My Philosophy

I am currently well on my way to a career as an elementary school teacher. I started my teacher education with National University in 2014 and am pursuing a multi-subject teaching credential with a Masters degree in Education. I have also continued working for the Charter school that introduced me to the field, now more directly involved with student education as an instructional aide for a 3rd and 4th grade classroom. I continue to feel passionate about educating students and fostering their positive social and academic growth on a daily basis. I find that working with children is an enriching educational experience, supporting their learning as well as in myself, as a prospective teacher. Every observation of, communication with, and interaction from my students helps me to reach my goal as a teacher, building the tools I need for the provision of a high quality educational experience for my classroom and supporting optimal life achievements for all of my students. 

I have included a few images of my artwork to show my personal passion for creative expression and its positive impact on my life. These images of work completed at SDSU represent a very difficult time for myself and show proof of the power one can have in overcoming the seemingly impossible. In 2006 I was in a devastating car accident, at the start of my second semester at SDSU.  I suffered multiple skull fractures and the loss of my left arm as a result of the severity of the collision and am extremely lucky to have survived. After a 3-month hospital recovery, with outpatient rehabilitation services, I had to face my disability and decide how and what I would do with my future. I was unsure of my own capability to continue working in a very hands on, creative process, which was what I had been pursuing at SDSU and what I truly loved and enjoyed. It was at this point that my family and friends, fearing my failure and emotional heartbreak, attempted to support me in giving up on my aspirations to continue and succeed. Instead, I chose to try. I reenrolled in the program I had started, completing my course work, and creating beautiful artworks that are not an easy process even for someone with two hands to craft. I did not resolve myself as incapable, regardless of the assumptions of failure I faced, but chose to pursue what I loved against all odds. The philosophy that you cannot fail unless you do not try was my driving force. It is this philosophy that proved to those around me, and to myself, that our capabilities truly lie within, that you cannot assume you are incapable based on what someone else believes of you. I think it is this life experience that will help me support all of the diverse learning needs in my students. My background in the arts will benefit students in finding their own abilities for self-expression, which is a key element to life long learning and overall success. I have had obstacles to overcome for my own success and art was a supporting force that brought me through the difficulties. My positive philosophical viewpoint of the human capability, my past experience with overcoming hardships, and my creative and positive influence from the arts will help me as a teacher, to build skills in my students that will support their achievement of success, in academics and throughout their lives.