Introduction Blog

 My Introduction for CI 3310: Priya Clark

About me: 

I am a Texas State Junior and I currently sub at a Montessori school! I love to play the guitar and go hiking when I get a chance. If anyone has any suggestions about where to hike in this area please let me know!

My favorite teacher tik-tok page is @learningwithheidi and this page is awesome because she shares so many ideas! My favorite tik-tok she made was with flashbot, it's a fun and creative way for children to learn phonemic awareness!

Why teach?:

Teaching is not something that I have always wanted to do. When I was younger I always wanted to be a singer or a dancer, but as I started getting older I realized how much of an impact teachers can make on their students' lives, kind of similar to being a performer who impacts their audience. My dad had a job where we had to move every 2 to 3 years, and while I didn't know it at the time it greatly impacted my learning experience. While my parents did everything in their power to keep me on track with my peers, I still felt behind when I would go to class. When I came to this realization, I found that there was a way that I could help children that felt the way I felt, and that was by being a teacher. While I was still unsure of my decision to become a teacher, I started working at a Montessori school in Tennessee and discovered that this was the thing I was meant to do. I was really able to connect with students and help them in ways that I wish I was helped in when I was younger. When I came to college I found another school to work part-time at and I loved it! Making children feel special and feel like they are on the same page as their peers make me so happy and I am excited to further my education to become the teacher I always wanted for my students.

Educational Aims:

When I first decided to become a teacher, there were many things that raced through my mind, why do I want to do this? Where will I teach? Will I be a good teacher for my students? I have had a lot of experience thankfully that helped me answer some of these questions. When I first started, I worked with elementary-aged children and that is the age group I thought I wanted to teach. I loved doing math equations with them, helping them to read and write, and my favorite thing was to help them problem solve. While I thought elementary was going to be my end all be all, I started working with toddlers. This age group was of course challenging, but I liked the challenge. I loved how eager they were to learn and how everything in the world was so new to them, they were like little sponges that soaked up every piece of information that you gave to them. I loved doing dance parties and storytimes with this age group because they still had so much fun going to school! Although I loved working with them, something didn't feel right to me, it felt like I could do more. After that, I started working with ages 3-6 and this is where I thrived. I had my own classroom for an entire summer and I loved creating lesson plans for them to do each week, my favorite thing is when we worked on tracing their letters and numbers because they were so proud of the work they did! When we would do storytime, I loved their imagination and how they could express everything they were thinking while reading, unlike the toddlers. I am excited to expand my knowledge on how to better teach and engage students in learning because it is truly my passion.