IntroductionHello! My name is Sabrina Haines, and I am a student at Indiana University in Bloomington. I am going to Indiana University to get my teaching license for ESL in other countries. My desire, with this license, is to teach several different grades, from Elementary all the way to College, or even adult. I am interested in seeing the growth of different age groups, along with helping them open a portal to a whole new society and culture.
I was first inspired to be a teacher when I got involved with a third grade classroom when I was 16. From there, I got more interested and involved within the classroom, and spent the next two and a half years with the same teacher helping with two different classes. On a trip to Germany the summer between my senior year in high school and freshman year in college, I fell in love with the beautiful and classic European country, and after talking to an old friend was inspired to teach English there. It is my passion to work with children, and even more of a passion to help make a difference in their lives as I teach them. |
Pedagogical Beliefs as a Teacher
As a teacher, there are always beliefs that guide you to lead your class the way you do. These typically are created by personal experiences, and how you may or may not want to model from a previous teacher-figure you have had before. For myself, I find that the beliefs I have for my teaching career model greatly after previous teacher's I've had the pleasure of either meeting or having as my own educator. Within my classroom, I believe that accepting the differences withing my students is the most important thing I do. Learning about my students should always be my top priority, so that I can better help them when they need it. I also believe that we should be in a very judgement-free classroom, which can be established by gentle but firm rules at the beginning of the year. I hope to provide a safe space for my students and create a community they can really grow in without restrictions. As an adult figure and potential role-model, I hope that showing respect, kindness, and acceptance will help show them I am working to my best potential to help them grow to the best of their ability.
Using Technology Within the Classroom
Although I want to teach English in Germany, and even though technology use is not as popular in Europe as it is here in America, I hope to really strive to make that first push towards technology within the classroom. I belive that learning a second language could really be enhanced by different technological tools, from something like DuoLingo which can help my students practice the language, all the way to something like any of the Google Apps, which can help showcase what they have learned. 'Mystery Skype' is also an interesting technology aspect that I would love to try within my classroom, having my students meet native English speakers that are their age. Technology is always exciting, and I truly believe it can help enhance the learning within the classroom setting. From instructional videos, to group projects, all the way to something as simple as writing papers, I believe Technology can help advance a classroom, no matter how small that movement is.