to wear it which made

me feel awesome because she understood and made sure to spend a couple of minutes explaining

to the class why she had to wear the FM. I was also given a speech class to help me learn
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pronunciation and had to meet with an IEP teacher once a month to get evaluated. When I was

ready for middle school some of my teachers, IEP teacher, principal, and my mom were there to

support me and see if I would like to continue with the FM while in middle school.

While growing up I have always wondered what I could be good at and what my passion

is. I have always loved to babysit and would go to my mom’s work after school to help out with

the students, she worked at a preschool. When we moved to Idaho I got a job at a preschool

where I worked after school and still work today. While working there I have grown my skills

and have learned more about the students. My favorite thing about working there is being able to

see the kids learn and grow and to move from class to class into elementary school. I always

think about how I could be able to help the next generation and learn from my teachers growing

up.

Work History Service and/or Extracurricular

Right now, I work at a preschool as an assistant infant teacher. While working with these

infants I am able to see how much they grow from when they first started in my class till they

move up to the toddler room. For me being able to see that is like the best feeling because we are

able to teach and practice with these infants to be able to crawl, fine motor skills and large motor

skills, and practicing balance with siting up or standing up. My roles as an assistant infant

teacher are to be able to bond with the kids as well as making them more comfortable being

around us teachers and the other kids. Also, I like to make sure that I have all their information

memorized like the parents first name and the kids feeding, sleeping, and allergies as well. My

responsibilities at work are to make sure that I know how many kids I have at all times as well as

making sure I have eyes on all the kids and I am interacting with them all.
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I have learned a lot from when I first started in the infant room. I was able to learn how to

do bottles correctly, as well as diapers and interactions. My biggest lesson was being able to

know each and every one of our parents and know how to talk to them. I was able to learn how to

interact with the parent and talk to them about how their child did that day maybe something new

happened or what we did like an outside time or a walk. I was also able to learn how to interact

with the kids more and was able to get them comfortable around me and wanting hugs,

interaction, or songs. When I first started we had a kid who wasn’t used to being at a preschool

and around other kids, he was so emotional he didn’t want anybody and everything was new to

him. Although many kids latch on to the main teacher at first he was different. I did my best to

try and bond with him with toys, music, and touch. After a while we had created a bond where he

felt comfortable with me but still wasn’t sure about the classroom and everyone else. After

gaining his trust we became buds and I was soon able to play with him and stand up and walk to

another part of the room without him crying or following. After he started getting comfortable

with everything when mom came to drop him off he would have a big smile when he saw us and

would reach out to come to us, he has never wanted to come to us like that. Every day since then

every time I see him come in he is always so happy to see us and be with us for the day.

I was involved in band for about half of my education and I also volunteered at another

preschool to help out before I was able to get a job. While in band all of my band teachers were

all so understanding, supportive, and kind they are like the teachers that I admire. As I was in

band, band felt like a second family to me all of the students were close and no one judged

anyone else and we all stuck together and were there for each other. The other center I

volunteered at was in California and to be able to see two different center and how they work is

cool because they do some things the same and others differently. The teaching was different,
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looking back the kids were super behind in California with doing certain things and the speech in

a child, like they were barely starting to talk at the age of two. Here at my center now all the kids

seem advanced we have kids talking or trying to talk at the age of one. They have some words,

that helps them out when they turn two because their speech gets a lot better before moving up to

the two’s room. Also, we use a lot of sign language in the younger groups which also helps them

to communicate. I feel like we are more focused on bonding and teaching as to the other center

was more just focused on teaching.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

I should be a teacher in K-12 because I have always had a passion to help teach the next

generation as well as be able to be around the students. I love to watch the students grow and see

their personality open up to who they are. I think the better skills that suit me for other careers

are being independent or able to work with others. I am willing to learn or train for something I

don’t know or need to know. Although I am hard of hearing I’m a great listener as well as I can

follow directions but I am also sometimes a visual learner and need an example or to be showed

once or twice.

I am super reliable and am dedicated to my work as well as how others are doing around

me. Although I am still learning more and more everyday about how to be a better teacher and

learn from my mistakes. I am about to try and connect with the students to feel more welcome

and get to know each and every one of them. I feel like the skills I have for me to be in the

education field but not as a teacher would be that I’m willing to try new things although I may be

a little hesitate. I feel like l am a fast learner on certain things as well as I am able to work

independently or in a group.

Professional Goals
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My long-term goals would be to get my Bachelor of Art degree and I’m planning on

getting my associates at Cwi and then transferring to BSU to get my bachelors. I’m not sure right

now if I want to get my masters yet or if I want to stop at bachelors. I’m planning on making sure

that I am taking the right classes that I need. I am also planning on staying at my workplace till

I’m done with my schooling and could find a position at a school to work in. I will keep learning

more as I work at a preschool especially how to communicate with the younger kids and how

they respond to different teachers. I feel like I have grown from where I started when I started

working at the preschool and have learned from many teachers that I have worked with. As far as

it goes with my degree I am going to work really hard to stay on track and not quit when I come

to a roadblock or feel like I can’t keep up.

My short-term goals are to be able to keep the balance of work and school going and stay

on course with my assignments. I am also trying to keep my grades good and do as many

assignments as I could get done and turned in on time. My plan for keeping my grades up and

staying focused is to give myself a little bit more time on my homework. Also, I like the way I

spread out my assignments and I usually get my assignments done over the weekend or on my

day off which is Tuesdays. I will very likely keep my schedule the same like doing this classes

homework on Saturdays, my other educ class on Tuesdays, and my philosophy on Sunday or

Monday. As long as I stay on track with my assignments and don’t fall behind as well as keep

my grades up I will be able to transfer to get my bachelors at BSU.