Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 1

Autobiographical Essay

Martin Vargas

Doug Rapley

EDUC 120 001W

Spring 2021
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Autobiographical Essay

The question of what do you want to be when you grow up? Is probably one of the most

common questions kids will hear growing up. The answers kids will give will vary; some kids

will want to become astronauts, lawyers, doctors, professional athletes, and teachers. I wanted to

become a professional soccer player with hopes of playing in Spain. However, one will come to

experience things that will change the plans one had as a kid. In this essay I will talk about the

experiences I had growing up that have led me to pursue a career as a teacher. This essay will be

divided into five sections: educational background, work history service/or extracurricular

activities, ethical reasoning in education, considerations for choosing education as a career, and

professional goals. I would like to tell you about myself.

Educational Background

As an immigrant student I have had the privilege of attending school in the United States

and Mexico. My educational background starts in the second country. Up until age ten I lived in

the rural town of San Fernando, Mexico. San Fernando is a very small town of maybe less than

1000 people. Small town meant small school. I remember going to a school where at the time

being hit with a yard stick for being a troublemaker or not doing your homework was still

allowed. School was only for about five hours a day, it started at 8 am and ended at 1 pm. Class

curriculum included: Math, Spanish (as English class in high schools), History, and science. The

Curriculums in Mexico were not so different from schools in the United States. The biggest

difference at the time were programs like the no child left behind programs. Those types of

programs did not exist. Other things such as after school programs or tutoring were things I was

introduced to when I moved to the United States during my 4th grade year.
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My first year in the United States was a tough year. I did not know anybody, and I was

not familiar with the culture and most importantly I did not know the language. I was introduced

to a kid in my neighborhood who happen to know spanish and I thought that things would be

okay, I missed my family and friends but having a friend helped. My first day of school though

changed that very quick. I remember being with my friend in the playground before school

started and once the bell rang that’s when things changed. Everyone scattered and started

heading to classrooms, I had no idea what was going on. I found myself standing alone in the

playground with no idea of where to go. Everything felt new to me. I had no idea what the

teacher was talking about. A couple of kids who knew spanish tried to explain things to me, but I

just found myself scared and sad the rest of the day. Things got better in the afternoon when I

was asked to go with another teacher. This teacher alongside four other teachers were all spanish

speaking teachers. These teachers would be the ones who were going to oversee teaching English

to myself and a few other students in the same situation as myself.

I remember things being difficult till about the 7th grade when I finally started becoming

comfortable with my English and when I started making more friends. My enjoyment for school

though was never the same. I was not a horrible student, but I did not seek to be one of the top

students either. I always felt like I was behind other students in my class because although I felt

more comfortable with my English, some things I still needed help comprehending and I no

longer had other teachers by me explaining those things. High school was not really any different

I managed to get by and was on route to graduating but I had no idea what I was going to do after

high school. Jon Conner or coach Conner as I still like to call him out of the respect that I still

have for him, was a huge help in my decision to attend College. I like to say he was and is my

inspiration to becoming a teacher. The help and support I obtained from him is something I do
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not take lightly, and I let him know that every time I see him. When it came to decision time, I

felt like I was ready, and I had made my decision to attend the University of Idaho and pursue a

Physical Education degree. I felt like my freshman year was a good year. I had good grades and I

was in a good place. In my sophomore year of college, I managed to do an exchange student

program and attend the University of Hawaii. Life was good but I no longer had the motivation

to continue the Physical Education degree. I had lost interest in the education field and I once

again became lost with no path to follow.

Work History Service and/or Extracurricular Activities

After returning from the University of Idaho, I started working with my dad in crop

fields. Our job consisted in moving irrigation pipelines from field to field. It was a very tough

job, long hours and being in the sun all day in 90-degree weather takes a toll on your body and

mind. I knew that it was not a job for me and that I needed to figure out what my next step

would be. After about a year, I decided to take a part-time job at Big 5 Sporting goods. Working

at Big 5 has been a great experience. I started working as a part-timer and was able to move up to

assistant manager. Dealing with all types of customers has taught me how to deal with different

types of situations. From very satisfied customers to very angry customers. When I think about

those experiences, I think about parent teacher conferences and I start to imagine how I would

handle the conversations with the parents of my students. Above all working at Big 5 has taught

me patience. Every customer has a different idea of what they want and need. When you are

looking for a shoe for a customer their will be times when you can bring five to ten pairs of shoes

only to return to the first pair you brought out. Every student will be different and not every

student will be as quick in grasping the concepts being taught and I believe patience will be the

key. Working as a manager has also taught me to be a leader. I always must set an example for
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the way to behave at work or the amount of enthusiasm placed while working. I feel that that is

something that I will take to a classroom because students at the end of the day will have you as

the example and you need to be on your toes.

When working part-time at Big 5, money was not enough and to really see whether

teaching was for me or not, I signed up as a substitute teacher in the Wilder school district.

Wilder is a small town and that allowed me to be able to substitute at all main levels of

education. My first two days of being a substitute where at the middle school level and that took

middle school teaching off my plans very fast. I was not able to connect to those students at all.

They have a different mindset, a lot of things going in their mind and I just could not see me

teaching that level. Elementary school was different and surprising. I always thought that it

would be very difficult to deal with kids at the age, but it was a totally different scenario. I was

lucky enough to be able to substitute a few different grade levels and although everyone had its

ups and down, the third-grade class was by far my favorite. The Students were fully engaged,

polite and ready to learn. I was pleasantly surprise by that class. Being a substitute teacher helped

me see that I need to be able to control and have more patience with students.

Being back in the education setting I have contemplated about whether I should focus on

the ESL programs only. ESL for me was very important and I might be wrong, but it feels like it

is not giving the importance that it once was. Being able to get all the help you need when

learning a new language is key to being able to keep up with the rest of your class as they

continue to move forward.

I thought about working at places like at a bank where I believe I have developed the

customer service skills needed. With my bilingual skills I thought I could do a good job working

as a translator at a hospital for a courthouse. I also believe that I have the mental ability needed
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to make it in the Air Force. But in the end, nothing its only thoughts I don’t really have the desire

to work in those fields.

Ethical Reasoning in Education

My time as a substitute teacher at my local town brought many memories for me as a

student and having attended school there, I could not help myself but compare the education I

received to the education kids at the time had been receiving. Wilder School District has now

opted to join a program where students are more self-taught. Every student in the district now

has an iPad, and most of the learning from what I understand is done with programs created and

teachers have taken a second role and have become mentors in the class. A few months ago, our

school district was on the news because the superintendent is being blamed for the students in

our district falling behind. The lawsuit appears to blame the superintendent for not supporting

English language learners with programs that would help them become more efficient in English.

The problem with all this is that according to some of the people who filed the lawsuit the

superintendent would place kids of Hispanic background but who are very efficient in English as

the students that would take the required test to get away with the standardized testing. As

someone who struggled with learning English, I take this very personal and I find it hard to

believe. I do not want kids to struggle, learning a second language and adapting are hard as it is

but know being helped the way it should be make it even harder.

Considerations for Choosing Education as a Career

Learning English for me was a huge part of my life. The teachers who where there to help

made a huge impact in my life and I wish to return that favor in some way. I can communicate
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with students whose first language is Spanish and have not learned English yet. I would be able

to communicate with the parents of those children. I would also be able to relate with students

who moved from a different country. Schools today have people who can translate for a teacher

but based on my own experiences after a parent’s teachers conferences those parents never really

feel like they communicated with the teacher. I could probably do any type of job that requires

bilingual employees but based on some of the schools I have visited, I do not believe school

sometimes have the money to place ESL programs in their school and may find alternatives that

do not offer the amount of help I received when I started going to school in the U.S. Most

importantly I trust the I have characteristics and attitude to become a great teacher.

Professional Goals

As I slowly continue my progress here to achieve a teaching degree in Elementary

Education here at College of Western Idaho, I continue to go back and forth on deciding whether

I should choose University of Idaho or Boise State University as my next step. So far, I have

been only able to take a few classes per semester while doing a full-time job. I try to take as

many as I can depending on the availability of the classes. It has been a struggle, but I continue

to push forward.

The long-term goal is to become a third-grade teacher at an elementary here in the valley.

My plan is also to lead a class of ESL students and help guide them as my teachers did for me. I

have not made up my mind yet as to when it comes time to attend a university if I should attempt

to go full-time or continue to go part-time. I want to become a teacher that students can find

approachable and can come to for help when needed. Although my process is moving slow I

believe to be on the right path and I sure that I am grasping the ideas of teaching more deeply

with this slow process.