Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

Autobiographical Essay
Barbara L. Chandler
College of Southern Idaho
Professor Evin Fox
EDUC 201: Foundations of Education
Fall 2014

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Autobiographical Essay
Introduction
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny
matters compared to what lies within us" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). This quote is a perfect
reflection of how I live my life. As the years have passed, I have matured from all of my
education, work experience, extracurricular activities, and life experiences. I have been raised to
respect others and treat everyone as I would want to be treated. I live everyday with the values
of honesty, integrity, and respect and will teach my students with these ethics with the hope that
they will use them in their lives.
My Education
As a child, my parents moved so much that I had to attend many different schools. I
began kindergarten at Buhl Elementary School but finished my year at Clover Lutheran School.
I completed 1st and 2nd grade at American Falls Elementary and my 3rd and 4th grades at Filer
Elementary School. We moved back to Buhl Jr. High for my 5th through 8th grades. I graduated
from Buhl High School in 1991.
After high school, I attended the College of Southern Idaho from 1991 to 1993. There I
earned my Associates Degree in Computerized Bookkeeping. From 2013 to the present I am
attending CSI again for my Associates Degree in Education. I plan to graduate in the fall of
2015. After CSI, I plan to transfer to Idaho State University to earn my Elementary Teaching
Certificate and Special Education Certificate.
As an aide at the Filer School District, I gained some teaching experience. There I helped
the kindergarten and 1st grade students who were behind in their education. I helped with the
pronunciation of letters, learning the alphabet, writing their names, and learning colors, shapes,

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and numbers. It brought me great pleasure when the students, who didn't know the alphabet,
could say it and write it by the end of the year. I enjoyed my time with the children and helping
them catch up to their classmates.
Additionally, my education at CSI has helped me become a better student and future
teacher. I am excited to teach and actually be able to use the knowledge that I am learning from
my classes for my education degree. It will be rewarding for me to be able to use this knowledge
and help more students learn like I was able to at the Filer School District.
Therefore, I feel that teaching will be rewarding and exciting. I hope to make a difference
in the school and with the children that I teach. All of this time, effort, and hard work in college
will be worth it when I see the children make progress in my class.
Work Experience:
Since high school, I have worked at many jobs over the years. My first job in high school
was at a dairy where I milked cows. After college in 1993, I was a bookkeeper for Roberts Auto
Body. In 1994, I worked in the accounts receivable department for Satellite Technology. In 1995,
I was a bookkeeper and secretary for Johnson Chiropractic in Jerome, Idaho. After taking time
off to have children, I worked for the Castleford School District as part of the cafeteria staff in
2000. That same year, in 2000, I worked for Clear Springs Trout Company as a fish processor
until 2006. After Clear Springs, I worked at two part time jobs, Kelley Garden Center and
Logans Market in Filer, Idaho. I ended up leaving Kelly Garden Center to be able to work
fulltime for Logans Market. In 2012, I left Logans Market to be an aide at the Filer School
District. I loved my job at the Filer School District so much that after two years, I decided to go
to College of Southern Idaho fulltime for my Elementary Education Associates degree and I am
not employed at this time.

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My Work Experience Contributing to My Development

As a result, my various jobs have helped me learn to be more patience, better
socialization skills, and compassion. From working as a bookkeeper, I had to learn to be
thorough and patient. The paperwork was never ending and there were many long hours during
the tax season. Working at the Castleford School District taught me to be patient with the
children and the constant clean-up. I enjoyed talking with each student every day and how they
would hug me when they saw me. My experience with customers at Kelly Garden Center and
Logans Market helped me improve my listening skills because of the requests and orders and be
able to multi-task. These skills will be needed in the classroom when I deal with 20 plus students
in a classroom. My best and most rewarding experience came with working at the Filer School
District as an aide to four teachers, recess aide, and tutor to Title 1 students. I graded papers,
helped with lessons, interacted with students, and tutored those who were behind in their reading,
alphabet, phonics, writing, and numbers. As I helped these children, I was able to see the
progress made by these children. I feel all of my work experiences will help me be a more
capable teacher in the future.
My Service/ Extra Curricular Activities
In the past years, I served as a Sunday school teacher for our church in 2011. Teaching
the young children about The Bible, the stories about Jesus and his apostles, and making crafts
was really rewarding for me. I enjoyed the one on one time with such a small group of children
and planning the lessons for every Sunday. The special crafts that were made and the events that
were planned for Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, and Christmas made it even more special
for the children. Mothers Day and Fathers Day were special occasions when the children made
cards and presented them to their parents in front of the church. For the Christmas holiday, the

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AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

children performed in a play and made ornaments for their parents. It was rewarding yet
challenging since all of the projects needed to be finished within an hour. Also, creating the
crafts taught me to be more creative and how to choose crafts better suited for the childrens
capabilities. It was a lesson for me on how to run an efficient and organized classroom.
Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career
Accordingly, I decided to consider education for my career in 2012 because of my work
as an aide in the Filer School District. As an aide, I helped in the kindergarten, first grade, third
grade, and fourth grade classes as well as being the recess duty aide. I enjoyed working with the
children and being in the school environment so much that I enrolled at the College of Southern
Idaho in 2013 for Elementary Education.
From the start, I truly enjoyed watching the children learn and progress in their education
and grade levels. It was a blessing for me to be able to work as a Title 1 aide and help five
children in kindergarten and first grade to learn their phonics, alphabet, numbers, and
pronunciation of the letters. There were two children that didnt even know how to spell their
first names, knew up to 5 in numbers, and the letter e in the alphabet. It was so rewarding for me
to help these children not only learn how to write their names, but also learn the entire alphabet
by the end of the year. Their educational growth was so amazing.
In addition to being an aide at the Filer School District, I had other careers that did not
make me feel as successful as teaching children. When I enrolled at CSI in 2013, I had also
considered being a vet tech. I considered all of the details when working with animals and felt
like it would be too difficult for me to put animals to sleep and withstand the smells of the
veterinarian office. So my choice was to become a teacher, since I knew how rewarding it was
for me. I knew that I would love this career and love going to work every day.

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As for the rewards of teaching, I consider the children learning and progressing in their
education as the best reward. I will enjoy the retirement plan and insurance that comes with a
teachers salary, but it will be just a bonus for me. Also, I will be rewarded every day when I
teach a student new concepts that will help them further their education. Being able to motivate
a student is so important to me and to show them that learning can be fun.
Goals
My first goal is to graduate from the College of Southern Idaho with my Associates
Degree in Elementary Education in May of 2015. After transferring to Idaho State University, I
hope to earn my elementary teaching degree and teach by 2017. A second goal as a teacher and
educator is to provide the students with the best possible education with curriculum and content
that holds true to my personal values and morals. Additionally, I hope to educate my students
with honesty and a caring, nurturing approach while my students improve the skills needed so
that they will become successful adults. I plan to accomplish my first goal of graduating from
CSI by finishing the fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters to receive the credits needed to
complete an Elementary Education Associates degree. As for my second goal, I plan to
accomplish it by staying true to my teaching philosophy. Furthermore, maintaining my personal
values along with the states curriculum requirements should help me accomplish my second
goal of providing students with an excellent education.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my years of experience from my education, working, and helping students
have prepared me for becoming an elementary teacher. Teaching will be rewarding for me
because it will allow me to make a difference in my students lives. For me, it will be even more
rewarding every day that students learn a new skill that will help them later in life. From my

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teaching style, it is my hope that students will learn not only a valuable education, but also life
lessons in treating other students with respect.

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References
Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.great-quotes
.com/quotes/author/Ralph+Waldo/Emerson