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Who I am
Who I am
My name is Elizabeth Casallas. I am a Junior at Old Dominion University! I am from Smithton, Illinois. I moved to Virginia when I was eight years old and I have lived here for the past fourteen years. I enjoy reading, watching movies, and t.v shows.
When I was young I needed help with my speech and my reading. This set the stage for my love of reading now and my desire to become a teacher. I want to be a reading specialist, so I can help students just like me when I was young.
What I Know
What I Know
What I know about teaching goes back as far as high school where I joined "Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow." It is a program designed to teach young adults what being a teacher is all about. In my second year with the program I interned with kindergarten and got to plan and execute a lesson in my last month.
After High school, I worked at two different childcares. I took care of infants at one daycares and I was a TA for three year olds at the other daycare.
I took phycology classes and developmental classes in college where I continued to obtain knowledge on children development.
VTFT
VTFT
This is the link to my First Internship portfolio that I made in high school.
Click the Link Below:
VTFT 2
VTFT 2
This is my second internship portfolio from my senior year of High school.
Click the Link Below:
What I Hope to Learn
What I Hope to Learn
I believe that teachers are always learning from their students and the environment around them. I feel like I need to learn how to appropriately react to unexpected situations and to do that I will need to immerse myself into the classroom.
I will also need to learn how to assess my students learning and figure out what to do when I don't get the response I was hoping for.
Overall, I feel like I have so much left to learn from my peers and my mentors.
The Teacher I Will Become
The Teacher I Will Become
I believe that the purpose of school is to enlighten the mind and pave the way to the future. I believe that students should be taught to read, problem solve and to socialize effectively with teachers and classmates. It is essential that every student should be taught problem solving skills and social skills. As a society this is how we have grown. This is even more important today as technology has grows and we as a society need to make sure that social interactions don't dissipate with that growth in tech.
I believe that educational experts should determine the curriculum and that the curriculum should be determined by each school district. I believe that everything can be changed with the learning process and if something isn't working then it should be changed. If a group of board members across the state are deciding the fate of each school district within the state then they are not going to be able to understand every school district's limitations or expectations.
There are two educational philosophies that best describe the beliefs I have and they are: Progressivism and Social Reconstructivism.
Progressivism is about teaching our students about how to solve problems while working with others. (This goes in hand-in-hand with my belief that socialization plays a major role in teaching).
Social Reconstructivism is about teaching students with their emotions. By creating lessons for our students that stimulate the emotions and get them to think not as academically but emotionally.
The Four Tenets of My Philosophy
The Golden Rule
"Treat others the way you want to be treated."
I grew up with this rule my whole life. This is very near to my heart. My mom always told me that if I had nothing nice to say then to not say anything at all. I would hold this expectation to my students as well. If they have nothing nice to say then they should remain silent.
Challenge
There is not a time in my life where I was not challenged in one way or another.
I believe that challenging my students is good for student's growth, not just academically but socially as well.
Asking Questions
I believe that asking questions or even asking for help is wonderful to help a student grow academically and socially.
Empathize
When working on social behaviors I believe that one of the most important parts of socialization is how to empathize with your peers. How can anyone get by in life if they have no way to empathize with the people around them. We may come into this world as selfish beings but we did not grow because of selfishness alone. We grew from communication and understanding the needs of others.
Accepting Criticism Below!
Accepting Criticism Below!
Hi, Elizabeth! I'm taking a class on assessment this semester. It is required, but I also want to see how to assess students appropriately and then adjust when they aren't doing well. I agree with you that flexibility will be a very important part of being a teacher. Also, your comment about social skills being important along with problem solving skills is absolutely correct. I think we often put kids into groups without teaching them how to work in a group. - Eleanor Jones
Hi Elizabeth!, I was in VTFT for two years of high school as well and learned so much about teaching and my passion for it within that time. I really enjoyed reading your tenants for your personal philosophy and using those is going to make you grow so much as an educator! Also your experience and how you want to learn how to react in unexpected situations are key factors to making your classroom environment moving in an organized way everyday. - Alexis Knudson
Hi Elizabeth! great presentation, I know as a teacher you will need to be resourceful in using multimedia presentations. I was literally amused and entertained and learned alot from you from this page. First of I want to say WOW! You have a lot of experience that not most of us get to do while in school. An internship, and it seems as though you are a go-getter. So I wish you the best of luck! -Janny Kim
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