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Running head: Autobiographical Essay

Autobiographical Essay
Matt Moxham

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Jen Lund
EDUC 201 Foundations of Education
Online, Fall 2014

Autobiographical Essay
For so long I had no idea what I was going to do when I grew up. People kept telling
me to do what you like, but others would say the opposite. They argued that doing something
that you like for work would ruin it for you. I just meandered through life for my first year after
high school with no real direction or purpose. I always had this thought in the back of my head
about being a teacher, so I thought I might as well try it out. After starting down this road, Im
certain that there is nothing else that could satisfy me more.
Educational Background
My education career began when I entered Lake Hazel Elementary as a kindergartener. I
had the same teacher for first and fourth grade and it was an overall good experience. I made a

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lot of good friends who are still in my life today, and although I was in and out of detention I
made it through. I then moved onto Lake Hazel Middle where I made new friends and kept old
ones. I had to transfer to Lewis and Clark Middle because of a boundary change, which caused
me to lose contact with a lot of good friends. I attended high school at Mountain View High. To
be honest, my high school career started off terribly, but was pretty amazing by the time I
graduated. Im now a student at the College of Western Idaho.
Im currently in my second year of college, pursuing an associates degree in secondary
education with a math emphasis, which is obviously why Im in this class. I did attend Boise
State University for a semester, and definitely like it more here. The professors are a lot better at
relating to the students and dont have the giant egos that the professors at BSU did, which made
a really big difference to me.
Ever since I was in elementary school, I was always in advanced programs and classes,
which has greatly affected my ability to learn now that I am in college. In elementary school, I
never had to study for anything. Math was my strong suit from the beginning, but I could still
excel in the other subjects too. Since I didnt have to try as hard while I was in elementary
school, I got in a bad habit of not studying and teaching myself material. When I entered middle
school this became an issue. Tests and quizzes were a lot harder, and I couldnt remember
everything after hearing it only once. I was struggling, but was still in the advanced classes
because I had a knack for learning regardless. At this phase in my education I learned how to put
forth minimum effort to get maximum results, which only crippled me even more. High school
was basically the same as middle school. The work load was bigger and the concepts were more
difficult, but I had perfected my method of putting forth as little effort as possible. Sometimes I

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look back on some of the classes I took and wish I had actually tried to learn something because
I thought they were interesting ideas, but realize I did what I had to in order to pass. Now that I
am in college, I had to teach myself how to learn. There wasnt any way to just do the minimum,
I actually had to retain the concepts I was learning. I built up better habits that benefitted my
learning experience.
I think that looking back on everything Ive been through in the 15 years Ive been in
school; I have a lot more insight on what benefitted me most. I dont think that there was enough
of an emphasis placed on habits involving school, and the actual value of learning and not just
getting by. A lot of teachers I had were really concerned with us passing the tests and passing the
class, but not retaining what we were actually learning. I had a calculus teacher who showed us
all of the tricks and shortcuts to get to the right answer on the test so we could pass, but we had
no clue what it was we were actually doing. After taking calculus in college, I realized what I
actually missed out on. There was so much more behind just getting the answer and making the
numbers work. What you could do with the concepts you learned to do things in daily life were
incredible, and I was disappointed that I missed out on it when I had taken that class years
before. This is the biggest thing that I want to carry into my teaching career; helping students
realize why theyre learning the things that they are so that it becomes personal to them. By
making it personal the subject or material becomes so much more important and doesnt seem
nearly as pointless.
Work History
My work history is pretty limited. I got my first job after I graduated high school at Twin
Dolphin Pool and Spa. It was a pretty easy job; all I had to do was carry the customers stuff to

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their car and pickup shipments in the work truck. I learned a lot about what it meant to serve
people who needed help, and also the ones who could have done it themselves.
My next job was at Hollister. This job was also very easy, but couldnt be considered
anything close to fulfilling work. I think that looking back the purpose of this job was to teach
me how to resolve conflicts. I had to deal with a lot of customers who werent happy for one
reason or another, but not much else that would apply to the rest of my life.
I now deliver hot tubs for Idaho Spas, and it is extremely hard work. Im learning a lot
about interacting with people and how to keep people happy, which are good skills to have. Im
also learning about how to balance the commitments that I have in my life, because this job
demands a lot of me. All of these skills I will need later in life for many reasons, so Im glad
Ive had these jobs to help get me there.
Service and/or Extracurricular Activities
Im currently a leader in the youth group at the church that I attend. Ive been involved
for a while as I was also a student leader, but have taken on more responsibility in the last few
months. The most major position that I have is the youth band leader. Being the head honcho, I
have to work with the students to make sure theyre comfortable with the material were playing
and also help them to understand the responsibilities of the role that they are in. It takes a lot of
organization and really fine-tuned personal skills because a lot of the students are very selfconscious of how they sound whether theyre singing or playing an instrument. Im also the
leader of a junior high boys small group. We break down into these groups so that we can
address the material were going over on a more personal level and assure that weve answered

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all the questions that we can. I also co-lead the games that we do every time we meet. This
requires me to make sure that at least the majority of the students understand the rules and the
goal of the game.
I also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club in Meridian for about eight months. While
I was there, my main purpose was to bond with the kids in order to help them be comfortable and
have fun. This wasnt an issue at all. Those kids loved being around anyone who paid attention
to them and stuck to me like glue. The biggest issue that we had with the kids was disciplining
them. When you pack too many kids into too small of a space, theyre bound to get a little
crazy. When this happened, I was told to not be afraid to be stern with them. They usually dont
respond to you being nice about what theyre doing because they think that youre a pushover.
These activities have greatly contributed to my preparation for and development as a
teacher. Working in the Boys and Girls Club taught me a lot about maintaining a presence as an
authority figure, but still being approachable. We had to discipline a lot of kids for fighting and
misbehaving, so I think it will be easier for me to call out students in the classroom who are
being disruptive. While this may upset those students and make them not like me, I still need to
make it known that I care about their success and am willing to help them in any way I can if
they put forth the effort.
Working in the youth group has taught me a lot about students mental and emotional
health. While the ultimate goal is to master the material, a secondary one is to not push the
student into a mental breakdown. With this in mind, Ill make sure that the students know to ask
me if they need help with the material, even if they think it is a stupid question. Its important
for me to help them understand what theyre having issues with while keeping my cool. If I

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think its the easiest thing ever, it could still be difficult for them, and berating them for not
understanding such a simple concept could push them to give up. Another thing Ive also
learned from working in the band with the students is that sometimes they wont ask for help and
will just keep trying with no forward motion. Times like these, I believe its ok to intervene and
just give help. If theyre resistant then I would just back off and let them do their thing, but nine
times out of ten theyre glad that they were helped.
Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career
I first considered education as an option for my future when I didnt really have any other
ideas about what I was going to get a degree in. I had the hardest time making up my mind, and
after starting courses in this degree field, I was still unsure. I knew if I was going to go into
education that I might as well have been a teacher. Theres not really anything else in that field
that I would consider. I chose to pursue teaching because math comes pretty naturally to me and
I really like working with high school age kids. Before this I considered being an accountant,
musician, salesman, and firefighter. I was still considering changing fields until I started the
field experience hours and realized that I cant wait to be a teacher. I will really enjoy having
time off during the summer, and the fulfillment of having an impact in kids lives is more than
enough to make it worth it.
Professional Goals
I honestly dont know what my long term goals are. Id like to have a home and a wife
and maybe a kid or two or three, and a career that can support that, but if thats not how my life
turns out, then Im ok with that. I think that by planning for the long term and laying that
foundation in stone we are taking away from what life may offer us in the future. Id rather be

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bold and do something Im totally unprepared for and grow from that experience than do
something that wouldnt stretch me because I had planned for it for so long. I know that one
long term goal I will be upset if I dont fulfill is not being happy with the life Ive lived.
Everyone is going to have regrets, I already do. I just want to look at myself when my time is up
and be able to smile because my life was worth living.
Short term goals are a different story. I think that without them my life wouldnt progress
at all. Right now I plan on getting my degree. I dont think that everything that I do should be in
full support of that because thats what drives people insane. I also set mini goals with my health
and other related things.
I plan to achieve these goals by valuing my life and not being pushed around as much as I
used to. I was such a pushover that I would compromise the things I believed in or wanted to do
just so I wouldnt cause any trouble. I always had to agree with people. I have the skills that I
need to perform the current tasks at hand, which is mainly college and working out. I just need
to hone my mental endurance and be more steadfast in my opinions so that I can achieve the
things that I want, and not conform to those that others want.
Now that Im progressing in my journey to become a teacher, Im glad that I have a
direction and excited to finally begin my teaching career. I plan on being the person who says
do what you like for a living because I can already tell that there is nothing I would like more
than teaching high school math.