Practice Blog Post One

I. About me
II. Family education background
III. Why I want to become an educator
IV. Educators work in the 21st century
V. My passion

My name is Heather Kennedy and I am 21 years old. I am from Mobile, Alabama and currently a Junior at the University of South Alabama. I chose to attend the University of South Alabama because it is close to home and it has a great education program. My father also attended the university where he received his degree in Secondary Education with a focus in History. My mother was an education major and received her degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Mobile. My parent's degrees in education influenced my decision to become an Elementary Education major. Besides my parent's influences, there are other reasons I decided to become an education major. For the past two years I have been an After-School and Summer Camp teacher at a daycare where I work with children age's five to eleven. My experiences with helping them with assignments and teaching them new concepts had a major impact on my decision to become an Elementary Education major.

The work of an educator has changed over the years in the 21st century. Educators now have to be sure that no child is left behind and each child's developmental needs are met. Teachers also focus more on problem solving and critical thinking skills. Another important aspect is to incorporate more use of technology in the classroom. Educators should know how to use technology just as well as the students do. With computers, cell phones, and tablets being the technology that children are growing up using, these devices should be incorporated into educator's lesson plans. Teaching and helping children is my passion and I hope that with this class I will be one step closer to becoming the best educator I can be.