Both my parents, a brother and several aunts and uncles are all in the education field -- so it certainly runs in the family. I have always valued education -- not only for how important one can be from a professional standpoint, but from a personal one as well. There are few things more satisfying than seeing a student's eyes light up when they get that 'Eureka!' moment of understanding the subject material. My primary prior education experience was working at an inner-city charter school in Cleveland, Ohio. For two years I served as a one-on-one aide for an elementary-age student with high-functioning autism. His unique abilities and the way he perceived the world required me to become very creative in my teaching methods. I can say with pride that with a lot of work and dedication from both the student and myself that he never fell behind in his classwork. Indeed he became actively engaged in the learning process. (Telling him to give the other students a chance to answer the question was a good problem to have!)While at the charter school, which was K-8, I also had ample opportunity to substitute teach every grade level, covering pretty much every subject in the Common Core curriculum. Substituting also allowed me to expand upon subjects once the material left by the teacher was completed, allowing students the opportunity to ask questions about topics and subjects that interested them. I really think if one shows a passion for learning, that passion can be passed on to a student. I know from personal experience that learning is much easier if the subject is something that one finds interesting. The trick, of course, is to make any subject or assignment interesting to the student -- and that's something I feel very strongly that I bring to the table. While my primary experience is grades K-8, I also have a high level of competence in the social sciences, as well as English/composition for high school and even college courses.

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