Payton Collins

Who am I?

My name is Payton Collins. I am a 19 year old sophomore at Old Dominion University studying Elementary Education. I currently live in Chesapeake Virginia, but I have lived in a few different cities among the 757 area code. I am my mother's only child, but I do have a younger brother on my father's side. I have not always had sunny days, but because of those dark days that I experienced as a child, I have a true passion of helping children.

Ever since I was a child, I have always had a passion for helping animals and people. I was the kid who would cry every time they saw a hurt animal or would put myself in the corner if I saw that my friends were in trouble. I never knew what I wanted to be until recently. My mother is a teacher so I grew up admiring every sacrifice that she made for her students and I absolutely loved it. However, recently I got a job as a Registered Behavior Technician and I absolutely fell in love with it. I work with autistic children daily and help them thrive better in society.

What I know:

As I stated before, I currently work with autistic children. This job has taught me so much. I have learned to have patience with each child and that it is so important to individually learn a child's likes and dislikes. What works for one child, might cause another student to shut down or get upset.

I have taken a Lifespan Development class that deeply talked how the developmental period up until adolescence. In this class, I learned when children develop different skills in life and how to adapt to those who are behind in development.

The first time I ever truly worked around a ground of children was my senior year in high school. I was a student teacher in a first-grade classroom through a program called "Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow". Being that this was my first time in a classroom, I learned basic skills like multitasking and how to manage a classroom.

What I have to learn:

The main thing I have to learn is confidence. I need to learn how to be confident in the show that I am doing and not always second guess myself.

Another thing that I need to learn is true classroom management. I can get easily overwhelmed if an environment becomes too overstimulating for myself. This includes knowing how to calm students down and how to get the class' attention when needed.

There is a lot about teaching that I need to learn but that will all come within the experience I get over the next few years.

The teacher I will become:

I strive to be the teacher that makes students feel comfortable. My top priority is my students so I need to make sure that they feel safe in my classroom. I will be the teacher that is well educated on different religions and cultures, so that way I will be able to incorporate diversity in my lessons appropiately.

The purpose of school is obviously for students who become educated. However, students will be enjoy learning if they do not feel as if they have a connection with their teacher. One of the most important lessons my students will learn is how to treat people with respect. This would be my top philosophy in the classroom. the will learn this be being respectful to their peers and adults as well and being respected.

I will do my best to make sure my students have a fun educational experience. I will work hard to make sure every lesson plan that I make is interactive in some way so that the students can look forward to learning every day. When a visitor walks into my classroom, I want them to look at it as a family that helps one another gain knowledge.

Comments:

1. I love that you have had the experience with special needs students because I feel that will build that next level of patience that you will need for any classroom. I also love that you main priority as a teacher is to make your students safe and comfortable!

2. Hello fellow future teacher! I couldn't agree with you more on your philosophy statement. Respect isn't just for the teacher but for everyone in the class including students. I think respect and classroom management go hand in hand so learning it will come easier given your disposition.

3. I loved your intro and how you talked about where you struggled in the past because those are the things that are going to make you an amazing teacher by knowing how to help kids that dealt with similar emotions. It is so amazing that you are working with kids with special needs right now. I definitely have a lot to learn when it comes to children with disabilities since I have not had a lot of first hand experience in that so I look forward to learning from you in that aspect. -Hannah Scarbrough

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