Hi, my name is Grace Flynn. I was
born in Wilmington, North Carolina on June 19, 1994. I lived there for about a
year then moved to Corning, New York. I lived there for about 8 years before my
dad got a new job in Connecticut. I spend 6 years here before job complications
caused my dad to find a new job in Maryland. I spent all of high school at
Broadneck Senior High School in Annapolis, Maryland. I love Annapolis so much,
it’s such a beautiful town and really allowed me to turn into the person I am
today. Through high school I spent a lot of time babysitting, lifeguarding, and
working at the church down the street. One of the families that I babysat for had a
child with autism. This allowed me to really work with a special education
student. For the past 2 summers I have worked as a lifeguard at Chase Creek (a
small community pool), because the pool was so small I got to spend a lot of
time with the little kids that belonged there and had the chance to work with
them every day. At the church I worked in the Sunday school and helped my dad
teach a class of 12 second graders. I also helped form the new middle school
and high school program through the youth group. Through the past 4 years I have
really found that my passion is working with children.
Here at Edinboro University I am
studying Early and Special Education. When I am done at school I will be able
to teach both early education with kindergarten through fourth grade and
special education kindergarten through eighth grade. Right now I am a freshman
just getting my feet wet in the education program. I am excited to start and
see if I really want to choose a career working with kids.
Technology in the classroom is
something I have mixed feelings about. While I think that the smart boards and I
pads are useful for a lot of lesson plans and games that kids will enjoy being engaged
in I think that there is a lot to learn from books. There is never going to be
anything that can replace a book. I think that kids need a book in their hands
to fully grasp reading. They can use their fingers to follow the text and turn
the pages using fine motor skills and then they get the self-satisfactory of
closing that last page and shutting the book when they complete the story. The technology
that I find useful are the smart boards for learning games that allow kids to
become even more involved and excited about learning. Technology in the
classroom also allows more students to become more successful with learning by incorporating
different learning styles that work better for them. by creating games and
different presentations it keeps attention while lectures and overheads might
have been boring to many students.
I think that teaching is the most
rewarding career. Teachers help to mold students into the people they will
become. Students have a lot of influences and to be able to make a positive influence
is the most rewarding feeling. Teaching is about more than standing in front of
kids and teaching them what the books say, it’s about teaching them social,
emotional, physical and mental skills to make them successful in their future.
Nice page and layout. You seem to have a lot of enthusiasm with choosing education, and your view on incorporating technology is very important and is key today. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt's really cool that you had the chance to work with kids with autism. I also used to teach sunday school, but i think we only ever had like 5 kids in the class. I like where you stand on text boks and technology too. I like some of the old teaching methods compare to the new ones with technology. :)
ReplyDeleteYour blog is quite colorful and nice to look at. I do wonder, however, why you chose that video to include. Perhaps some context explaining the video might have been nice. Not a bad blog, though.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is really bright and colorful and has a nice layout. It seems that you are really passionate about working with kids, so it makes sense that you would choose to go into education.
ReplyDeleteMy major is also early childhood education. I think its really awesome that you had the chance to work with autism. that really allows you to be more open-minded when it comes to special needs children. And i too agree that nothing can replace a book. Stories are more exciting when they're in your hands.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the movie "Freedom Writers"! It's so inspirational and heartwarming. I really like the set up of your blog post. Very neat and concise, and colorful as well. It was very nice to read your input on technology in the classroom today, and, you're right, technology can't really replace what can be learned by reading a book. I found your opinion very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love how your blog is so bright and colorful! It makes it fun to look at. You also are very concise in what you are saying. I love how you have the experience that you have. It helps to shape you as a person. I agree with you one hundred percent on that children and people in general need the satisfaction of shutting a book to know that they have accomplished something. The trailer you posted seems like a really good movie! I will have to check it out! :)
ReplyDeleteFreedom Writers is such a good movie! You seem like a very optimisitc person after every move you experienced (which could not have been easy). I think it's great how you discovered your passion to work with children in the future!
ReplyDelete