Nathaniel Jordan Phillips Personal Narrative 1410 Robins Street Appt.

20 Conway, Ar, 72034 10899 Highway 229 Leola, Ar, 72084 I developed my desire to teach because I myself had great teachers. My earliest memory of teaching was actually in the fourth grade. One of my teachers jokingly asked me if I thought I could teach the lesson, to which I replied that I could. She gave me the opportunity to do so for about 5 minutes during one particular class, and very confidently I delivered part of the lesson. I really thought nothing of this, but I was very pleased to hear that my teacher thought I did a great job.

I attended both Sheridan and Poyen public schools. Sheridan was a much more populated school which contained about 200-300 students per grade. Poyen, however only had about 50 students per grade. I feel that I have somewhat of a unique educational experience coming from these two different types of backgrounds.

After transferring to Poyen in the 8th grade, I really started to develop a love for social studies. It was at this school that I truly began to set my goals and career path. As I mentioned before, I had great teachers. Mrs. Wallace was my primary social studies teacher, and I can remember her class being different from all others. In other classrooms, the walls were painted a dull grey and presented no life of the classroom. Mrs. Wallaces class was different in that she filled her room with color, maps, and various projects. I can remember actually being excited to go to class and learn, and this is a trait I hope I can present to my future students.

After graduating from Poyen in 2009, I attended Central Baptist College with a major in social studies. After completing four semesters at CBC, I transferred to UCA in order to finish my degree.

Being that my high school education was spent in such a rural setting, I strongly believe in student/teacher relationships. Throughout my educational career and field experience I have seen different types of these relationships. Unfortunately, I have seen many teachers to a fault present themselves as a complete authority in the classroom. On the other hand, I have seen teachers worry more about their rapport with students rather than their teaching ability. I dont

feel I need to be friends with my students. I do feel however, that my students should know that they can come to me with any questions, concerns, or ideas that deal with any topic in the classroom.

During my time at CBC and UCA I have been able to complete field experience in a wide range of places. So far, I have been in early, middle, and secondary settings. I have even worked as a substitute at my former high school in Poyen. From all of these experiences, I have learned that patience is key. At Greenbrier Elementary, I was given the task of helping a belowproficient 3rd grader become a better reader. I spent about an hour, once a week working with the student and to be honest, by the end of the semester I was beginning to think that I wasnt helping the student much at all. However, within my final few weeks at the school I was notified by the principal that my students reading ability had jumped 20 points and was actually reading at a proficient level. This experience alone proved to me how rewarding teaching can be.

I believe my greatest strength as a teacher will be my ability to motivate students to both learn and participate in class. I also realize that this is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Being that I will be a social studies teacher, I plan to incorporate lots of discussion into my lessons. Discussion provides the opportunity for students to participate and in turn, may hopefully give them some sense of self-worth in the classroom.

I am very excited to begin Internship II, mostly because it is one step closer to accomplishing my dream of becoming a teacher. Currently Im interning at Pulaski Heights Middle School, where my experience so far has been amazing. I am learning how to approach different situations and students and their learning abilities. The things I will able to learn by continuing my internship I believe will be invaluable to the start of my teaching career.