Link for Bar Graph:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vToUHczEMVdkHHx-tGY1xewVcOpcijPKQqevzuZS1c4r-pi4MWZ3WUGuWRj8Daq2bX1_Dv_Y9G_itJ7/pubchart?oid=347398917&format=interactive

Link for Pie Chart:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vToUHczEMVdkHHx-tGY1xewVcOpcijPKQqevzuZS1c4r-pi4MWZ3WUGuWRj8Daq2bX1_Dv_Y9G_itJ7/pubchart?oid=1013931792&format=interactive

Link for Data:

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF

The data collected above is from the zip code area of Farmville. This is data covering the households and families in the Farmville location during 2010. This information is sorted into main subjects, then subtitles. Therefore, to make the data more clear and clean, majority of the subtitles were deleted. This narrowed my graphs to focus on the main subjects.

Furthermore, I deleted the percent column and focused my charts on the overall number column. This held narrow down my data further and gave me cleaner charts. The pie chart is titled housing for zip code 23901. It has the subjects color coded with the colors in the diagram. This allows viewers to understand the data with a visual representation. The bar chart is titled housing for zip code 23901. It has the subjects on the left side, aligned with the bar length it represents. This is a clear visual representation of the data in a bar graph.

Overall, the pie and bar graph are great resources for viewing complex data. It is possible to break the information down further and into more specific subjects than just subtitles. This gives the viewers an overall collection of the information with a visual and table method approach.

I am writing from the position of a special education teacher. In this position, I assist students through their everyday life by teaching them basic life skills. I am also responsible for teaching students the curriculum needed to pass the grade level they are in with satisfactory. For my academic preparation, I need to have basic knowledge and structure on the material I am preparing for my students ahead of time. It is important to be prepared to teach students lessons who will have questions or not understand the material I am providing them.

My personal philosophy on leadership and work comes from my attitude and the example I set out for my students. If I am positive and continuously ready to work towards an assignment, that behavior I am demonstrating will rub off on other students to have the same mind set. My example as a teacher matters to my students! They will be influenced by my actions, my words, and my lessons through my attitude. I am responsible for their well-being by giving them my full attention and respect. This will help them become respectable leaders themselves one day.

I worked as a hostess at a restaurant called Chilis. Everyday I went into work with a positive attitude because I wanted to make good money. However, my money depended on the servers and what they would tip me out that day. Therefore, I had the same philosophy on leadership and work today as I did then. I would help my fellow employees work hard by showing them a positive attitude and motivate them to work hard. I would do this by encouraging them through words or busting their tables fast, so I could seat them with new customers. It is important to have a good attitude while working as a hostess, server, or in a more professional setting as a teacher. Every job requires hard work and professional philosophies to make it through each shift.

Current Event

Last night I watched the news and they announced the city of Lynchburg’s 2017 Standards Of Learning (SOL) test scores. In all academic subjects the SOL scores dropped lower in the year of 2017 than in the year of 2016.  This relates to my academic interest because I want to a special education teacher. I do not agree with teaching to a standardized test because of the pressure it adds to both students and teachers. I feel as if teachers are educating their students at a faster rate because of these test. If a student is struggling or not understanding a specific subject, there is no time to sit down with them and cater to their needs. Also, teachers do not have the opportunity to teach outside the curriculum because of these restricting test. There are important lessons students could  learn through a teacher but will not have these opportunities.  I attached this video about teachers pushing to reduce standardized testing because it interviews teachers on the topic. Many teachers feel as if the test do not actually reflect what the students are learning. I think it is great to not eliminate testing but reduce them because that can decrease the pressure on both students and teachers.