Practice Blog Post: Who am I? Why do I want to be an educator? What does an educator do in his or her practice? What are my passions?

Outline
I. Description of Self- Name, Hometown, Family
II. Description of School- Highschool, College, Major, Honors Program
III. Description of Deciding to Be a Teacher- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
IV. Description of What a Teacher Should Be- Characteristics
V. Description of My Passions- English and Photography(insert personal pictures)


My name is Heather Howton. I was born and raised in the small town of Peterman, Alabama. Although it is a simply a bump in the road, it has now been home to me for the nineteen years of my life. Peterman has been my family's home for over seventy years. My immediate family consists of four people: my mother, my father, my sister, and myself. My sister and I both graduated from Monroe Academy, and now we both attend school here at South Alabama. I am one of many sophomores in the Honors Program this year, yet I am one of only a few education majors.

Throughout the first eighteen years of my life, I never imagined myself becoming a teacher. I have always enjoyed explaining subjects and tutoring, but I could not see myself as a teacher. My family thinks I should become a doctor or an engineer, but last year I realized the most influential people that I have met in my life have been teachers. All of these influences were not positive, though. I have had amazing teachers, and I have had terrible teachers; however, both the good and the bad shaped my passion to become a teacher. An educator in this century should be a person who can problem solve, inspire, learn, teach, coach, and shape the next generations. I was torn between teaching English or teaching Biology, but ultimately I chose English! My passions have become English and Photography, so I am also debating on minoring in Art. I especially enjoy taking pictures of landscapes, flowers, and sunsets. I hope to immensely expand, improve, and deepen both of these passions through these next few years and take them with me into my future classrooms!