Ms. Frick's Teaching Portfolio
Background
Why Teaching?
As a grade school student, I happened upon the quote "Allow your passion to become your purpose, and it will one day become your profession" (Gabrielle Bernstein). Reading, writing, and helping others grow into the best version of themselves have always been passions of mine. It simply makes sense to combine them! Upon stepping into a classroom I feel a rush of energy and duty. I desire to instill a sense of empowerment and self-worth in my students. Whenever I am privileged to witness an "aha!" moment, I am reminded that there is nowhere else I would rather be.
I was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania, where I reside to this day. Throughout my years in the Lehigh Valley I've experienced many opportunities to discover my interests and passions, including spending my childhood summers chasing down the local "book-mobile" and re-enacting entire movies with my younger sister, becoming a leadership team member for my church's youth group, and spending Friday nights in the stands as a marching band member in high school. I was always one to take life by the horns and anyone who knew me told me I was born to inspire others to learn and grow. Experiences such as my years spent as a camp counselor and the nights when I was flattered to be asked by friends to help revise a piece of writing confirmed my desire to teach. Although I enjoyed grade school, I faced a few challenges such as maintaining my focus in class and on assignments. The idea of unique learning styles became very real to me as I discovered strategies that kept me on task with the help of teachers who saw me as a person rather than a number. I thrived whenever I had a chance to map concepts visually (e.g. creating graphic organizers and annotations) or interact with material kinesthetically (e.g. acting out plays in the annual Shakespeare festival). As I matured I realized that everyone I met had the potential to achieve amazing things upon discovering and building upon their own personal strengths as I had. I made it my mission to help others do just that. I chose to attend Moravian College, where I gained invaluble classroom experience and honed my strengths as an educator. At Moravian, both community and individuality were celebrated; it was also a place where I found people who didn't question why in the world I chose to major in both English and Psychology while working toward my education certification. To me, the relationship between the subjects is an obvious and important one — it is only when one takes the time to understand people, whether that be through literature or the study of cognitive workings — that they can effectively approach the task of making a difference in students' lives.
