Artavia Beauford

Before I thought about what school I wanted to attend for college I knew what career I was destined to have. Working in the educational system is the career path I wanted take since I was a little girl because I have always had a special love for children. As I began to mature I started to think about ways in which I could work with children. My choice was to become an educator. Being an educator to me is a very broad title. Knowing that being an educator is not a career that is spilling over with money I can honestly say that it does not matter to me because I know that I will be doing what I love, and that is impacting the lives of the leaders of tomorrow in a positive way. Moreover, Throughout my career as an educator I will evolve into two other fields in education one of which is counseling. I believe that a teacher holds a special place in a students heart, but their guidance counselor is someone that the student can come to, and really be open with. I will to be able to be that helping hand the student may need. The other field in education I will go into is being a Principal. The leadership role will be great for me to thrive in because I will always have the well being of the students in my heart. Specifically my ultimate goal is to guide an elementary school that is suffering academically to an successful level. I will do this by going in and analyzing the cause of the failing rates, and in return set up a plan to bring up test scores, and make certain that every child understands the material being taught. I know this can be done because every child has the potential to reach or even go past any limits already put in place for them. I will be the individual in students lives that brings out their brilliance. Believing in a child is all they really need to acquire their own self actualization. This notion in return will cultivate strong minded men and women who will continue the cycle of believing that everyone including themselves are capable of greatness. Being a lead teacher at Park Avenue Learning center for children ages 0-12 was a wonderful leadership experience for me because one day i could be looking after the smaller children and the next the school age children. It helped to adapt to the different levels of instruction. With the little children there was a huge need for guidance and instruction, but it was the total opposite when it came to the older children. Some days I had to think on my feet because I knew that the children were depending on me to positively guide them. In addition. I have also had the chance to be a youth mentor for teens at the New Journey Youth Center. This experience was also rewarding because as much as I taught them in return I learned a lot. It was one particular young man age 12 who stood out to me because he would not behave properly and always talked back. I knew that there was a deeper issue so I took him to the side and talked with him about how he is almost a teenager, and was setting an example for those looking up to him. I eventually got him to understand that his behavior was unacceptable, and asked him to apologize to the adults that he was disrespecting. To my surprise he did apologize, and his behavior began to improve. I am always happy to lend a helping hand especially when it comes to children because they are truly my passion.