Teacher Autobiography - Pennsylvania State University



Teacher Autobiography

By: Jennifer Lynn Blackburn

Due: October 12, 2004

APLNG 493 – Dr. Johnson

A. Reflection

I was always a good student, strong in most subjects, but slightly weaker in math. Maybe I was a good student because I was fairly well-behaved, and I fit well into the passive learning environment typical to most American school systems. I also may have succeeded in school because I’m a versatile learner; I can learn visually, audibly, and kinesthetically. However, I have discovered about myself that if I don’t see something written down, I have more of a tendency to forget it. I remember always wanting to please my teachers – and sometimes I was called a “teacher’s pet.” However, I didn’t mind too much, for I believed it was more important to have a good relationship with my teachers, than what my peers said about me. For the most part though, I was well liked by my teachers and my peers.

I was very fortunate to have good teachers through most of grade school, middle school, and high school. I have fond memories of my grade school teachers, especially my kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and fifth grade teachers. These teachers obviously cared about their students, and they made learning fun. In seventh and eighth grade I was on a “team,” so I had a “team” of teachers. I remember most of these teachers were very good. In seventh grade I was in the hospital for one month. During that time, my “team” of teachers came to visit me – which left a lasting impression on me. One of those teachers came to my house periodically to help me catch up on my schoolwork (while I was unable to attend school), and I remember my math teacher gave me remedial lessons after school to help me catch what I had missed during the months of my absence.

I remember especially my English teacher and my Social Studies teacher in eighth grade. They were both very friendly, and the Social Studies teacher (Mr. Shockey) really took time to help his students after school with any work they had questions about. Many students developed a good relationship with Mr. Shockey, and they would visit him after leaving middle school. Mr. Shockey is a very special teacher in my life – I’m sure I will talk about him more later. Some of the things that made him so likeable to his students were his sense of humor, his compassion and care for his students, and the way he organized his class. Many of the activities were interactive, and he brought in pictures that were relevant to what we were studying. One activity I especially remember (if I’m remembering correctly), is when we reenacted the Constitutional Convention. We each took the name of one of the people that was involved in that event, and we had to vote for what we wanted, etc. Another memorable teacher in middle school was my band director.

High school brought more good teachers, but not all of them were good. I had a couple of math teachers that were not very good. One was in ninth grade; he was getting older and had a hard time getting the points across clearly to his students. I had a hard time understanding the subject matter, and I don’t think it was just me. Then, in my junior year I had a female math teacher who really struggled to get control of the class. Sometimes she would give us candy as a reward when we got the answers correct, or if we behaved ourselves. She also made the assessment of our skills so easy that I don’t think it was a very good measure of our learning. However, when I struggled with any of the concepts, she took time to help me after school, which I really appreciated.

There are a few other teachers from high school that I would like to mention. I had a very good European History teacher and a very good American History teacher. Both of these teachers were very knowledgeable. Even though the classes were mostly lecture (they were AP courses), I didn’t really mind at the time. I found the material to be very interesting and the lecture style was also interesting. However, looking back, there are a lot of details and facts that I don’t really remember, possibly because I just listened, took notes, and spat back the information for the tests. There were some special projects and papers though, which were more memorable. Unfortunately the European History teacher had to take a leave of absence from school for the second half of the year. In her place we got a female teacher fresh out of college. I’m afraid this teacher was not very good. She had trouble keeping control of the class and earning our respect. She tried too hard to be our friend, instead of keeping somewhat of a distance. This is hard though, I know. I often want to be a friend to my students, however I believe there must be a line drawn at some point, in order to maintain their respect of you as a teacher. Where to draw this line is the difficult part.

Another example of a teacher who tried too hard to be a friend to his students was my band director in high school. The biggest problem in this situation was that he tried to be buddies with a certain group of students (a “clique”), which often made those outside of the clique feel bad. It was just plain inappropriate. He also acted like a child at times, throwing temper tantrums, and so forth. Though I respected him a lot as a conductor, and sometimes as a person, for the most part he lost my respect for him as a person because of what I mentioned above. He was replaced, however, right before my senior year. The new band director was not as good of a conductor, and sometimes had trouble controlling the kids in the band, but he was kind and compassionate and caring, and for this reason he won my respect, as well as many others. His first year was a tough transition, because many of the other seniors and some lowerclassmen missed the previous band director and made it hard on the new one. This is to be expected in any teacher transition I suppose…especially in a setting like band or chorus, where you have the same teacher for all four years of high school. To wrap up my high school years, I just want to mention my choir director. He was nearing retirement, but was still a very good choir director. He really held the students’ respect, for he didn’t let his guard down very often. He was rather formal most of the time. However, at times he would break into something funny and surprise us, which was nice. I really feel it is important to win the respect of your students. This is not an easy task. However, I feel if you take the time to show them that you care about them, and develop a good rapport between you and them, then they will sense this and respect you more as a person.

I’m afraid my reminiscing is getting a little long, however, there are a few teachers from college that I feel I must mention. My freshman year I started out as a Music Therapy major. My first course in that field was taught by a very experienced male Music Therapist. Though some of the content of the course was lecture, he at times would get us involved in some sort of hands-on experience of music therapy. This was very enjoyable and soothing, and it taught us a lot about the power of music therapy. For this major we had clinicals, where the upperclassmen music therapy majors would do hands-on activities involving the rest of the music therapy majors, for practice. This was always an interesting and enjoyable part of the day. That is where I really learned what music therapy is all about. Another characteristic of this male music therapy professor was that he was relaxed and laid back – which had a relaxing effect on his students. I think this is important. An uptight teacher will only make their students feel tense. One of the greatest concepts I learned from music therapy (which I feel can be applied to just about anything), is that you have to meet people where they’re at.

I also had a very good band director in college. He won our respect due to his excellent musicianship and conducting skills, but also due to the way he conducted himself during rehearsals. He knew how to open the rehearsal with some enjoyable and interesting information, and then he got down to business, and was often very matter-of-factly. We all knew he was not to be messed with, yet he was never mean or bullyish. Another excellent professor I had freshman year was for a general education honors Sociology course. This professor had us sit in a circle and did a lot of group discussion based on what we were learning. The biggest impact on me from that course came from this professor’s selection of materials and how he presented them. He really challenged us to think and he broke our “traditional” concepts of the world in which we live. I will never forget one of the books we read in that course, “Amazing Grace” (the author’s name is not coming to me). Later on in college for a short time I had a Social Work minor, which was due to the impact of this course. I wrote an email to my Sociology professor telling him this fact, and he responded saying that getting emails like mine makes teaching fulfilling and worthwhile. I think it’s important to encourage people. (

I’m sure there are many other professors from college that I could talk about…I already mentioned my Chinese teacher in one of my Reaction Papers…however, I would like to mention one last professor. He taught my Survey of the New Testament course, and was also my advisor for an independent study that I did on the History of Christian Missions. Dr. Scott is a great man. He was actually just adjunct faculty, because he was a full-time pastor at a church nearby. However, he was the best professor I had in the Religious Studies department. Though he himself was a Christian, he didn’t force his Christianity on his students (I don’t think he could have, or he wouldn’t have had a job). Yet, by his actions and the things he challenged us to think about, he was an effective witness of Jesus Christ. His teaching style was mostly lecture, but he did involve the class in student participation, when he asked certain questions and so forth. He was laid back, and he had a good sense of humor.

As far as my experiences as a second language learner, I think I will insert my response from Reaction Paper #2: I have had a number of different experiences learning foreign languages. My two formal experiences were learning French for four years in high school, and learning Chinese for three semesters in college. My informal experiences were learning Chinese from some Chinese friends of mine, learning a little bit of Korean from some of my tutoring students, and learning some Spanish for a mission trip to Peru.

I have always enjoyed learning other languages. My favorite formal experience was learning Chinese. This was primarily because I had an excellent teacher. My favorite informal experience has also been Chinese (though I’m greatly enjoying learning bits of Korean from my tutoring students as well).

Some memorable aspects of learning French in high school were learning about French culture, especially learning about French art. I also enjoyed going to a French restaurant with my teacher and some of my classmates, so we could practice our French skills. Some memorable things from my Chinese classes were my teacher’s sense of humor, learning funny stories in Chinese, learning children’s songs in Chinese, and going to China to practice our language skills. Another thing that I have always remembered from my Chinese teacher, which may very well impact my own language teaching, was that she always told us to go home and practice what we learned in class that day three times. She emphasized that we needed to do that the same day we learned it, or else we would forget a lot of what we learned. (I’m pretty sure this philosophy of hers was based on some research.) I believe it really worked! Instead of cramming the language in my head for each test, I gradually learned it by practicing it each day, and therefore a lot of it has stuck with me – though some of it is in the recesses of my mind at the moment (still able to be retrieved though!).

Some memorable things in my informal learning of Chinese were learning the titles of the books of the Bible with a Chinese friend of mine, learning how to share the Gospel in Chinese with my current roommate, learning Chinese culture from my various Chinese friends, and learning Chinese songs/hymns at different Chinese churches. Informally learning Korean from my tutoring students has been a way for me to show them that I care about them, their language, and their culture. Because of a mission trip to Peru I was able to learn some Spanish. Some memorable aspects of that experience were learning how to share the Gospel in Spanish, and learning basic words to get around in Peru.

I believe all of these experiences, both formal and informal, were memorable because they impacted me in some way. It’s interesting that many of the things that impacted me were hands on, like going to a French restaurant, going to China, or going to Peru. However, some of the things that impacted me were due to my teachers’ teaching styles and the content of what they were teaching. Learning language from some of my friends and/or tutoring students impacted me because it was a sharing of knowledge, a relational bond, and a way to share our lives with each other.

At this point I really have no memories and impressions of my teacher training program, for I am just starting. Though I must say, I am enjoying this introductory TESL course very much – especially the material we are covering. The textbooks have some great content, and I really feel impacted by what I’m learning. Through this course I am realizing how much I lack self-awareness in my teaching. However, I am beginning to open my eyes. Now, when I tutor my students I think about: “Why did I do/say that?”, and “How can I teach my students so that they will truly learn?” These thoughts are not coming to me as often as they should, but they are more prevalent now than ever before!

I have taught various things in the past and present, so now I will talk about memories and impressions of those experiences. For the sake of space, I will focus on my ESL teaching experiences. However, if thoughts occur to me about some of my other experiences, I may include them as well. For instance, I remember teaching piano to a couple of elementary school aged children. Unfortunately, though I knew how to play the piano, I really didn’t know how to teach it. I was not trained in piano pedagogy. My piano teacher at that time gave me some hints as to how to get started with beginning piano students, however, I’m afraid I had to improvise quite a bit.

My beginning experiences teaching ESL were rather similar to my teaching piano. I had the guidance of a professor at Virginia Tech who had a PhD in Linguistics, however, he mainly just suggested books for me to use. That was very helpful…but the bulk of the teaching was my responsibility, and I really didn’t know how to start! So, little by little I began. I looked over the lessons in the books before I met with my students, and then just followed each book’s layout until I felt more comfortable branching out on my own. Gradually I became more familiar with the books, and with my students’ needs, and then I was able to be more flexible in my teaching. The fact that my students had some ideas of their own was helpful too. I’ve noticed now that I’ve had a number of students, I’m using ideas I got from one student with another student, and vice versa.

I guess I didn’t start out doing ESL tutoring completely unknowledgeable though…. I took an eighteen hour certification course with a literacy council in Pennsylvania about a year before I started tutoring on my own. I learned some valuable things from that course. One of the things I learned was that the material being taught needs to be relevant. They gave us some good ideas for helping adult ESL learners with basic life skills (or “survival English”).

I like to make learning interesting and fun for my students. I think I’m also kind of “motherly” as a teacher…always making sure my students understand, and checking up on them. I’ve noticed that I almost overly explain things, maybe to the point where my students don’t want to ask questions because I go into too much detail (I’m not sure if they feel that way or not). It’s interesting though, my brother and my father both go into lengthy explanations when I ask them a question about something, and I don’t really like it! Now here I am doing the same thing! I think the biggest things that stand out in my teaching are that I am kind, compassionate, and caring with my students.

I believe second languages are learned best starting at a very young age – preferably pre-school or kindergarten. At that age I don’t think you can really teach much grammar, just practical stuff – mostly vocabulary, and phrases. Later on, when the child is more capable of understanding grammatical concepts, then you can teach grammar and the building blocks of the language. Vocabulary is one of the hardest things to build up, so I really think this should be taught early – so it can grow over the years. During my training at the literacy council I learned about the teaching method of “Total Physical Response.” We watched a video about how a man taught a few basic words in Portuguese to a small group of people just by demonstrating the actions while he said the words, and having the students participate along with him. I thought this was really neat! It seems to be effective, as long as the actions are clear enough for the students to understand what you’re saying. It seems like a really good approach for kinesthetic learners, as well as audio learners. The teacher could easily make it appropriate for visual learners by holding up signs, stating in the language to be learned, what the teacher is saying.

I believe teachers and students both have a critical role in second language learning. The teacher needs to facilitate the learning process in an appropriate way, but the students need to be willing to learn and be taught by themselves, the teacher, and their classmates. I believe the learning process should be interactive, as much as possible. Sitting in straight rows with the teacher doing most of the talking at the front of the room is not the way students will best learn a second language. The students need hands-on practice of the language. They especially need to be able to practice speaking and communicating in the language. I’ve heard many stories from Asians who were hardly ever given the opportunity to practice speaking the language…their teachers just focused on grammar and vocabulary. Now, if the teacher is preparing the students for a particular exam, that makes the situation more difficult. However, the teacher is not doing the student justice if the student arrives in the U.S. or another English speaking country and can’t communicate properly.

B. Critical Analysis

I’m realizing that my conceptions of my prior experiences and beliefs will indeed affect the way I learn and teach in the future. Since my most memorable teachers were fun, friendly, interactive, kind, caring, and compassionate, I hopefully will be the same when I teach. I also know how I don’t want to be: I don’t want to overly cross the line of teacher/friend, I don’t want to do only lecture with no interaction among the students, and I don’t want to press forward with new material if my students are lost in the old material. I think my prior experiences and beliefs shape me as a learner in that I will always be somewhat passive, for that is the style which was prevalent through most of my schooling. I will probably continue to seek the teacher’s approval, as I have in the past, for that behavior was often positively reinforced.

There are a number of dimensions about myself that I recognize in my teaching and learning. Those in my teaching that I would like to maintain are: making sure the student understands, showing the student that I care about them and their culture, being a “mentor” for my students – so they know they can come to me and talk whenever they feel the need to, and being compassionate. Those in my learning I wish to maintain are: having a positive attitude in learning, enjoying learning new things, and continuing to try my best and do well.

The dimensions about myself that I wish to alter in my teaching are: trying so hard to explain things that I explain in too much detail, the need to be more self-aware in my teaching practices, and the need to plan better so that I’m not cheating my students out of a good education (though I know all planning needs to be flexible). As far as the dimensions I would like to alter in my learning: to really soak up the material I am given in class, and not just “do what I have to do to get a good grade,” to stop cramming information into my head for tests, but to absorb it gradually so that I have a better chance of retaining it later on, and to stop trying to please my teachers, for I must realize that I can’t please everybody.

Now for the dimensions about teaching and learning that represent my greatest challenges. For teaching: to have self-confidence and win the respect of my students (I usually feel I have their respect, but I usually attain it in a humble way – kind of different, but not necessarily bad), discipline and control in the classroom (and speaking up when need be, like with the Hispanic guys I mentioned in one of my Reaction papers), and feeling more prepared to teach (I feel I need more training, more guidance…sometimes I feel I’m improvising too much…). For learning: to learn with an open mind and heart, and not be judgmental, to try to work around any pre-existing biases, and to have the desire to want to take in as much new knowledge as I can.

C. Application

I believe the best learning incident that encapsulates me as a learner is when I did a very big project for Mr. Shockey’s Social Studies class. The project itself was large, but I made it even larger. We had to cut out large letters that we made into a word that was relevant to the Civil War time period. Then, on each letter we had to do some research of and drawing of something that fit that particular letter during the Civil War era. Example: U – Union soldiers (we would then write a bit about Union soldiers on the letter and do some drawings). This was a very interesting project for me, for at that time in my life I had a love for the Civil War time period. One reason I had this love was due to the book “Gone with the Wind.” Though in my principles I don’t support slavery, I was caught up in the romanticism of the South (at least the way it was portrayed in that book). So for this project I did the letters: “GONE WITH THE WIND.”

This encapsulates me as a learner because I am very thorough with my work, often going “beyond the call of duty.” I forget what the required number of letters was for that project, but “GONE WITH THE WIND” far exceeded the requirement. But I enjoyed it…for it was special and meaningful to me. Plus, it was unique. It certainly got Mr. Shockey’s attention! (Here comes that “pleasing the teacher” issue again….) Mr. Shockey was so impressed (and by this time we had developed a nice friendship), that he hung the letters on the wall above his blackboard and kept it there until he retired. Every year when his new students had to do that project, he would tell them a story about me. But really, I don’t always do this kind of thing to “suck up.” In fact, that’s usually not my intention at all. I just enjoy doing my best. I love the rewarding feeling I get when I know I put my all into something…like this paper!

The rewarding feeling I get is worthwhile in and of itself…however, it is improved when someone else recognizes the hard work I’ve done. I think part of these attitudes come from the fact that I’m a baby/only child (my brother is 12 years older than me). Because of that, I’m used to getting a lot of attention and pleasing people. I often try to please my parents…thankfully they’re not too demanding! So I feel my “people pleasing” attributes are rooted in my place in my family. However, I feel this “Gone with the Wind” project reflects my conceptions of me as a learner because it shows that I often try my best and put all my effort into what I do (especially academically). It also shows that I enjoy learning what is important and meaningful to me…therefore I should always keep this in mind when I am teaching others. (

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