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Samantha Watts Professor Amy Piotrowski LAE 3333 16 September 2013 Reflective Essay I come from a background of storytellers. My whole family has a way of weaving elaborate stories out of simple events, a talent that can sometimes serve as more of an annoyance to the listeners. My father is especially known for his way of relaying an event, whether it is true or false, and keeping the listener enamored throughout the entire experience. My Father and I once had a woman convinced that a cousin had been unable to attend Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the family because of a rattlesnake bite. We told her that the snake bite had caused a 105 degree fever, and that the said family members left leg had nearly been amputated as a result of the bite. The falsity of our story was only revealed when I mentioned how unusual it was that the cousins leg had been so affected by the venom when the snake had in fact bitten her in the arm. It is through this type of elaborate speaking that I was able to begin developing proficiency in my writing style. My fifth grade teacher, Ms. Mace, was the first to notice that I had considerable skill and enthusiasm for writing. She encouraged me and provided me with plenty of positive feedback to bolster my confidence in writing. Ms. Mace even took it upon herself to compile a portfolio of all of my writing assignments, and guided me in my audition for LaVilla School of the Arts, a

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middle school that was also part of the citys magnet program. After being accepted into the Creative Writing program, I spent my entire middle school career immersed in the art of writing. I learned about and wrote all sorts of poetry, including but not limited to sonnets, free verse, and various others. I wrote screen plays, short stories, free writes, articles, and composition entries. I even auditioned for and participated in a few Coffee Houses, events hosted by the Creative Writing Program in which students were given the opportunity to share their written works in front of an audience. My introduction to writing was a plethora of experiences and learning, and vastly improved my skills, while also serving to humble me as I was surrounded by incredibly talented individuals. When I first started middle school I didnt even know how to use a comma, and it took me at least a year to fully comprehend a thesis statement. My journey with writing was not easy. I struggled vastly with certain concepts, and although I had been one of the best writers in elementary school, I was greatly out skilled by my peers in Middle School. I was no longer the best, and this was a hard lesson for me to learn. I had never before struggled, or been truly challenged by writing. But it was through these challenges that I was able to hone my abilities in writing. I know what it is to struggle with something, and to not understand simple subjects that make sense to everyone else. However, I believe that this struggle will enhance my abilities as a teacher, because I understand what the student is going through. I get that writing an academic paper can be boring and tedious, and thesis statements trip me up to this day.

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I can instruct my future students in a way that is understanding of their predicament, whether they hate writing or love it. I think one issue that some teachers can experience is a sense of naivety, thinking that all students will enjoy the subject as much as they do, and being disheartened when the students dont share in their reverence. I have personally had to instruct students who would have rather been anywhere but with me, although instead of teaching writing I was instructing swim lessons. Although swimming and writing are two very different things, when looked at from the instructors perspective they share one important trait: they must be taught in a way that is understood by all of the students. I have been instructing swim lessons for three summers now, and I have experienced a varied amount of students. I have taught pupils that are natural swimmers, students that have ability but need a push to find it, and students that refuse to enter the water. My first summer as a swim instructor I had the pleasure of teaching a summer camp every morning, Monday thru Thursday. I had many of the same students for the entire six week session, and so was able to build relationships with them individually. One boy will always stick out in my memory, mainly for what he taught me. Swimming was a struggle for him. He was six years old, and very small. He was afraid of going into the water alone and every day for four weeks I would have to gently guide him off of the wall and support his body while he kicked his feet. I will admit, teaching this boy to swim was very frustrating. All of the other children were already swimming on their own, no longer terrified of the waters depths, and he still struggled with a simple back float. I wanted him to be able to swim, to at least try to move on his own, and finally on the fifth week it happened. I stood a foot

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away from him in the water, my arms outstretched for him to swim into just like I had every other morning for the past four weeks. Except this time, when I beckoned him to come to me, practically begging him by this point, he took the leap. Pushing himself off of the wall he swam to me, and in that moment I could have cried with pure joy. After that he didnt need to hold onto me anymore. He even jumped off of the diving board into eleven feet of water, swimming to the wall completely calm and unassisted. This experience is so special to me because it taught me one of the most important traits a teacher can have: patience. I just knew that I had to wait until he was ready, and I had to give him the time to get to that point. He wasnt being difficult to bother me or annoy me, or even to show a general distaste of swimming. He was just struggling and needed patience and understanding until he had a better grasp of the subject. No matter what the teacher is teaching, be it math, science, reading, writing, or in my case, swimming, all subjects require the same form of instruction. Instruction that is conducive to learning and patient to all learners despite their attitudes or aptitudes. When instructing a class, there needs to be an understanding that not everyone is going to be great at writing, and some will always struggle, regardless of however skilled the instruction may be. As teachers we cannot promise all of our students proficiency, but we can offer them understanding and support. I believe that this is very important, especially in regards to writing. As time continues, our societys way of writing and communicating through the written word will change. Shakespeare is a perfect example of this, as the language used in his works is modern English,

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and is incredibly hard to understand by todays standards of expression. Writing is fluid, and can encompass a large number of mediums. As instructors, this needs to be understood, so that we can instruct in a way that is aware of all writing methods and the importance of appropriateness. When I teach writing, I plan on keeping these things in mind. I will strive to remain patient to all my students, and remember that there were subjects that I was not overly enthused over when I was a student. I think that as a teacher it is important to remember yourself as a learner, so that you can empathize with students, and never forget yourself. I always had the feeling that certain teachers in my high school career had forgotten themselves. They had become burdened over time with teaching so many students, and had forgotten what it was like to be new, seeing and struggling with the information for the first time. Teachers need to remember that every new class of students they get is just that, new. They are a clean slate, and should be looked at as such, without the smudges of past experiences. I always had the feeling that some teachers saw me as a smudge, as just another face passing through, and as a future teacher I hope to avoid ever reaching that point. Teaching is so much more than a job or a paycheck. Teaching is about interacting with students, and hopefully serving as a positive influence in their lives. Especially when teaching writing, we are teaching expression, both new and old forms. The ability to express ones thoughts and opinions is a powerful skill to have, and the importance of this lesson I hope to never forget.

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