Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 1

Autobiographical Essay

Kayra Maglaughlin

Doug Rapley

College of Western Idaho

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 2

Introduction

Throughout my life I have had the privilege and opportunity to have access to programs

and schooling that has shaped my love and outlook for my future as an educator. My experience

inside of the classroom and in forming relationships and connections to people within the

profession has given me a perspective on the education field that I am so thankful for and that I

look forward to joining myself. My experience in apprenticeships and observations has allowed

me to see exactly what I value in my work and how I can accomplish my goals, short-term and

long-term to become an educator.

Educational Background

I have attended several different schools at several types of schools over the course of my

education. I started Pre-K for a year then attended several different Elementary schools

throughout Meridian and Boise including: Whittier Elementary, River Valley Elementary, and

Cole Elementary. I was enrolled in Lewis and Clark Middle School for sixth grade and then Commented [KM1]: Keep it under 7 pages woman!!!!!

finished through Eighth grade at Meridian Middle School. My schooling for High School was all Commented [KM2]: Can I condense this so I’m not telling
them my life story, but my educational background,
probably. I have a life, ya know, and privacy.
taken at Compass Honors High School, a Public Charter School, where I also accomplished

receiving 35 dual credits from College of Western Idaho. After graduation from High School I Commented [KM3]: Keep consistent in your numbers.
Spell them or don’t girlie.
pursued my associates at College of Western Idaho, which is where I will continue to study until

my expected graduation in Spring 2019.

The dual credit program I participated in from CWI during my time at Compass Honors

High School allowed me to get ahead in my degree and have an advantage in a timely way. Class

sizes were small, my graduating class only 27 people in total, which allowed for better one on

one with teachers and effective communication of material. As a result of the dual credit

program, I entered college as a Sophomore. Growing up going to different schools and putting
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 3

in so much time into relationships with staff and students has allowed me to see the benefits

some students have over others who don’t participate in such programs or with students who

don’t have access to all the same resources as Charter Schools do. On the other hand, public

schoolers can build relationships with a more diverse range of students from a greater number of

backgrounds, thus granting them more access to progressive educational ideals.

As a result of all the different experiences that I got from these various kinds of schooling

I’ve been exposed to skills that have shaped me as a professional. In public school I learned how

to communicate and be accepting to constructive criticism. I am able to speak to people in a clear

and professional way that is helpful either to me in receiving the criticism or to them by me

giving the criticism. My time at the Public Charter School has given me the capacity to think for

myself and to be able to research to prove my points. It has taught me how to have a growth

mindset but also be able to know why I believe what I do and present information to back it up.

This, I believe is and will be crucial to me as a professional.

Work History Service and/or Extracurricular Activities

My work experience as of right now is limited, but is not absent. I have had the

opportunities for the past few years to do observation hours at Sawtooth Middle School,

apprenticeships with Ten Mile Christian Church and Meridian Middle School, and worked with

children of the age I wish to teach by volunteering as a Middle School Leader. My

apprenticeship with Nicole Bass at Meridian Middle School was my first experience with

observations within the public-school system, not as a student or a teacher but merely as an aid to

the teacher. I graded papers, watched student-teacher interactions, and aided students in any

questions that they had. Although I’d later be able to expand on this experience with more

observation at Sawtooth Middle School, it brought me a new perspective on what I believed was
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 4

teaching. In this apprenticeship I observed Ms. Bass teach students based off of standard LS2-

MS-1 and LS2-MS-2. These standards basically cover what it means for the levels of

organization beyond the cell including: organism, population, community, ecosystem, and

biosphere. I learned the most about these standards and how they apply to learning the most

during my apprenticeship, which truly shaped my professional view of education. I feel more

confident in my ability to find and apply standards to teaching material.

Much of my time is spent at my church, Ten Mile Christian. I spent six years working in

the Elementary programs and am now an active Leader for our Middle School programs. I have

met so many different age groups, learning styles, teaching styles, and classroom setups that I am

familiar with brilliant and challenging management styles and resources. At Ten Mile Christian

Church I took over a classroom of around 20 three-year-old’s over the course of nine months

(once a week). I was responsible for teaching and preparing materials based off of a curriculum,

manage time, and safely ensure students’ arrival and departure. This experience I believe has led

to a strong ability to multitask and mentally manage time and resources effectively. I learned

there is so much material that teachers have to prepare, teach, follow up on, and conduct

assessments over in such short amounts of time. I can be prepared to prioritize material and be

flexible with change that will inevitably occur in the classroom because of this experience.

Ethical Dilemma

An important Ethical dilemma that has come across to me is the idea of whether or not

creationism and evolution should be taught in school and how exactly it should be taught. As a

student who believes in creationism, sometimes it felt like the world is denouncing you for what

you believe, despite that it doesn’t harm any other persons. In the same way, having your beliefs

belittled in a classroom created a bit of hostility and discomfort for students who believe
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 5

otherwise than the information being taught. The ethical orientation that I would use to fix this

problem would be that of Egoism. Egoism determines morality should be based upon

consequences that should be examined for ourselves. In this way, we as humans can understand

our own best long-term interests, when presented with facts and having time to evaluate

information. The solution, really, is simple. Although separation from religion and schooling has

been clearly defined, offer students equal opportunity for the facts. Most science textbooks don’t

tell all of the information about evolution and don’t account for the countless mistakes or failed

attempts at proof and also choose to ignore important religious facts. I believe that to effectively

deal with this moral issue, facts must be relative to the individual and equally represented. The

truth is, nobody can determine either way as being absolute truth. The problem is that religion is

underrepresented in materials being taught in schools where students need to be able to decide

for themselves and their best long-term interests.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

Growing up as the oldest child in a home of five children, I developed a sense of

character that leads me to be more caring and understanding towards children. I had to be patient

with my siblings and therefore I developed skills that would shape my future as a potential

educator. The patience of helping others receive the knowledge that I wanted to share gave me a

sense of purpose. I have always also been a bit of a teacher’s pet in my classes, often finding

myself drawn towards the relationships between the teacher and student. I learned how to adapt

quickly to several types of groups of people and developed a capacity to relate to others. As an

(almost) “straight A” student I learned to be organized, efficient, and learned that relationships

are what I valued most from any occupation I would need to enter. These, I believe will enable

me to be successful as a teacher.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 6

Though many of these skills are feminine characteristics that I developed because of

experience, I also developed other skills that would be less suited in education and more-so in

other fields. I enjoy being able to be spontaneous with things and impromptu which I think is less

so used in education than in careers involving the entertainment world or in hospitality

professions. Another skill that I developed is a love for language. I think that with this love for

learning languages it could be used practically in a classroom, but I believe possibly as even a

translator, rather than a teacher itself. I’m good at being able to pick up languages and I have an

excellent skill for self-teaching. This skill I think would be good in the education setting for

helping teachers break those language barriers in education. I am not fluently bilingual yet, but I

have picked up enough Spanish, English, and American Sign Language to communicate

effectively and am continuously working at improving these skills. Overall, my skills match well

with teaching and with the Education field but if need be I can see myself fitting into jobs that

require patience, language, or relationship-based jobs.

Professional Goals

My long-term goal is to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education

with endorsements in the areas of a physical science. I plan on achieving this by finishing what I

need previously to attending Boise State University, here at College of Western Idaho. I am also

considering getting certified for American Sign Language, but my goal is to take as many

language courses I can in ASL to see if it’s a possibility. As a teacher, I believe it would be very

helpful to have that knowledge to communicate with my potential students, without language or

any other walls between us and the material. Language just happens to be something I pick up

easily and I want to explore that option more as well. I am enrolled in an ASL course in the
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 7

Spring and have been teaching myself using resources online for the past six months. In the next

six months I hope to have a good feel for the language and whether I want to pursue it.

My short-term goal is to get all my classes here at CWI done and maintain a stable

academic record. I would also love to be able to get more comfortable with the people in my

community and enjoy college life without constantly being in a rush. I spent far too much time in

High School worrying and stressing over college work and I missed out on having fun while I

was there. I don’t want to regret not talking to more people here with my time at CWI. In this

way, making connections to people is a fantastic way to get connected in the professional world.

Ultimately taking language classes mixed in with my normal classes and meeting more people

will help with my interactions in the professional world. I’ll learn many skills that otherwise

might prevent me from that kind of connection to those around me in the classroom with the kids

and with my colleagues. Relationships are one of the most important things I value in a

workplace and I believe that by pursuing these short-term goals, eventually it’ll be helpful in

developing that environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the dual credit program, apprenticeship program, and the observation

hours I was required to complete in college gave me real world experience to which I could

connect my values, experience, and what I was learning as a college student together and help

me to examine the possibilities I have within the education world or possibly beyond it. Now I

can move forward, confident in my abilities and establish goals, short-term and long-term to

become an educator to fulfill those needs in the workplace and within my interests in helping

others to learn more about the world.