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Autobiographical Essay
Amanda Kofoed
Professor Jen Lund
EDUC 201 Foundations of Education
Online, Fall 2014

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Autobiographical Essay
Children are fascinated with the world around them. Their willingness to ask questions
and test hypothesizes to discover truths about the world around them has inspired me to become
an educator. Being an educator will allow me to connect with and impact my community and the
entire world. My educational experience, my work history, and my community involvement have
helped to shaped and prepared me to become an educator.
My Education
Like most, I am a public school alumni. My time at Joplin Elementary School was my
first educational experience, outside of Sunday school and preschool. Because of my parents
inexplicable trust of these strangers, aka teachers, I decided to trusted them too. During my time
at Joplin I always felt safe, confident, and valuable.
But of all of my trusted teachers at Joplin two stand out: Mrs. Fenn who made learning
fun and Mrs. Compton made me feel empowered. Learning became fun with Mrs. Fenn because
it was interactive - everything became real and applicable. On the other hand, Mrs. Compton
knew what we were capable of doing, even at 10 years old, and she inspired us to set high goals
and accomplish them. Both of these teachers have influenced me as an educator by modeling and
setting a standard for the learning environment I want to cultivate in my own classroom.
My time at Lowell Scott Middle School was spent like most tweens, surviving the stress
of changing social roles, however, it is also where I began to take initiative as an individual and
become more aware and concerned with social issues. Middle school is difficult for most
children because of the changing nature of friendships and I was no different. Often times, I felt
confused and out of the loop with my peers and finding ways to connect with the school was

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difficult. Midway through my first year at Lowell Scott I joined the National Honor Society
which got me involved in community service projects. I found that I really enjoyed and felt
proud of the work that I did for my community which has contributed to my desire to become a
teacher as a way to serve my community. Now as I am pursuing my education degree, I feel that
same pride and joy in the service I will be doing for my community.
I attended Centennial High school where my participation with the junior varsity soccer
team, as a peer tutor, and in an elementary education class gave me my first real look into what it
would be like to be a teacher, the talent I had for teaching, and the fulfillment it gave me. I
mention soccer, not just for its educational contribution, but because it was the most memorable
and the most connected I have ever been to any of my educational institutions. Now as I study to
become a teacher, I see the importance of encouraging students, who otherwise might fly under
the radar, to participate in school sports, clubs, and events as a way for them to feel connected
and proud of their school. In addition to soccer, I also worked as a peer tutor in a pre-algebra
class. I was partnered with a boy with autism. It was a stressful and challenging relationship but
at the end of the semester the Pre-Algebra teacher wrote one of the most encouraging letters of
recommendation for me. Which surprised me. Up until that point, I knew I enjoyed working with
others but had no real indication of whether I could teach or not. In the letter she pointed out my
ability to gauge where the student was at and move forward or review concepts as the student
needed, as well as be able to lead the student to discover the answer as opposed to giving him the
answer. I didnt known these were unique skills and it felt good to be good at something and
recognized for it. Participating as a peer tutor led to me enrolling in an elementary education
class and to say the least, I LOVED IT! For this class we would go to an elementary school and
assist the same teacher every afternoon for two hours. Helping and watching the students learn

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and grow was extremely rewarding. The pride, joy, and empowerment that I felt through these
high school opportunities have motivated me to pursue education as a career.
After graduation I attended Treasure Valley Community College where I had made up my
mind to be a nurse. Pre nursing courses were a struggle and not much fun for me. All I did was
memorization, which has never been my strong suit. I often found myself remembering how
much I enjoyed the education class I took in High School and started second guessing my
decision to pursue nursing. At the end of my first year at TVCC, I married my husband and
moved back to Boise where I went to Boise State part time for one semester before I decided to
work and help my husband finish school. As tends to be the case I got out of the rhythm of
school and did not return for ten years. A lot has changed in those ten years, mainly I am now a
mother of four amazing children and my priorities have shifted to include their needs and
schedule as well. So now, I am in my sophomore year at CWI and have changed my major to
education. I couldnt be happier with this decision. My experience and time all throughout my
education has been positive, fun, and exciting which reaffirms my decision to pursue education
as a professional.
My Work History
The Boys and Girls Club is an afterschool youth development program. I worked ein
several areas at the Club. Initially I was hired as the front desk staff where I was responsible for
checking members in and out, taking payments, answering phones, fielding questions and
concerns from parents, doing tours of the facilities, etc. This experience developed my
professional skills in communication, organization, and representing my organization in a
positive way. Eventually, I began working as both the gym and art program staff, and at times
could be working with up to 60 children. It was my responsibility to explain, demonstrate, and in

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some cases create or plan projects and games. Many members come from low income families,
usually single parent homes. It was my responsibility as a staff to provide a safe, respectful, and
fun environment that empowered and educated members. My work experience here has greatly
prepared and developed me as an educator by providing real life experience interacting with
parents and children, providing solid training and tools for large group management, as well as,
lesson planning skills.
Giraffe Laugh Child Care is a non-profit child care center that serves lower income
families in the north end of Boise. While I worked there I was in the baby room with infants
ages 6 weeks to 18 months. It was my responsibility to feed, change diapers, sooth, and play
with the babies. While I worked at Giraffe Laugh, I was provided a lot of training in early
childhood development that has given me insight and understanding as to what to expect, what is
needed, and why children may behave the way they do. Which in turn provides avenues to meet
those needs and reach my goals for each childs development. I grew up in an upper middle class
family and working both at The Boys and Girls Club and Giraffe Laugh has greatly influenced
my desire to improve and make meaningful change in the lives of lower income and poverty
stricken communities. Working closely with children in these families and seeing their potential
in spite of their hardship has been inspiring.
My next position was working as a Nanny. As a nanny my responsibilities included
watching the children, keeping house, making dinners, doing carpools, organizing the home and
childrens schedules etc. The main thing I took away from this job was a broadening of my own
understanding of different family dynamics, as well as an up close look at the daily stress that
can be put on a family. I also developed skills of how to work and communicate with parents to

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improve the behavior of their children. Looking forward to being a teacher, interacting with
students parents will not be quite as intimidating.
I worked as an assistant to the lead teacher at Boise River Montessori. My main
responsibility was to maintain a peaceful classroom that allowed students to focus, with minimal
distractions, on their work. This included redirecting disorderly students, making sure that all the
works in the classroom were complete and ready to be used, and keeping the classroom itself
orderly and clean. I was also able to help construct new works. By creating and developing
works that used manipulatives to explain abstract concepts I was able to start seeing the art of
teaching and that teaching was more than just regurgitation of facts. Boise River used Positive
Discipline in the classroom. Positive Discipline works to reduce power struggles by giving
options and redirection. I found these techniques very effective and will use to manage my
classroom. Working in the Montessori environment has greatly influenced me as far as teaching
style and technique. I really appreciated the use of manipulatives as a way to discover while
learning.
Currently I am an assistant to the program director for the preschool classrooms at
Crossroads Community Church, where I schedule and monitor classrooms during church
services. This has prepared me for the challenge of time management as a teacher and how much
energy and effort goes into the seemingly simple tasks of preparing for a class.
Service & Extracurricular Activities
The NHS in middle school and high school is the first place, aside from my church, that I
began to see the needs of others in my community. As I spent time volunteering, more and more I
was drawn to work being done at the Boys and Girls Club. I found that I really enjoyed my time

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there. Working with the youth and seeing the impact I had in the lives of the kids there filled me
with purpose and satisfaction. This eventually lead to a job my senior year of high school which
provided me wonderful experience to draw from as educator as far as practical group
management skills. My time at the B & G Club was a mini taste of what teaching will be like.
Most of all it introduced me to the joy of teaching.
In high school I played for my school volleyball and soccer teams. My fondest memories
of high school are from the times that I spent on these teams. I was not particularly attached to
my high school, however when I played for these teams I felt more connected to my school than
during any other time I spent there. Now I see the value in encouraging my students to get
connected somehow in extracurricular activities because of the importance for students to be
more invested in and excited about their education. On the soccer team I received the MVP
award even though I was definitely not the most talented player on the team, but my coach
appreciated the commitment, teamwork and hard work mentality that I brought to the team. This
award was surprising to me and now is a great source of pride for me to know that I do not have
to be the best at something to be valuable. I have this confidence now in every challenge and
activity I take on, including teaching. I recognize what that award has meant to me and it is
something that I will try to do for my students in the future to empower them, even if they are
not the strongest, smartest student in the class.
My participation in TVCCs judicial system was not one of my favorite experiences, in
general I do not like to judge others and be the bad guy to my peers, however that being said I
believe that this experience challenged me to confront uncomfortable situations and take a stand.
Often times as a teacher there will be times that will be uncomfortable and confrontational. It is

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important to know how to stay professional and respectful. Facing these experiences can only
help to illuminate where my strengths and weaknesses are as well as practice managing them.
Reasons for choosing education as a career
I first considered education as a career my senior year of high school when I took the elementary
education elective that I really enjoyed. For this class we took the last two periods of the day to
assist an elementary teacher in one of the surrounding schools in our district. I chose my old
elementary school and more specifically my first grade teacher. Working at the school was the
best part of my day. Watching the students develop and come to understand new concepts was
very exciting and especially rewarding when I was able to be a part of that process. In addition to
the education course I also enrolled in an elective as a peer tutor and was paired with an autistic
student in his algebra class. I took the peer tutor class because most of the other electives were
full and it was the most appealing of what was left. I ended up really enjoying the work. Algebra
concepts make a lot of sense to me and I was really able to help this student understand and keep
up with his peers. The teacher quickly began to rely on me heavily and consult with me as to
where he was at and what he needed more time with. It was extremely gratifying and
empowering to gain her respect and acknowledgement. This student would also often times share
frustrations he was having socially with other students and I was able to help him process their
reactions to him and what was an appropriate response. These experiences were highly
rewarding and satisfying which is something that is valuable to me in my career choice.
In spite of these experiences however I decided to pursue nursing when I started my first
year of college. My personality is patient, hardworking, and very social. I am well suited to be
both a nurse and a teacher, but I originally chose nursing because of the better pay and high

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demand across the nation would make job searching easier. So, I did one year of school in prenursing and then I married my husband and started working to support us while he was finishing
school. Now that I have been out of school for almost ten years and have a family of my own I
have decided to return to school. I feel that my goals in life are now better suited for education.
My children are all very young and still at home with me and I want a work schedule that
matches theirs. So I decided to pursue education instead.
Now that I am in the school I am more and more excited to become a teacher. There are
many parts that I am looking forward to as a teacher starting with designing and decorating my
own classroom as well as developing lesson plans that are fun and challenging. I am also excited
for the reward of, and a little nervous, participating in the cognitive and social development of
my students. As I mentioned earlier I had a very rewarding experience in high school as a peer
tutor and assistant but I was not solely responsible for the education of an entire classroom or
even the individuals I worked with. While I know that seeing the improvement of my students is
extremely satisfying, I am anxious for future students who do not improve. Experience will give
context to these concerns as well as provide tools for overcoming them. One of the things that I
am most excited about is being able to have an insiders perspective as a parent with children in
the public school system so I can provide them the best educational experience I am able to. This
may in fact be the most rewarding part of teaching. It is very important to me that my children
learn to care for others in their community and seek to improve their world as productive
citizens. I believe quality education is key to doing these things as well as provide them the
opportunities to accomplish their goals.
Professional goals

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There are many facets of my life that I have to consider when setting goals for myself,
both short term and long term. I have my family and husband to consider because every decision
I make impacts them greatly. As far as short term goals within the next year I am determined to
get good grades and graduate from CWI with an excellent grade point average. From there I
hope to move directly to BSU for my bachelors degree in elementary education and very
possibly continue on to get my masters degree. It is important to me, however, that while I am
pursuing these goals I am also seeing to the needs and cares of my children and husband. When I
look into the distant future my goal is to be in a teaching position that I love, my children are
afforded the best opportunities to pursue their own goals, and my husband and myself live a
comfortable active life fully invested in our children and community.
My family is very young which makes achieving my short term goals challenging. As any
parent knows children between the ages of 0-5 (all 4 of my children are between these ages) need
A LOT of physical and mental attention from parents. This is no less true of my children, in
order to attend school I depend heavily on my husband, family, and friends. It is such a comfort
and blessing to know that while I am working on home work or in class my children are being
cared for by those who love them. Balancing the importance of school and family is very tricky
but it is getting easier the longer I am in school and we are all falling into rhythm. I have
established routines with child care and activities to entertain/ educate my children while I study
or attend class that I take full advantage of to complete school work and study. By staying on
task to do homework in my scheduled time it also allows me to have meaningful time with my
family when I am done. Completing my homework and not getting behind is important to reduce
stress and be flexible to handle unforeseen complications (ie my daughter gets the stomach flu)

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without being too overwhelmed. The main way that I will achieve these goals is by staying on
task and actively making time for both school and my family.
The whole reason I am putting myself and my family through the stress of my schooling
is to model hard work and perseverance for my children, to afford experiences for my family that
enrich our time together, provide opportunities and a road map for my childrens future goals,
and to be able to invest in my community in ways that I am gifted and excited about. It is
important to me that I model for my children how much hard work it takes to accomplish their
goals and likewise the payoff of having persevered and accomplished them. I am a very high
energy person that enjoys doing things with my family. I want to be able to afford experiences
such as vacations, sports, music lessons etc. that will enrich the lives of my children and develop
closeness as a family. These experiences also provide opportunities for my children to determine
what is important to them and their goals for the future. By participating in activities such as the
girl scouts or soccer they have opportunities to see what they are capable of accomplishing.
Investing in my community as a family is a value that was passed down to me by my mother. She
was always finding ways for us as children to participate in bettering the lives of others. For
example we would always go trick or treating in nursing homes or shop, wrap, and deliver
Christmas gifts to families in need. Being a teacher provides many opportunities to become
aware of needs and how to meet them. My hope is to involve my own family in addressing the
needs of others and taking an active role in the community. The most important way for me to
reach these goals is to first stay committed to my short term goals, keep my long term goals as a
beacon for why I am doing what I am doing and what good is coming from it, and lastly
continuing to live in the moment with my family to cultivate close knit relationships. By doing

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these three things it will help me to keep perspective and stay on course to accomplish these
goals.
I am very excited and honored to join the ranks of educators before me. I hope that I will
be able to positively impact my students in a way that empowers and encourages them to create a
better world than the one they find themselves in today.