Hallie Cordrey

Who I Am!

Hello everyone! My name is Hallie (pronounced like Sally but with an H). I am twenty two years old, I'm a junior at ODU, and I live in Virginia Beach, VA. I have had quite an eventful life, when it comes to moving around and traveling, and all of the new places and people I have encountered have added on to what made me choose teaching. To start, I was born in Kewanee, IL. I lived there until I was roughly two years old and then my family and I began to move- a lot. Between the ages of two and eleven my family and I had moved about 20 times. During these years I went to many different schools and loved every one of them. We finally ended up back in Illinois where I spent the next 9 years in my little home town until I finally moved out here at 20. When I moved to Virginia, I moved in with my sister, my other sister and her husband, my niece (2 at the time), and my nephew (4 at the time). This is also the time when I got my first job at a daycare. Before I started working at the daycare I already knew I wanted to be a teacher, but actually working with kids (and living with them) made me know for sure teaching was the only job I would ever be truly happy doing. I taught ages six weeks up to ten years old at that daycare for roughly a year. I then got the opportunity to work at a private school, which I worked at until the end of August 2021. I currently am a full time babysitter for an amazing company in VA Beach. I am so thankful to be able to babysit full time because babysitting to me doesn’t even feel like work. I get to do arts and crafts, watch movies, play outside, and lots of other things that all make me love what I do.

What I Know!

Before I had moved out to Virginia, I was rarely around any kids. I thought I knew so much going into teaching kids, but oh boy was I wrong. I knew basically nothing about kids at that point outside of playing with toys and having fun. Since I began working with children, about three years ago, I have learned so much about how to actually teach and actually understand children. I think one of the biggest things I struggled with, and that I wish someone would have helped me with, is dealing with all the emotions little kids have. When I say emotions, I’m talking about the childrens and my own while working with the children. I have learned different ways to calm them down if they are upset, but also how to help them express how they are feeling if I can see they are having trouble expressing their emotions by themselves. I have also learned how to help myself calm down when I feel overwhelmed or stressed. If I were to give any advice to future teachers or anyone wanting to work with kids, it would be to try and put themselves in the children’s shoes whenever they get frustrated. To me that was always the hardest part, but ever since I began to try and think about what they are feeling or thinking, it has helped me to understand and react more positively and supportive during the rough patches.

emotions

What I have to learn!

There will always be new things to learn when it comes to teaching, therefore I think there's endless things for me to learn. However, before I can become the teacher I want to be when I start my first elementary education job, there are a few things I need to learn. Some of the things I need to learn are how to make effective lesson plans and how to finish them in a timely manner and becoming confident in my ideas and teaching techniques. One of my biggest issues now is I get caught up in trying to make the perfect lesson and end up wasting time because it either takes too long to do or it doesn’t end up the way I like. I need to learn how to let those things go when they happen and not let them get my spirits down as well. As far as confidence goes, I need to learn how to believe and trust in myself to be able to teach the children what needs to be taught.

The Teacher I Will Become!

I have a very strong image of the teacher I will become because of how big of an influence a teacher can be on their students' lives. My teaching will fall in line with the Social reconstructionism and Progressivism philosophies of education. To begin, The most important things my students will learn is education, of course, but more importantly to treat everyone with respect and kindness and to never judge a book by its cover. They will learn this through lessons and discussions amongst our class. What my children gain from my class will be much more than just knowledge out of books, but from experiences and friendships they will hopefully gain respect and kindness as well. By the time they leave my class I want them to value these characteristics and take them with them into their future. In order to instill this into them, I will be their teacher, above anything else, but I will also be goofy, fun, and give lots of love and support to all of my students. If I could describe myself in one word it would be dependable. By this I mean my students can depend on me for anything they need. If I could describe my students in one word, it would be kind. I chose kindness because it's important to me that they understand the feelings of others and that no matter what, everyone has their own lives and you never know when someone might need a little bit of love and support.

Comments!

Hey there! One thing that stood out most to me was you saying "I wish someone would have helped me with, is dealing with all the emotions little kids have." I understand that one 100%. It's crazy how much you moved also! I was in the military so I understand and also want to incorporate my travel experiences with my teaching/ lessons. I have a lot of respect for elementary teachers so good luck! Wish you the best!- Jackson Robles
Hey! I find it fascinating how you've traveled a lot. I love traveling to different states that's one of my favorite things to do. I worked at a daycare a few summers ago and learning children's emotions can be difficult to handle and children can change at any moment. - Megan Belden
Hello! One of the first things I noticed was that you were from Illinois. I was born and raised a little further south from you, in Decatur. Small world. I appreciate that you have such a strong love for teaching and that your focus is not only on teaching children to learn the curriculum, but solid life skills on how to be a respectful member of society. I also feel your pain with always striving to have the perfect lesson, but needing to realize nothing can be perfect when working with children. - Mandy Duff
Hi Hallie! First thing that caught my attention is that you moved around 20 times!! I think I second guess myself a lot and my ability in being a great teacher. So I agree that having a perfect lesson is something I want but remembering that working with younger students not everything will be perfect. I think with all the moving you have done you will have amazing strategies and lessons to help those students going through the same change. - Deyalit Ayala

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