Biography

= = =**__About Me__**= My name is Brittney McCartney and I am an incredibly determined, driven and hard working twenty two year old. I keep busy on a daily basis being a full time student, working two jobs, coaching kindergarten chearleading and planning my wedding! My one job is watching my nineteen month old cousin three days a week while his parents are at work and it is by far the most rewarding and enjoyable job that I have ever had. Even though I am so busy I have never been happier in my life I feel like I finally know exactly what I want and how to achieve it and it's a truly wonderful feeling.

I am currently a student at the University of Akron. I am pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education and hope to teach kindergarten when i graduate, however this wasn't always the plan. I switched my major just last year after originally starting the college as an interior design major. Although I had always had a passion for teaching and helping children reach their full potential it wasn't until recently that it became clear that this is what I am meant to do. Coming from a large family of 7 kids ranging in age from six years old to twenty four years old and being the second oldest I was constantly enlisted to help with homework but it wasn't until I spent an increasing amount of time with my youngest brother and began coaching that it really became clear to me. And as I stated before after not being sure about the future and then finally figuring out what you want it an amazing feeling and I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for me!

=__**Philosophy**__= The University of Akron’s College of Education theme of conceptual framework is “Educator as Decision Maker” with the core requirements being knowledge, technology, diversity and ethics. As a future educator I will strive to use each of these components in my everyday life in the classroom. In this essay I will describe my plan to use knowledge, technology, diversity and ethics in the classroom and demonstrate how with the right blend of the four components I am confident I will go onto be a successful educator.

The first and arguably the most important component is knowledge. This component is multidimensional in my opinion. Not only will I use the knowledge I have and will gain here at the University of Akron but I will also need to constantly be able to adapt what I have learned and make room for more knowledge as the life of an educator is constantly changing and no two days with be the same. I will use my know ledge to educate the children and expand their knowledge while in return I will constantly be learning from the children as well.

The second component of the framework is technology. The world is constantly evolving and coming out with the next best thing in technology these days. I will need to keep current with the technology and continue to again expand my knowledge of technology to allow the children to have the most beneficial environment possible. Technology opens many doors and allows the children to experience things they may not have been otherwise able to by reading a textbook. For example it is one thing to read about the rain forest and entirely another to see and participate in an interactive video on the web. Between computers, videos and smartboards the possibilities seem endless and will allow the children to have several different perspectives on a subject and I believe allow them to expand their knowledge in extremely valuable ways.

The third component is diversity. I believe that diversity is an extremely valuable tool. I believe in embracing the things that make each of us unique and celebrating what makes you, you. In the classroom I will strive to create an environment that will allow each child to feel not only comfortable with whom they are but be proud of it. I will do this by encouraging each child to share about their culture, hobbies, religion and so forth. Through this type of open and sharing environment the children will be exposed to things they may not have otherwise been exposed to and it is a great learning opportunity for the children as well as the educator. I will strive to create a learning environment that suits the ever going diverse population that allows children to see things from multiple viewpoints with an open mind.

The last component of the frame work is ethics. This component again had a few different layers to it. There is ethics with students and fellow educators. With the students the educator must maintain a level of confidentiality and treat each student with the same level of respect while encouraging them to reach their full potential as a student. Ethics with fellow educators is also extremely important. An educator must remember to keep a professional relationship with their coworkers and treat each one with the respect that they would like to be given.

In conclusion I will use knowledge, technology, diversity and ethics in my everyday life. I will strive to create an environment where the children will feel encouraged and comfortable to grow and reach their full potential in an unbiased and fair manner. With these components I am nothing but confident and excited to go on to be a successful educator.