July 22nd

Hello, I am Amanda Van Kuren and I am enrolled for the July 2010 ADK course. I am currently still doing my undergrad work in Childhood Education, and am taking this course to fulfill my concentration classes in environmental studies. I am interested in this course, because for and education class I have previously taken we were required to spend three days in Raquette Lake. It was a really good bonding experience, and just the things to do out there are amazing while working together with others.
Since I can remember I have always wanted to go to school to be a teacher. For a summer I had worked with four year olds, and that inspired me into wanting to teach childhood ed. Since I have been in the classroom doing my practicum work throughout my last year, it as opened my eyes a lot to why I want to be a teacher. I want to be a teacher to inspire and encourage kids into wanting to learn. I want my student's to want to be at school and always engage them into their learning experiences. In the fall I will be student teaching in Manhattan with other Cortland students that I am really looking forward to getting to know. I think that my placements in the city will be an experience that I cannot wait to have.
With this being said, my goals as a professional when I become one, is to inspire children and encourage them to learn. I want to make the classroom a friendly and fun learning environment so they can acquire the knowledge they need in order to entire the real world later in their lives. As many people say, I want to create an impact on a child's life and have them know that I am there to teach them in the best way that I can.
My goals for this course during the week that I am there is to make new friends and learn from the people that are around me. I think that this is a great experience for everyone, and it will truly be a great week getting to know everything and completing activities.