Deandra Nicole

SpongeBob CommaPants Final Project

Ever since I was in high school, I have been passionate about teaching young children. There were schools that I’ve attended where I didn’t experience great characteristics from teachers, specifically in elementary school. Elementary school is the foundation and first initial start to a child’s learning experience. Bringing warmth, patience, and understanding to the classroom is what I aspire to utilize in my first class. My qualifications include years of working with elementary students, and I currently attend Longwood University wanting to earn a degree in Liberal Studies with a minor in Music. My most recent teaching experience was when I observed 3^rd graders at Pocahontas Elementary School, and obtained a maximum of 30 hours.  I learned to interact with the students, and used arts and crafts to make their learning experience memorable. Within one semester of school, I learned different teaching techniques to make the classroom experience fun!

In the first data set, I decided to use a line chart to show the stock prices of food companies within a month. The food places include: Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Taco Bell (YUM!). In America, fast food restaurants are extremely popular, and an easy target to spend money. There are many research papers, articles and documentaries on fast food restaurants in the U.S. I chose three places that are near my home to conduct my chart. A line chart works best, because it visually shows the stock company’s prices from greatest to least. Specifically, it shows the close mark, which is the period at the end of the trading season or the closing price. 

After graduation, I plan to move to a different state to teach elementary students, so I decided to analyze states’ estimated population between the years 2015-2017. Although I prefer to teach in rural areas, population tends to be greater in the city. Additionally, population is important because there will be more schools available that I can apply to. I chose six states in which I want to possibly teach, and used a bar graph chart to clean the data. This chart works best, because it is organized and one can easily understand the meaning of the chart. The population estimations show that California’s population was the greatest out of the six states. The links to both graphs is below, and shows the estimated population for all 50 states.

https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/wen/historical

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2017_PEPANNRES&src=pt

When I transferred to Longwood, I was a music major with a concentration in Choral Studies. During my first year I took the prerequisite classes to get into the education program, but decided to drop down to the minor and change my major to Liberal Studies. I chose to keep my music minor, because it is what I eventually want to teach. I’ve been actively involved in music since I was 5 years old, and apart of choir since I was 10 years old. The classes I enrolled in to complete my minor enhanced my reading and writing skills in music. I took voice lessons for a year in which I learned how to take care of the voice, and correctly use my instrument. I developed ear training skills, which helped me to hear pitches correctly in solo and group performances. I learned to conduct, and sing in German, French and Italian through some of the courses listed below. I added Human Growth and Development, because it explained the growth of infants to adolescents and between K-12 are the grade levels I wish to teach.

Expert Identity Courses:

• Music Theory 1 and 2
• Sightsinging 1 and 2
• Voice Lessons
• Choir
• Diction 1 and 2
• Intro to Music Education
• Performance Observation
• Education 245- Human Growth and Development

I’ve always wanted to become a teacher, but was unsure of what I should teach. Throughout middle and high school, I began taking music courses to familiarize myself on the history of music. I learned to read, write and perform music and thus it influenced me to major in music once I started college. I held numerous leadership roles in my classes such as being section leader of my voice part. While serving as a section leader, I taught music to my peers while giving constructive feedback on errors I noticed throughout the pieces. Furthermore, my philosophy on leadership is to take initiative based on how others feel, too. As section leader, I was always open to new strategies and concepts that benefitted the entire group. Allowing myself to connect with my peers, made me more confident as a leader because I was openminded and hearing their feedback helped me to enhance my teaching skills. Although I only have a minor in music, I still remain active in music on campus. As President of my music organization, my leadership philosophy of including my friends’ ideas into a beneficial one that serves a purpose for all remains prevalent.

When I was 17, I got my first job as a lifeguard at Water Country USA. It was my first year, and my supervisors were already impressed with my work effort. I trained new employees on the job and proceeded to switch to a different department to develop cooking skills. Within the three years in the culinary department, I became certified to teach food safety to incoming employees. My philosophy was still the same; I was more interested in others’ opinions because I’m aware that my leadership skills should sometimes reflect a little more than my co-workers. Specifically, if an employee lacks skill in one area, I can work with them to enhance that skill. At my current job, I carry the same leadership skills. Although I am no longer a music education major, I hope to acquire my leadership skills in whatever job position I hold. I believe in unity, and teamwork as being the main forces to having a successful career.

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Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world, yet, it is underrated. More specifically, the topic that sparks teacher conversations is professionals in the field being underpaid. Ever since I started my degree towards becoming a teacher, I have not met one person who didn’t bring up the “lack of money” issue. It’s hard to constantly hear that I won’t be able to provide for myself, and that I should focus my degree towards a profession where I will feel comfortable. I planned to teach in primary schools, but is taking a different route, because I don’t feel completely ready to teach. I also have a minor in music, and want that to be my main focus in the classrooms as well. Although most teachers are underpaid, teaching is something I truly enjoy. Furthermore, teachers from different schools have began to protest wages being significantly low, and their lack of resources. I support their efforts, and hope that with time their voices are heard. I understand their frustration, because teaching isn’t easy. It’s a process, and the ground foundation that supports and nurtures future teachers or children who have a passion for a certain profession or job.

https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2018-12-04/teachers-launch-first-strike-at-charter-school-network