Gabriel McMillan

Who Is Gabe McMillan?

I am Gabriel McMillan (the guy on the left). I am 25 years old and was born in Mobile, Alabama. I graduated from Daphne High School in 2014. At that point I had known that I might want to pursue a career in education. However, I was an average student and at the time I did not feel that I was ready to attend college. So I found myself enlisted in the U.S. Navy, which ended up opening a doorway into what my life would be for the next six years. I was sent overseas to Guam to be stationed on a Navy ship. After completing my enlistment in the military I decided to stay on Guam with my girlfriend at the time, Briana. Eventually we got married and had our son, Gabriel Jr. While I was on Guam I attended the University of Guam for about a year and a half. I was enrolled in the teaching program there and immersed in the culture of the CHamoru people. I was able to do classroom observations and gained first hand experience of how education is valued differently in different regions of the world.

What Do I Know?

I have lived in Alabama, Chicago, California, Guam, and now Virginia. I have also traveled to various countries throughout Asia. Through these experiences I like to think that I have developed a broader sense of understanding towards cultures that are different than my own. I would advise any future teacher to do as much traveling as possible, because I do not believe that it is possible to teach effectively about the world we live in unless you have experienced it first hand. I look forward to inspiring my students to learn from the world by traveling and seeing as much of the world as possible, including parts of the United States that they are not familiar with.

What I Need To Learn

In order to become an effective teacher I need to get into the mindset that there is always more to learn about my students. I do not know nearly enough about students of color as well as students from low income households. I need to learn more about these groups through experience as an educator and keeping the mindset that there is always more to learn is essential to gaining experience. I plan to be open about my lack of experience in these demographics and ask that my students be patient with my lack of experience and have them understand that I have as much to learn from them as they do from me. Also, I believe that it is important to not become complacent through the years after I have gained experience in these areas, because the world is constantly changing and because of this, my perspective has to constantly change.

About the Author

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-PXHXEvsrn0Js_TqqOt254cFYF9aIimf0gOPYkNIEbY/edit
This is the link fir the slideshow.

Comments:

Please go back and share your Google Slideshow so we can all see it! - Dr. Kidd

Hi Gabriel! Love your author page. I see that you've traveled to South East Asia, which would you say is your favorite place you've visited there? I have family in Cambodia and Thailand but have never been. Would love to travel there though! I might have to take your advice and study abroad some time. Also try to share access with your google slide, having trouble viewing it. - K Holloway