I want to pursue a career in teaching because, Education, in general, is essential. But Elementary education is shaping the lives of our future generations by instilling education in them from an earlier age. Early childhood education is important because I always struggled with teaching. I never felt like I could ask for help, so I want to make asking for help a priority for kids and let them know that it's okay to mess up, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay not to know everything. I have the opportunity to shape the lives of our future generations, and that would be so rewarding for me, knowing I'm shaping their minds one day at a time. I've always loved watching kids grow up and form opinions of their own; it brings me joy to see how every kid impacts my life daily. I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without each of my encounters with kids because they taught and continue to teach me something new every day. My goal is to encourage children to overcome obstacles and challenges. I teach them things they'll use for the rest of their lives, and they teach Me something every day. Working with kids makes me want to be a better person. I always say if they can get through life, then I can. They make me realize I can't stress about everything; I can live in the moment. Finally, I've always been told that “teachers don't get paid enough” or you're working for nothing. But to me, teaching isn't nothing. Teaching is the most significant reward life could offer me; knowing I'm helping a parent help their child succeed is the biggest reward, making every bit of teaching worth it. I'm teaching them to think for themselves, not just teaching them from a book every day and expecting them to run with it. Every kid I've come across, I've always embraced them as my own, and I'm fully prepared to treat every one of my students as I would treat my own. Education is essential in every aspect, but I feel as if early childhood is most important because it sets the tone for the rest of their lives. Kids are an enormous part of my life as they make me who I am today. This is why I am pursuing a career in Elementary Education.

My name is Teonna Brown, I'm a first-generation college student and I'm going to school to be an Elementary School teacher. I want to become a teacher to teach second graders and become a teacher I never had. I want to teach kids to form their own opinions while learning and giving them life lessons that will help them later down the road. Somewhere down the road I eventually want to own my own business and open a Christian school for elementary school kids. The way that I've overcome adversity is growing up I was abused mentally, physically and sexually and had to raise my six-month-old brother because of that, I had to grow up way too soon and I started doing things that I am not proud of. Teachers and other people started to tell me that I'd never graduate, that I'd never do anything useful with my life and that right there sparked my curiosity to prove everyone wrong. I started working harder in school and started believing that I could prove everyone wrong and eventually, I did. I graduated high school with a 3.5 GPA and got accepted into Oklahoma City Community College where I am majoring in Pre-Ed to get my basics before I transfer to The University Of Central Oklahoma to get my bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. This adversity has contributed so much to my dreams and goals. It pushed me to be the best version of me I could be and it pushed me to accomplish everything that everyone said I couldn't do. I've overcome the hardships of my past life and found a loving family who took me in as their own and worked with me to achieve everything I put my mind to. If it wasn't for the adversity in my life, I would've never graduated, never would have made it to my first year of college, and never would've had goals and dreams to chase after and because of that I am the best version of me that I could be and on my way to getting a degree in Education and making my family proud. Adversity although it takes you through some of the hardest times in your life, you survive and come out as a better person and you start to realize that it only takes one person to believe in you and as long as you believe in yourself you can overcome anything and everything!

If I could have everyone read one book, it would have to be the “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.” I would choose this book because not only is it a heartstring puller, but it makes you stop and think about what we don't have to endure and face, thanks to all the veterans and soldiers constantly fighting for our freedom on a day-to-day basis. Not only does the book make you stop and appreciate our soldiers, but it also gives you a glimpse into what Jews had to endure, how strong they were, and how united they stood no matter what they went through. I can only hope and dream that's what America will be like someday. One of the main characters, Lale Sokolov, never gave up his faith, never gave up his hope in humanity, and Lale was always putting others above himself and his needs because of his love for his people. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.” is based on a true story about love and survival, and reading this book leads me to my favorite Bible verse: “If you have faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you can say to a mountain move, and it will move”- Matthew 17:20. Because Lale never lost his faith. He was able to survive his way through the holocaust, and he was able to lead most of his people out and give them hope for a future outside of a camp. He gave them hope that they could finally be happy and be who they were.

I want to pursue a career in education because, Education, in general, is essential. But Elementary education is shaping the lives of our future generations by instilling education in them from an earlier age. Early childhood education is important because I always struggled with teaching. I never felt like I could ask for help, so I want to make asking for help a priority for kids and let them know that it's okay to mess up, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay not to know everything. I have the opportunity to shape the lives of our future generations, and that would be so rewarding for me, knowing I'm shaping their minds one day at a time. I've always loved watching kids grow up and form opinions of their own; it brings me joy to see how every kid impacts my life daily. I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without each of my encounters with kids because they taught and continue to teach me something new every day. My goal is to encourage children to overcome obstacles and challenges. I teach them things they'll use for the rest of their lives, and they teach Me something every day. Working with kids makes me want to be a better person. I always say if they can get through life, then I can. They make me realize I can't stress about everything; I can live in the moment. Finally, I've always been told that “teachers don't get paid enough” or you're working for nothing. But to me, teaching isn't nothing. Teaching is the most significant reward life could offer me; knowing I'm helping a parent help their child succeed is the biggest reward, making every bit of teaching worth it. I'm teaching them to think for themselves, not just teaching them from a book every day and expecting them to run with it. Every kid I've come across, I've always embraced them as my own, and I'm fully prepared to treat every one of my students as I would treat my own. Education is essential in every aspect, but I feel as if early childhood is most important because it sets the tone for the rest of their lives. Kids are an enormous part of my life as they make me who I am today. This is why I am pursuing a career in Elementary Education.

The dream version of myself is to be a successful teacher and woman of god.

If I could have everyone read one book, it would have to be the “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.” I would choose this book because not only is it a heartstring puller, but it makes you stop and think about what we don't have to endure and face, thanks to all the veterans and soldiers constantly fighting for our freedom on a day-to-day basis. Not only does the book make you stop and appreciate our soldiers, but it also gives you a glimpse into what Jews had to endure but how strong they were, and how united they stood no matter what they went through. I can only hope and dream that's what America will be like someday. One of the main characters, Lale Sokolov, never gave up his faith, never gave up his hope in humanity, and Lale was always putting others above himself and his needs because of his love for his people. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.” is based on a true story about love and survival, and reading this book leads me every time to my favorite Bible verse “If you have faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you can say to a mountain move, and it will move”- Matthew 17:20. Because Lale never lost his faith. He was able to survive his way through the holocaust, and he was able to lead most of his people out and give them hope for a future outside of a camp. He gave them hope that they could finally be happy and be who they were with no judgment. That's why I pick this book.

Education, in general, is essential. But Elementary education is shaping the lives of our future generations by instilling education in them from an earlier age. Early childhood education is important because I always struggled with teaching. I never felt like I could ask for help, so I want to make asking for help a priority for kids and let them know that it's okay to mess up, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay not to know everything. I have the opportunity to shape the lives of our future generations, and that would be so rewarding for me, knowing I'm shaping their minds one day at a time. I've always loved watching kids grow up and form opinions of their own; it brings me joy to see how every kid impacts my life daily. I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without each of my encounters with kids because they taught and continue to teach me something new every day. My goal is to encourage children to overcome obstacles and challenges. I teach them things they'll use for the rest of their lives, and they teach Me something every day. Working with kids makes me want to be a better person. I always say if they can get through life, then I can. They make me realize I can't stress about everything; I can live in the moment. Finally, I've always been told that “teachers don't get paid enough” or you're working for nothing. But to me, teaching isn't nothing. Teaching is the most significant reward life could offer me; knowing I'm helping a parent help their child succeed is the biggest reward, making every bit of teaching worth it. I'm teaching them to think for themselves, not just teaching them from a book every day and expecting them to run with it. Every kid I've come across, I've always embraced them as my own, and I'm fully prepared to treat every one of my students as I would treat my own. Education is essential in every aspect, but I feel as if early childhood is most important because it sets the tone for the rest of their lives. Kids are an enormous part of my life as they make me who I am today. So to be able to have the opportunity to shape their minds would be a true blessing. Teonna Brown 1-31-23

Education, in general, is essential. But Elementary education is shaping the lives of our future generations by instilling education in them from an earlier age. I'm passionate about early childhood education because I always struggled with teaching in my childhood. I never felt like I could ask for help, so I want to make asking for help a priority for kids and let them know that it's okay to mess up, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay not to know everything. I have the opportunity to shape the lives of our future generations, and that would be so rewarding for me, knowing I'm shaping their minds one day at a time. I've always loved watching kids grow up and form opinions of their own; it brings me joy to see how every kid impacts my life daily. I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without each of my encounters with kids because they taught and continue to teach me something new every day. My goal is to encourage children to overcome obstacles and challenges. I teach them things they'll use for the rest of their lives, and they teach me something every day. Working with kids makes me want to be a better person. I always say if they can get through life, then I can. They make me realize I can't stress about everything; I can live in the moment. Finally, I've always been told that “teachers don't get paid enough” or you're working for nothing. But to me, teaching isn't nothing. Teaching is the most significant reward life could offer me; knowing I'm helping a parent help their child succeed is the biggest reward, making every bit of teaching worth it. I'm teaching them to think for themselves, not just teaching them from a book every day and expecting them to run with it. Every kid I've come across, I've always embraced them as my own, and I'm fully prepared to treat every one of my students as I would treat my own. Education is essential in every aspect, but I feel as if early childhood is most important because it sets the tone for the rest of their lives. Kids are an enormous part of my life as they make me who I am today. So to be able to have the opportunity to shape their minds would be a true blessing.

Education, in general, is essential. But Elementary education is shaping the lives of our future generations by instilling education in them from an earlier age. I'm passionate about early childhood education because I always struggled with education in my childhood. I never felt like I could ask for help, so I want to make asking for help a priority for kids and let them know that it's okay to mess up, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay not to know everything. I have the opportunity to shape the lives of our future generations, and that would be so rewarding for me, knowing I'm shaping their minds one day at a time. I've always loved watching kids grow up and form opinions of their own; it brings me joy to see how every kid impacts my life daily. I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without each of my encounters with kids because they taught and continue to teach me something new every day. My goal is to encourage children to overcome obstacles and challenges. I get to teach them things that they'll use for the rest of their lives, and they teach me something every day. Working with kids makes me want to be a better person. I always say if they can get through life, then I can. They make me realize that I don't have to stress about everything; I can live in the moment. Finally, I've always been told that “teachers don't get paid enough” or you're working for nothing. But to me teaching is not nothing. Teaching is the biggest reward life could offer me, knowing I'm helping a parent help their child succeed is the biggest reward and it makes every bit of teaching worth it. I'm teaching them to think for themselves, not just teaching them from a book everyday and expecting them to just run with it. Every kid I've come across, I've always embraced them as my own, and I'm fully prepared to treat every one of my students as I would treat my own. Education is essential in every aspect, but I feel as if early childhood is most important because it sets the tone for the rest of their lives. Kids are an enormous part of my life as they make me who I am today. So to be able to have the opportunity to shape their little minds will be such a blessing.