Chris Knipp

2/1/2017
EDCI 205
Educational Autobiography

My education began in Clark, New Jersey at a small school called Featherbed Lane. The

school was family owned and operated, with a preschool and full-day kindergarten, both of

which I attended. I attended preschool there for 3 years, rather than the typical four, since my

parents wanted me to start school early. Therefore, I was a lot younger than most of my peers. I

began Kindergarten at the age of four and was close to a year and a half younger, than my

classmates. The teachers at Featherbed Lane were very kind for the most part. Most of the

teachers, were also my camp counselors for the four years I was there, so I had a great

relationship with most of them. Two important characteristics worth noting, were that most of the

teachers were in their early 20s, most likely right out of college, and a majority of them were

male. Both my preschool and kindergarten teachers were male, which was contrary to the

stereotype of female teachers. Another very valid point to note, is that Featherbed Lane was very

open to family visitations. It seemed that almost every other day, families of classmates were

allowed to come stay for the day with their child. Visits from my grandparents for lunch, was

very common. Looking back, Featherbed Lane was definitely a different experience than I

believe most children will ever get the chance to experience.

Around springtime, my family moved to Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, a larger town in

northern New Jersey, due to the fact that the town was closer to Rutgers University, where my

father was an assistant professor. Within Berkeley Heights, was Mary Kay McMillan Early

Childhood Center, part of the Berkeley Heights Public School Corporation. It was here that I

began my first grade year. My teacher was older than most I had encountered before, somewhere
in her 50s. She was extremely kind, but could also be very strict at times. I never had many

issues with her, considering I was fairly well-behaved, compared to my classmates. This was the

year I also began attending before and after care, where I met many of my friends that I would

later be enrolled with. For the next three grades, 2nd through 4th, I was lucky enough to have some

stability after moving to different schools. Since the McMillan center only went up to 1st grade, I

once again had to change schools, but this time I was a lot more fortunate. Mountain Park

Elementary School was where I spent the next three years of my life, and thankfully it was only

three houses away from where I was living. My three teachers at Mountain Park elementary were

very kind and helpful to me. My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Butler, was probably my favorite teacher

of the three. Her creativity in our activities and her constant willingness to help, was unmatched

by the other two. My experience at Mountain Park led me to create many friendships with people

I still keep in touch with today. Never once did I have an issue with a classmate at Mountain

Park.

In the winter of my 4th grade year, my family moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where

my father was planning on receiving tenure at Purdue University, after Rutgers had rejected him.

The West Lafayette Community School Corporation was my new home, as I finished my grade

school at Happy Hollow Elementary School. The remainder of my 4th grade year was probably

the most stressful time of my life, up to that point. My teacher was very strict and the material

we were studying was far more complex than what I was studying in New Jersey. The change of

difficulty from my old school to the new one, was massive. The curriculum was far more

advanced than what I had seen before. It also did not help that my teacher was not always as kind

as she could have been. She was not very understanding of how hard the change was for me. For

example, that year I received my first and only D+ grade in my life. That year was devastating
for me, but at the same time, it prepared me for what was to come. In 5th and 6th grade, I was far

more focused than most students in my class. I was always at one of the top students in my class,

and received all As for those two years. Both teachers were very kind to me and helped me

understand how to better organize my work and time. My other classmates at Happy Hollow,

were at first very cold to me. I was lucky enough to have a few good friends, but for the most

part, I was bullied a lot in fourth grade. Luckily, I was able to slowly learn how to deal with

certain social situations, and by the time I was ready for Junior High School, most of my

classmates, were also great friends.

For 7th grade through 12th, I attended West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School. It was

here that I was able to succeed socially and academically for all 6 years. I was far more respected

amongst my classmates, was an officer on the Student Council for 5 of the years, and was

regarded as one of the few leaders of my class. I had multiple teachers these 6 years, but some

stuck out more than others. One of my Spanish teachers while at the high school, gave me a great

example of what not to do as a teacher. While she was a wonderful person and was always

willing to help when asked, her methods of teaching in class included using far too many videos

and playing games. She would also hand out worksheets for us to work on during class, rather

than actually teaching. When thinking of a bad teacher, I generally will think back to her to

remind myself of what I do not want to be. Another teacher that influenced me greatly, was my

German teacher for all four years, who could not have been more different than the last teacher

mentioned. My German teacher was the most enthusiastic teacher I had ever had. Every day in

class, he was constantly moving around the room, or forcing his students too. While he used

games and videos in class constantly, he utilized them to enhance his teaching, rather than

replacing it. I was by far one of his favorite students, especially compared to my lethargic
classmates. When I think of what a teacher must do, I think immediately of my German teacher

and how he always made me excited to learn. The last teacher I will mention, was my

Psychology teacher in high school. Without this teacher, I would have never chosen Psychology

as my major. This teacher presented theories in a way that really gave students the chance to

critically think about them. We always had in-class discussions and our topics were never boring,

since he was always able to find a fun way to present each one. Many of the reasons I currently

want to teach Psychology, are because of this teacher, who sparked my interest in the field.

Thanks to many teachers like him, I had an overall great educational experience, mostly

since I was a great student. I was always prepared and strived for excellence. Despite most of my

glowing memories, my educational experience was not the reason I wanted to become a teacher.

While I always loved presenting in class or tutoring others, I actually found my passion for

education during the summer. I have worked at Straight Arrow Day Camp since 2006 and have

had many different positions such as Junior Counselor, Counselor-in-Training, Substitute

Counselor, and full-time Counselor, as I have worked my way through their program. It was not

until last summer, that I realized I have always enjoyed teaching others. I also noticed how easily

it is for me to communicate with children and teens, a skill I have always boasted. While camp is

a huge reason I want to teach, I cannot say it is the only reason.

Since my freshman year of college, I have been an assistant coach at West Lafayette High

School for the Varsity Swimming Team, the same team I was on in high school. Due to the many

hours of time I have put into coaching, I was able to gain some valuable coaching and teaching

experience, over the past three years. Not only was I made responsible for the little things, like

timing and attendance, but I also was given the chance to personally work one-on-one with

certain swimmers, primarily to fix their technique. More recently, I have been given
opportunities to help run the practices, take charge of a swimming group, and in some cases,

write sets for the swimmers to complete. Over the years, I have grown closer to the newer

swimmers that have joined the team, even though I knew most of the younger swimmers that

swam with me in high school. I have had the opportunity to watch certain swimmers, that began

in my lanes, my first year, blossom into the athletes that currently lead the team. Being able to

instill motivation in all swimmers has been a challenge. Not every swimmer is the same, some

know what it takes to be good, others want to be good, but never put in the effort. Finding the

right thing to say and do in order to create determination in certain swimmers, can be one of the

hardest parts of coaching, as well as education. This was another valuable part of my experience,

that has helped me grow as a coach. Not only that, but I realized after working with high

schoolers, that secondary education is where I want to teach. I want to be able to have

intellectual conversations with students, while teaching and learning from them.

Education is what I want to do with my life. It is a career I have thought about for a long

time and finally pursuing after many years of trials. While Psychology had been my major for

three years, teaching was always in the back of mind as something I was still passionate about. I

have been fortunate enough to have opportunities to teach students, whether it was how to swim

freestyle or how to properly treat nature. As a teacher, my goal is to help students achieve their

academic goals. When a swimmer begins in my lanes, with little technique or knowledge of

swimming, finally reaches their goals for the season, there is no greater feeling for me. I want to

be able to impact students that same way. I hope to one day be able to have a serious impact on

hundreds of lives, like my teachers and experiences, have had on me.

 InTASC Standards

Standard #3: Learning Environments

Standard #7: Planning for Instruction
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration