I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I played “school” with my siblings, dolls and friends quite often. A huge part of my story is the fact that I was raised in Taiwan from the age of two until I came to the States for college. In Taiwan, the ability to speak English is extremely sought after. When I was in 6th grade, some of my Taiwanese neighbors asked me to teach English to their kids who were about my age. That is how I began my first “teaching” job. I taught my neighbors once a week for 30 mins and got paid a tiny amount. I made my first “lesson plan” at the age of twelve. I created worksheets and games where my students could practice common English phrases. Each week, I had a different theme such as
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I gradually added new students to my teaching schedule. I taught in small groups and one on one, I taught kindergarteners all the way through high schoolers. Each parent required different things of me as an English teacher. Sometimes, I worked with a 1st grade girl to improve her English reading and writing so that she could get accepted into an American school. Other parents simply asked me to play with their children using only English so that they could pick up new words. While others, asked me to proof-read their child’s English homework and papers. Because of my native English speaking ability, I was asked almost weekly to take on new students by the time I was in High School. I usually limited myself to just a few sessions a week because I was so busy. Sometimes it felt like hard work, but most of the time I really enjoyed teaching and …show more content…
In Elementary and Middle School, I was homeschooled, however, in high school I attended a private, Christian, international school with a very diverse population. I had classmates from Taiwan, China, South Korea, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, UK, South Africa, and more! There was also a lot of diversity in the socio-economic background of students at my school. On the lower income side, were the missionary kids like me and on the other hand, there were business kids with parents who worked at big companies such as Nike or owned entire radio stations. Although the differences in status and culture among students at my highschool were huge, my international school was a really unique environment that I was honored to be a part of. Despite the potential challenges, I would be honored to work with such a diverse student body someday when I am a teacher whether it be overseas or in the
I gradually added new students to my teaching schedule. I taught in small groups and one on one, I taught kindergarteners all the way through high schoolers. Each parent required different things of me as an English teacher. Sometimes, I worked with a 1st grade girl to improve her English reading and writing so that she could get accepted into an American school. Other parents simply asked me to play with their children using only English so that they could pick up new words. While others, asked me to proof-read their child’s English homework and papers. Because of my native English speaking ability, I was asked almost weekly to take on new students by the time I was in High School. I usually limited myself to just a few sessions a week because I was so busy. Sometimes it felt like hard work, but most of the time I really enjoyed teaching and …show more content…
In Elementary and Middle School, I was homeschooled, however, in high school I attended a private, Christian, international school with a very diverse population. I had classmates from Taiwan, China, South Korea, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, UK, South Africa, and more! There was also a lot of diversity in the socio-economic background of students at my school. On the lower income side, were the missionary kids like me and on the other hand, there were business kids with parents who worked at big companies such as Nike or owned entire radio stations. Although the differences in status and culture among students at my highschool were huge, my international school was a really unique environment that I was honored to be a part of. Despite the potential challenges, I would be honored to work with such a diverse student body someday when I am a teacher whether it be overseas or in the