Running head: FINDING THE FRAME: THE “WHAT I THINK I KNOW” INVENTORY 1
Childhood is one of the most crucial times for any person because it is what molds you
and will impact how you are in the future. Some children may face brutal challenges like death,
divorce, abuse, poverty, disability, and many more that can impact their life due to the severity of
the challenge. Children reach to receive the attention of adults more often than you would think
and they are spending majority of their day in the classroom. This is where teachers come into
play because they are the ones who children are going to be used to and the classroom might be
the only place that the child feels safe. Throughout my experiences of working with children of
all ages, race, disabilities, and lifestyles I have truly found out the main reason that I want to
become a teacher one day.
Growing up, I’ve always said that I was going to be a teacher due to my mother being a
preschool teacher, my experiences with working with kids, and the effects kids have had on me.
Since my mother is a preschool teacher she has always told me that I would be a phenomenal
teacher and others agree by saying that I am just like my mother. Whenever I didn’t have school
due to a teacher workday or something else, I would go to my mom’s preschool and help out.
With this experience, I met several of the children’s parents who wanted me to become their
babysitter and I was ecstatic to obtain this responsibility. Not only did I babysit but I also took
Early Childhood classes in high school which required me to travel to an assigned school each
class period and act as a teacher assistant. Throughout these experiences in high school I finally
realized what I was created to do and that was to influence as many children’s lives as I could.
Once I began my freshman year at Appalachian State University, I was enrolled in all
general education classes which made me question my major because I was learning about new
subjects and I wasn’t interacting with kids. Approaching the second semester of college, I
FINDING THE FRAME: THE “WHAT I THINK I KNOW” INVENTORY 2
decided that I should consider signing up for classes that would be required for an Elementary
Education major. Once I took classes that involved different aspects of teaching elementary
students I realized that following through with this was what was in my heart. I thought back to
the effects that kids have had on my life with making me a better person, bringing out my inner
child, and allowing me to cherish life by being blessed with the life I live.
This past summer I worked at a camp called Victory Junction which was a camp for kids
with different disabilities and illnesses. After working with these incredible kids, I found that I
had a passion for kids with disabilities and wanted to consider it as a minor or come back to
school for my masters in Special Education. I loved the campers and the camp so much that I am
