Snapshot of Me

 

My name is Taylor Chism.  I am a recent graduate of Indiana University and now working to become an elementary teacher.   I came into college with no clue what I wanted to do.  I was registered for classes as a pre-nursing student at the University of Kentucky.  I liked those classes and school, but nursing was not for me. I transferred a few times and changed my major until I found my right fit and a place I could call home.  I started Indiana University my junior year and began my journey being an elementary education major.  I found the classes more interesting than nursing, and I finally felt like I made the right decision.  The classes were just as challenging as nursing, but in a different way.  Instead of doing all tests, I was now working on papers and projects.  Each and every one of my classes helped shape my educational experience at Indiana University.  Some of them helped me realize what subjects I was not a huge fan of, and some classes showed me what I might want to consider doing for a Masters.  I even received a reward from one of my classes.  I love to travel so the geography was not very difficult for me.  I found out that I had the best grade in that class for the whole semester out of all the people taking the course. That award was one of my highest achievements in college besides graduating. I thought that college would be impossible when coming out of high school, but I learned fast that it is not that hard.  I also learned that in order to be successful I had to be organized, on top of things, and plan things out.  I loved my college experience and would not change anything. 

            I have already mentioned that I love to travel.  I have traveled all over the United States and also to Europe and Asia.  As I have traveled I have learned about many different global issues, but also issues facing not only this country, but others as well.  I have learned a lot from being able to see other countries, and one of my goals as a teacher is to make students more knowledgeable about the world around them. In my own classroom I like to bring the outside world into the classroom by taking the time to talk about current affairs.  Depending on the age level depends on what I will talk about.  I understand my students might hear things that has happened around the world.  I want to explain to them the issues, and have them ask questions.  I want to ensure that they are not scared, but informed.  With younger kids I really watch what I talk to them about, but with older kids there is more stories that can be covered.  I also like for students to journal about their thoughts.  After talking to the class, sometimes it is nice to have them write down their feelings and thoughts about what we have talked about.  I might even introduce a video if the video is age appropriate.  Every time I bring a new concept up I try to connect it to the students.  I sometimes talk about kids their age to get them to see in that perceptive, or I try to relate the place that I am talking about to their home and community.  The last thing I do is explain why it is important to learn about these issues.  I want them to know that in order to be good global citizens we have to know what it happening in the world.  I am a social studies concentration and believe that global awareness is extremely important and that kids need to know about the world they live in.  The world is a wonderful teaching tool.