Reflective Journal Entry #1

Chadrick Shoales
REED 501: Teaching Reading in the Content Areas I
Reflective Journal Entry #1
02/06/10

Becoming a Teacher
When I was younger, I always wanted to get a job that had something to do with art or music. I loved to play guitar and I loved listening to music. I knew I wasn’t good enough to start a band and live off of some music career and I also knew that becoming a disc jockey would not be for me. I had been told by my art teacher in high school I should consider teaching art or music. My parents are both teachers. My mom is a 3rd grade teacher and my father is a instrumental music teacher. He teaches jazz band, marching band, concert band, etc. I didn’t want to do exactly what my dad did, but I liked the idea of being a teacher. I chose being an art teacher because it fit my want to do something art related. I also knew that it would be a job that I would be good at performing. The job included time off, job stability, benefits, and also a comfortable lifestyle.
My Beliefs and Philosophy about Teaching
The world of teaching is one of the most important professions. We are responsible for the future of the next few generations. Teachers must dedicate their lives to their job and be constantly devoted to creating meaningful and fun lessons for their students. Every lesson I create I relate my personal life to the material. When I travel, I take pictures just for my students. I let them know who I am and what my interests are. All the material I come up with in my class is interesting. I would never teach something I wouldn’t want to do at that age. When I was younger, I didn’t like to do any writing with my art and I only liked doing lessons that were new and innovative. I try to include reading and writing in all of my lessons but disguising it to seem like something fun. I do this by the use of altered text visual journals, creating lyrics, and lastly presenting PowerPoint’s with several visuals enhanced by texts which they read along with as I teach.
Growing Up in Two Different Worlds
My students are being raised in Baltimore city; a city filled with crime, poverty, violence, etc. I was raised in a suburban small town area where everyone knows your name. I graduated with less than 40 kids in my senior class. There was no crime, violence, or poverty. I was not exposed to have the things I have seen outside of the small town I was raised in. My transition to Baltimore started when I moved out of that small town area and into Buffalo, NY. Over the past six years, I have been exposed to urban city settings. This exposure allowed me to be able to relate more with my students. I like the music they listen to and the styles they are familiar with. I impact my students because they give me a chance. I get that chance because they respect me and see I try to relate with them. The teachers that impacted me most as a child were the ones that motivated me to do my best, but also, the ones I had the most in common with. Those teachers were the arts teachers, music teachers, and gym teachers. There was also a history teacher that impacted me because he told such deep stories that made it more interesting to learn. In college, teachers that used visuals and PowerPoint’s impacted me most. I modeled myself after those teachers that had appositive influence on me. They set a good example of the model teacher I was to become. I try to project this model image onto my students so therefore they can someday set a good example themselves.
My Transition to Baltimore
I moved to Baltimore solely for a teaching job in the art classroom. I had a great substitute teaching job in Buffalo, but I wanted my own classroom. I went to a teacher recruitment fair in Buffalo and took the 2nd job offer that was given to me. The salary was most pleasing to me. I took the chance without ever seeing Baltimore before. I lucked out with a great situation. I love my principal, the students, and the staff I work with. The entire work environment is communicative, supportive, and fun to work with. The students love me and I love teaching them. I have no intention of leaving Baltimore city any time soon. I am an easy plane ride away to Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester whenever I want to see my friends and family. I have no family in Baltimore; however I have made several very close friends. I am currently in a wonderful relationship with my girlfriend. Everything is working for me currently from my living situation, to my job, to my personal life.