Oasis Tutoring Experience

Education is a crucial tool in developing the skills needed to go throughout life. From the time we are born, we are constantly learning. Our parents try to teach us words, shapes and colors, but our true education starts in kindergarten. At this time we are learning many things that we will use for the rest of our lives. These essential skills that we learn in the early years of our education are what help us to excel in the future. The basic knowledge of certain topics can easily be expanded upon. What we learn throughout our elementary education becomes the building blocks for our future. The people that are responsible for this imperative type of learning are elementary school teachers. Deciding a future for myself is becoming a pressing matter, and the career that I can see myself enjoying most is an elementary school teacher. I was intrigued by the tasks completed by elementary school teachers, and the value they have for the future. Without them, our future generations may not have the best education that they

My five-year hiatus from college has allowed me to discover which direction I want to steer my life toward, and I have ascertained that it is within the realm of educational counseling. My efforts to obtain a Master’s of Educational Counseling will help me to develop and hone tangible counseling skills, and to promote and inspire under-served youth to utilize education for their own personal achievement.

After working in and educational environment where the students are unemployed or underemployed, I went back to get a Psychology degree to see what made the students think and do as they did. Then after that, I wanted to obtain my masters in Adult Education, since I enjoyed facilitating adults for many years. I enrolled in Troy University in October, 2014. I chose curriculum and instruction because I wanted to become more equipped to effectively facilitate adults with the content that they need to learn. The more that I know about the subject, the better I will be to teach the students what they really need to learn on the topic. What makes me happy is when students enroll for the employment and job readiness course and come to class with the goal to help themselves. The show that they want to learn all that they can to better themselves by gaining more skills to enable them to better provide for their family. On the other hand, what makes me sad is when students enroll in the course because they are made to come and then once they come, they don’t try to get involved to better themselves, because they don’t want to be there to help themselves or their family in whatever situation they are currently in. I have a desire to be able to develop my very own curriculum of choice in the future. In the future, I would also like to move to another state and gain more experience with other cultures in an educational

In this course, we were able to work with children at a field site of our choice. I chose to do my field hours at Oasis. Oasis is a wonderful program, and I truly enjoyed my time there. The children at Oasis taught me so much and what we learned in class really helped me further educate them. Many students that volunteered there were not education majors and often did not know how to handle situations with the children. Our course had us study education psychology. This helps deepen the understanding of how a child’s mind works, which is a truly valuable skill to have.

Reflecting back to the tutoring center presentation I feel that it changed my perspective in how I feel about the tutoring center. Before I was scared about intimated of the tutoring center I didn’t know what to expect but know I see it as a way to help me. I felt much comfort and great support while I was listening to the presentation. It seemed to me that everyone involved in the tutoring center is there to help me and do my best to succeed and achieve my academic goals. The overall hours that the tutoring center offers is also a great benefit that can work with anyone’s schedule. Also walk-ins welcome, it just seems they are willing to work with you in everyway possible to better your education at Methodist University. One thing that shocked

While tutoring at Emporia High School, I got to experience what it was like to be in a classroom. During this opportunity, I found out that there are many challenges for teachers. The most challenging aspect was that sometimes students just do not want to listen to you. They do not want to do their work, put away their phone, or stop playing a game on their computer. I learned that sometimes just asking a student to put away their phone is enough, but sometimes you have to take it away so that they will work. Though getting the students to listen is the most challenging aspect, the most rewarding aspect is when the students listen to you and make progress. It is very rewarding to see a student, who did not want to do their work, start doing

Since Dr. Hirsch was a guest of our course’s Student Affairs panel, I already had acquired some information pertaining to his progression through Higher Education. During the nighttime panel, Dr. Hirsch detailed his first position at Community College of Philadelphia as the Coordinator of the Learning Lab. It was the story of his mentor that I felt most connected with. As a young professional, he had not planned for a position within higher education and he was apprehensive about his future career goals. In his position, he found himself taking work home and staying up late at night wondering, “What was the point?” His defining moment came in a meeting with his mentor. She provided him with some hopeful and realistic advice on how to step back from the

Why did you chose this “place” on campus? Which campus did you visit? What other “place” did you consider? Was it on a different campus? Why?

My goal to pursue a career in the field of education has been a part of my plans since my early teen years. From my first summer job to my current position, the majority of my work and volunteer experience has involved counseling and children. To know that I can make a positive impact on a child’s life is rewarding for me. I was enticed to choose school psychology as my career by its varied and challenging nature within an educational setting. The responsibilities of the profession involve, but are not limited to, counseling, testing and assessment, behavioral intervention, and classroom observation.

It’s interesting to me that I’m learning how to teach. The course material I learned in EDUC 2130 gave me a brighter perspective when I observed and mentored children during my field experience. The educational psychology theories and practices opened my eyes to concepts I could identify with at my field experience site. The 20 hours of field experience impacted me in a positive way - intensifying my desire to become a teacher. Mentoring and observing students altered my perception and gave me a better understanding of a teacher’s role in the classroom. It was a necessary task that all educational majors should do.

Upon taking my first psychology course in my Undergraduate studies, I knew the field of psychology was something I was greatly interested in. When it came time to start considering which career path within the field of psychology was the right fit for me, my research lead me to school psychology. During which, I continued to take various psychology courses and discovered that my school was offering a school psychology course, taught be a school psychologist. After only the first week or 2 of the school psychology course, I was hooked. The professor not only brought to life what the field entitled, such as the various assessments and situations one might encounter, but did so by sharing what it is like in a day for a school psychologist.

This is my first semester tutoring at the Reading and Writing Center, and second semester tutoring, and I have to say that becoming a tutor has been one of the best experiences in my life. I have learned so much about others students and the existential problems they face (which is why they come to tutoring.) I have gotten to meet so many new and interesting people along the way, people whom I will keep in my memory forever; and having gone through all of this, I have learned so much about myself and have really grown as a person. The three ‘standout’ things I have learned about myself, however, are: that I am a better listener than I thought; I enjoy being around people and socializing; and I am not a quitter.

My second university experience is occurring at present. I have enrolled in the twelve month Bachelor of Education program to become an elementary teacher. I hope to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts much to my family’s surprise. From day one we have been educated on the pitfalls of the current education system. We have been guided to examine the system, the purpose of school and the hidden curriculum with a critical eye. We have been encouraged to promote democratic and enacted learning, to take brain breaks and we have been taught that the brain is incapable of learning when it is in a stressed state. We have seen wonderful examples of teachers modeling enacted learning and by no means do I mean my comments to be disrespectful of any instructor.

The following paper is a reflection of the experiences and life lessons that ultimately led me to choose a teaching career in mathematics. Of the many experiences that contributed to my desire to become a teacher, tutoring high school students who struggled with math, and hearing my mother’s stories about the rewards of teaching were my greatest sources of inspiration for becoming a teacher. As a student tutor, I witnessed students who lacked self-confidence find hope and pride in their newly acquired abilities through their practice and determination. During this tutoring experience I not only earned the respect of the students, but I gained a sense of purpose for my future. In addition to these short-term rewards like respect and purpose, the success stories my mother (a chemistry professor) shared about the rewards of teaching provided additional motivation for me to become a teacher. These stories consisted of students achieving success in their career fields after taking one of her chemistry courses. Above anything else, my mother found the most rewarding part of teaching was the opportunity to help students develop the life-long skills that ultimately lead to a student’s success outside of school. Thus, it is from these experiences tutoring high school students and my mother’s stories of the long term rewards of teaching, that provide me the passion to become a math teacher.

"Wait! What are you saying?" as I stood there in incredulity as my high school math teacher told me I failed her class. Screaming, crying and fighting ran through my mind simultaneously; instead, I calmed myself and gathered my thoughts about what to do next. A deep breath oozed out of my mouth and someone said, "You can always go to summer school!" In that instant, my dreams seemed to come out of the grayscale color they quickly changed into, and back to the vibrant full-scale spectrum of vast colors that I envisioned for my future. I succeeded in summer school, followed by a bachelor 's degree and some years later, two master degrees. My appetite for teaching and learning has led me to chase my dream of being able to inscribe Dr. before my name. I have cultivated a deep desire to lead in curriculum planning and the delivery of instruction in order to reach all students; especially special needs, slow learners and at risk students.