Autobiographical Essay 1

Autobiographical Essay

Aaron J Young

College of Western Idaho

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Abstract

The purpose of my autobiographical essay is to provide others with a profile of myself as

a potential future educator. This is accomplished first by providing a background of my own

educational background and work history. Following my background is an example of my

understanding of ethical reasoning as it applies to a potential ethical dilemma an educator may

encounter. I then explore the skills I have which enable me to work as an educator, or in another

position in the field of education. Finally, I list my specific professional goals.

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I have experienced a turbulent life in education. Though I was reading when I started

kindergarten, thanks to the teachers in my family, I started with speech issues that made my first

couple years of elementary school difficult, both in my studies and interpersonally. I breezed

through high school academically only to perform terribly in college classes. Both my struggles

and successes have shaped my experiences as a student, and informed and framed my goal to

become an educator.

Educational Background

My formal education began in Bellflower, California at Ernie Pyle Elementary where, in

addition to regular classes, I was also required to take speech therapy and English as a Second

Language (ESL) classes. My family relocated to Meridian, Idaho in 1998 where I began seventh

grade at Meridian Middle School, and later attended and graduated from Eagle High School in

2004. After a four-year break, I returned to school at Boise State University in the fall of 2008

where I focused on German language. I attended BSU through 2011, though I struggled to

balance my personal, work and student responsibilities, leading to unsatisfactory grades and the

decision to withdraw from classes. I returned to school again at the College of Western Idaho in

the fall of 2018 to study secondary education. I am currently in my ninth semester of college, and

will complete my Associate’s in secondary education this semester.

Unique Educational Experiences

I come from a mixed Dutch and German family. While my family always insisted on

speaking English both publicly and privately, their accent never completely faded. As a result, I

learned to speak English with a slight accent. Specifically, I struggled to pronounce the “TH”

sound properly, instead pronouncing it like a “D” as my family does. I would also confuse “F”

and “T” sounds and “R” and “L” sounds frequently, requiring my taking a combined speech
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therapy and ESL class. This was a special class of about 20 students in which none of the

other students spoke fluent English, most being native Spanish speakers. This class was

led by a team of three or four instructors who would work with students individually to

address their unique needs in learning to speak English through a combination of

listening and repetition exercises.

There was a certain stigma in taking an ESL class. I knew that I spoke differently

than other students and that those other students laughed at me when I spoke quickly, and

my speech differences became more pronounced. I was, however, able to make friends

with other ESL students. Though I did not begin taking foreign language classes until

high school, this is when I truly began experiencing foreign language and culture. My

experiences with other ESL students and spending time with their families introduced me

to Spanish language and Hispanic culture in a way I otherwise would have missed, and is,

I believe, the single most influential reason I want to teach foreign language.

Contributions to development as an educator

My experiences with ESL gave me a first-hand look at the struggles involved in

learning a language. Learning a language is not only about memorizing vocabulary. Until

fluency is attained, it requires a myriad of considerations such as audience, formality,

grammar, syntax and possession. Above all, you need context and practice to gain

mastery of a new language. As in my ESL classes, hearing the language and speaking it,

even imperfectly, as often as possible is the only way to internalize it. Think of children

learning to speak who often use improper grammar or mispronounce words. Through

constant practice they learn to speak correctly, rather than through grammar lessons.
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While context and practice are especially important to language, it is similarly beneficial to any

area of study.

In both my ESL class and foreign language classes we had a variety of activities to help

us learn. We watched videos to see context, we sang songs to learn syntax, we read short stories

to sound words aloud, we had flashcards to constantly test ourselves and, above all, we had to

keep speaking to each other. Constantly we practiced, until we became comfortable with the

words and their flow. I suspect that the variety of activities work together in concert to form a

more effective learning process. Despite the intelligence of a student, they will not learn solely

from lecture, or solely from reading - at best, this leads to memorization and recitation. To truly

learn and gain understanding, a student needs to make connections between ideas and experience

and become comfortable with the subject in a way that it flows from them rather than be

wrenched from the back of their minds.

My experiences as a student have provided me with a useful perspective and insight into

the process of learning. That perspective is that learning is not just memorizing facts and

repeating them in tests, rather, learning is a process of making connections and building upon

them. I have experienced first-hand the value of a varied approach to teaching, and the necessity

of making connections to encourage deeper and lasting understanding. These experiences, I

believe, will help me in becoming a competent educator.

Professional History

I have worked in various service roles over the past 15 years, beginning in high school.

During my employment I have nearly always held leadership and training positions which have

provided me valuable experience in time, product, and human resource management. These

experiences and skills are directly applicable and beneficial to the job of an educator.
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Work and Service History

In high school I joined a club known as Link Crew which was a group aimed at providing

mediation services to fellow students as an option to resolving conflicts in order to avoid

administrative discipline. The mediation process required me to hear objectively both sides of the

issue at hand and then provide support for each student in addressing their concerns. We then

worked collectively to arrive at a solution. In most cases this simply required each side to

actively listen to the other to come to an understanding, make apologies where necessary, then

go on with their respective lives. At its heart, my role was to facilitate meaningful

communication.

My employment history consists entirely of restaurant and beverage service experience.

In each of those jobs I have at some point been given the role of management requiring me to

oversee the training of staff according to established policy and methodology. This is like the

process of delivering a lesson based on a curriculum and required a level of preparation and self-

evaluation I feel will be applicable to teaching. I also provided a schedule to meet the needs of

the business, requiring a firm understanding of time management. Finally, I maintained an

adequate stock of the physical product necessary for the business which required forecasting and

allocation skills that would be valuable to an educator managing classroom resources.

My professional and service history has provided me the specific skills of active

communication, time management, effective and efficient training and lesson planning, self-

evaluation, resource management, and interpersonal skills. All these skills are directly applicable

to, and necessary for, the successful modern educator.

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Ethical Dilemmas in Education

An ethical dilemma is a situation in which a person is presented with a choice between

two mutually exclusive moral imperatives, or more simply put, an ethical dilemma is a situation

wherein a person has two conflicting solutions to a problem that cannot both be simultaneously

applied without violating one code of ethics or another. There is a myriad of ethical dilemmas

presented to educators which require a solid foundation of ethical reasoning capability to

navigate these sensitive issues. In this essay I will describe a potential ethical dilemma and

attempt to resolve it using the ethical reasoning of two distinct ethical orientations.

Ethical Dilemma

Hazel is a 17-year-old 12th grade student in high school. She has been your student in

your first period class for most of a school year and has maintained a high grade due to

exceptional performance on examinations and projects, though she often does not complete

homework assignments, or submits them late for fewer points. She is often absent from class

without medical or administrative excuse. When she does attend class, she comes exhausted and

has occasionally fallen asleep during class, both of which have led to poor participation.

However, on several occasions Hazel has visited you during free periods or lunch hours during

the school day to ask for help with the class material, or to work on assignments. At these times,

her work is more than satisfactory, and these specific assignments are completed and turned in

on time.

Nearing the end of the school year, Hazel has missed more classes than are permissible to

receive credit for the participation and attendance component of her grade which will result in

her graduating with a low grade factored into her GPA. You hold her after class to explain the

situation and she begins crying. She explains to you that she is the oldest of three children with a
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single mother who works two jobs. Her youngest sibling is not yet old enough for school and her

mother cannot afford daycare for him. As a result, she often must come to school late, waiting

for her mother to get home from her night job so her youngest brother is not left home alone. She

confides in you that if she does not receive at least a “C” for this class, and as a result loses her

minimum 3.0 GPA, she will not receive the scholarship and grant awards she desperately needs

to attend college in the Fall. She asks you to show leniency in her grade so she can attend

college, thus the dilemma: do you adhere to your grading policy and report her excessive

absences to the administration which will lead to a lack of resources to further her education, or

do you compromise your own integrity in giving her an undeserved grade?

Solutions

Nietzsche’s virtue ethics focus on the personality, disposition and character of the

morally good, or virtuous, person and holds that a virtuous character includes a radical

individualism, rather than conformity or submission to authority. Most importantly, Nietzsche’s

virtue ethics are relativist, varying depending on situation. The important question in this ethical

orientation is: Does your judgement further or hinder Hazel’s prosperity? Gilligan’s feminist

virtue ethics rank her familial relationship and responsibilities higher than her deference to

authority, thus she chose the ethical course in caring for her brother. Further, in penalizing Hazel

for her specific psychology you submit her to an unfair judgement according to masculine

psychology. Should you deny her request for leniency her future will suffer, therefore it would

be more ethical from both orientations to show leniency. This leniency would be in the form of

extra credit, available to all students, for her to make up the missing grade she requires. In this

way her future prosperity is preserved, satisfying Nietzsche’s ethics, and reinforces the feminine

care perspective within Hazel’s family, and with yourself and future educators.
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The utilitarianist rule-ethics of John Stuart Mill maintain that the highest good in ethics is

collective, societal happiness. Should Hazel not be able to receive the necessary resources for

higher education, she will not be able to realize her full potential or contribute that potential to

society. Thus, it is more ethical to provide her the opportunity to earn the necessary grade so that

she can contribute to the greater societal good in the future.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

It is my belief that teachers are the primary shapers of American society in their influence

on young minds. While we have made great strides in improving quality of life and equality in

recent decades, I believe we have further work to complete toward meeting our goal of being a

free, egalitarian society. To that end I believe that in addition to changes or additions to political

practice we, as a society and specifically educators, need to guide students toward becoming the

people we wish to see in society, namely thoughtful, intelligent, and tolerant global citizens.

Teacher-specific skills

I possess several skills and qualities that are beneficial to work as a teacher including

patience, determination, understanding, approachability, and a belief in the potential of all

individuals to learn. These are vital qualities that are indispensable to teachers. Specific skills I

possess which are critical to teachers and their students include exceptional planning abilities,

interpersonal and communicational skills, and the ability to relate to young people. These skills

would help me to provide an engaging and productive education and furnish the framework for

modeling the person I hope to help my students become.

Field-related skills

I also possess skills and qualities which would be beneficial to the work of an

administrator. I am candid, outspoken, diligent, and resourceful; all qualities necessary to an

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administrative position in education, without which schools suffer. Specific skills, in addition to

those also beneficial to students and teachers, include an affable leadership style with a focus on

teamwork, the ability to organize and prioritize creatively, and the ability to objectively evaluate

my own and others’ efforts with a critical eye towards improvement. These skills would be

especially valuable in leading teachers and helping them to achieve their goals.

Why should I teach?

All these skills and abilities could also potentially serve me in fields involving

customer service and interaction, political activism, and small business management. I

have worked or participated in each of these fields and learned that they do not provide

the sense of accomplishment or achievement I desire. While each of these fields are

necessary, and even potentially admirable in others, I do not feel well-suited to a life-long

career in any of them. My beliefs in the necessary progression of freedom and egalitarian

values for society demand that I contribute to those ends. I believe I can best provide that

contribution by helping to foment the ideals of thoughtful, intelligent, and tolerant global

citizens within the students I teach.

Professional Goals

My long-term goals include completing my bachelor’s at Boise State University in

German, secondary education no later than the spring semester of 2022 and securing a position

teaching German at the high school level. While teaching, I intend to begin my master’s work in

education, curriculum and instruction through BSU. In order to realize these long-term goals, I

have several short-term goals over the next six months.

The first of these short-term goals is to apply for the teaching program at Boise State

University. Upon acceptance, my second goal is to apply to the exchange program at Heidelberg
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in Germany which offers an intensive German language immersion program designed to prepare

students for study in German at the local university. Upon completion of this program I will

return to BSU for completion of my bachelor’s degree.

My short-term goals directly impact my long-term goals. Specifically, acceptance to BSU

opens the doors to international study options. In order to be an effective teacher of foreign

language, I believe it is necessary to be fluent in the language to be taught. In attaining fluency,

not only will I be a more qualified educator, but I will also have the language ability to complete

my German-language coursework at BSU with less struggle than I would otherwise experience.

This is possible due to the immersive nature of the education I will receive abroad. I will not

merely be studying the language and culture from afar, but experiencing it firsthand, providing

me a better understanding of both the language and culture. This program of study will also offer

me a different perspective on education in general, which I could potentially apply to my own

teaching upon gaining employment in the field.