Running Head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY #1 1

Autobiographical Essay #1

Shaina Lynch

EDUC 201 001W

Carol Billings

January 29, 2017

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Autobiographical Essay #1

Educational Background

The ways that a child can learn are many and varied. I first attended elementary school in

southern California, at Justin Elementary. There I learned to make friends and socialize, to

navigate to school and back, and place proper milk orders with the cafeteria for the class. We

moved across town, and I was bussed to Madera Elementary. I made daisy chains, a boy had a

crush on me, and I played Chinese jump rope with my girlfriends. I can’t recall any lessons,

except for our course in square dancing and making pumpkin bread in a coffee can. Secondary

school is much easier to recall in terms of academic learning and progress. I really loved to write

in journals, I loved to impress teachers with hard work and diligence in class. My hand was

always up to answer a question. High school in the next town over was more difficult.

At Moorpark High I was lost at first. My family had money but no style, we were not

flashy. I did not fit in with my class. I preferred the company of adults, especially my parents.

They owned an antique store, enjoyed reading, watching classic movies, architecture, and

history. My parents shared memories and engaged me during the day, and wherever we went.

That sparked my love of learning more than any teacher had so far, it was my specialized

learning experience. In sophomore year I switched to the Independent Studies program run solely

by Mr. Mozlin. He was short, bright red, eccentric homosexual Jewish man and proud of it. He

called me his shana punum (Yiddish for “pretty face”). He put me to work as his teacher aide,

and personal masseuse. He had a debilitating condition I never quite understood. He had brain

surgery and always went to the chiropractor. Often I would step into class to see him sprawled

out asleep on the floor. He would jump up and say” You doll you made it! Can you rub my

shoulders right here?”

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From Mr. Mozlin I learned about tolerance, love, and empathy. He was just eager to

share his knowledge and time with you. Teachers and other students were so hard on him, and

tried to label him for the way he acted. Mr. Mozlin assigned things based on your interests (it

helped if he was interested too)! I read a lot of Greek Mythology, and completed a lot of book

reports. He made me do a report on the history of make-up (I think because he wanted to know)

and biographies on classic movie stars. The greatest impression he made on me as an educator

was that you have to love what you do, and do what is right for your students no matter what.

Defend them from those who would detract from their successes and take pride in them. The

principal told him we could not attend the regular graduation, and would have no ceremonies. He

cussed and swore, and I though he was going to explode. He got us our own private graduation

ceremonies at a fancy hotel. I was his valedictorian. He was my hero. That’s what I want to be

now, someone’s hero. I did not go to college until last year, when I started at CWI for summer

session (20 years to the month I left his class). I wish I could tell him.

Work History Service and/or Extracurricular Activities

I started at Kmart when I was 16 and was a supervisor by 17. Per one of my manager

friends, I was going to be manager but then they pulled out my file and realized I was not even

18. I have a knack for organization and leadership. My experiences there taught me age is just a

number. You can command respect and trust based on your knowledge and attitude, and the trust

and respect you give to others. It is presence. I monitored the front registers, trained personnel,

ran the front desk and layaway departments. When they closed I worked at Hallmark, where I

learned to work for a taskmaster, and to stand up for myself when I was over worked and under

paid. At Sears I was told the perfume/purse department was never so organized and well stocked

as when I was in charge of it. Customers loved me, and coworkers loved me. Going above and
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beyond has been a theme in my work experience. I hope someday to impress students with my

hard work and dedication to them.

My first tentative steps out of the retail world and into the office world did not come until

I was in my mid-twenties. I had been a stay at home mom for 7 years and being fresh from a

divorce I needed to hit the ground running. My uncle ran a large same day courier service and

since the job was thankless and full of abuse, he always had openings in customer service. You

are promising to pick up and deliver packages in the busy southern California roadways in a 2-

hour window. You can imagine how often that does not happen. On your desk, aside from the

phone duties, you had a walkie talkie linked to 100 drivers. From this device all sorts of harsh

and foul epitaphs spewed from frustrated, angry, underpaid couriers who need to be placated in

order to complete their mission. If you did not do that, the phone rang and you got it from the

other end. I learned to diffuse situations by providing guidance and suggestions in a calm

manner. I had to mediate between drivers and dispatchers, customers and managers, accounts

receivables and accounts payables. I remember my ringtone at the time, “Under Pressure” by

David Bowie and Queen.

My longest employment stint was the eight years I spent as customer service lead at Hely

& Weber Orthopedic and Sports Medicine. They are an orthopedic soft goods

manufacturer/distributor. We dealt with professionals in the medical field and helped them with

accounts, orders, pricing, instructions, products, returns, and anything they needed to know. I

was the “go to girl” in the office for anything that was important that needed to be done. I trained

new employees, helped form company policy, and inspired others to get along in different

departments. Customers, sales reps, coworkers, and bosses were beyond pleased with my work
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ethic and knowledge of my duties. All of these traits are useful in the field of education. Know

your job, be approachable, and lead the way.

Ethical Reasoning in Education

The first thing that came to mind on the topic of ethics and teaching was inspired by the

news, unfortunately. The most striking violations of ethical reasoning are when a teacher has an

inappropriate relationship with a student. It is either increasing in occurrence or being more

widely reported. Lately it is female teachers preying on male students by developing romantic

relationships. A teacher, male or female, has an obligation to create an atmosphere where

students thrive and learn in a safe environment, free form harassment.

I would urge a teacher who is unsure or suspects their interactions are too intimate to

pause and reflect on why they wanted to become a teacher in the first place. Most likely it was

altruistic. Was it to make a positive impact in the world? To give back to their community? To

share in the shaping of young minds and prepare them for life? I am absolutely sure no one

dedicated their lives to teaching to use it as a dating service or to prop up their ego. Teachers

need to be selfless and sacrifice the urge to become too involved for the good of the student and

themselves. It is their duty to the child and society.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

There were a few things that caused me to consider teaching history to high schoolers. I

get along well with older children and have a passion for building them up. I feel I must let them

know they are not forgotten because they are not “cute” anymore, or sweet, or innocent. This

desire comes from my close relationship with my parents and how it fell apart as I became more

difficult as an older teenager. I know that is a very tough time to love a child, but it is when they

need it the most. I want to make class memorable for them, and meaningful. That is why I
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choose to teach history to children that are in high school. They are the ones about to make

history themselves.

People always tell me I should either be a teacher or a writer. I am organized,

knowledgeable, trustworthy, respectable, approachable, positive, funny, and understanding. I

have shown these traits throughout my working career and in my life with friends and family. I

think teaching is best as a career, and if my stories and fun anecdotes about history can bring it to

life for students then that is a bonus. Writing for me is not a career, but I can utilize it in my

chosen field and that satisfies me. Teaching is the perfect occupation for me and I do not see

myself doing anything else.

Professional Goals

Currently I am attending the College of Western Idaho to obtain my AA in Secondary

Education with an emphasis on Social Science. This is my third semester, I started June of last

year in summer session. In the next six months I will finish my current set of classes which

include Education 201 and 202, Philosophy, Macroeconomics, and Math 095. Once completed I

will register for summer session and I plan to take History 111, Sociology, and Math 143. When

I complete all my courses at CWI sometime in 2018, I will transfer to Boise State University and

continue there to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree. I may start working and then prepare for a

Masters, but I am not positive. I can’t see that deeply into my crystal ball yet.

Once I start teaching I will want to focus solely on the task at hand. I will continue to

learn from my coworkers, mentors, and of course the students will help round out the learning

curve. I don’t ever want to stop learning. I believe knowledge is power, the power to feel

confident and instill the confidence of others. My educational experience and work experience,

life, has taught me I have the power to be an influential person in the lives of others.