AUTOBIOGRAPHY

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Ok, to start talking about why am I a teacher nowadays, I have to talk about my childhood, when at the age of five or six we used to play school and I was part of the students because a cousin who was older than we were was the teacher, and she did it wonderful. I am not sure if she now a days is a teacher, But I’m sure that she planted a little seed in my heart when she showed us that being a teacher was a wonderful experience.

After those games, for a long time, I didn't think again in the possibility of being a teacher, really I wanted to be a doctor, and I tried really hard for reaching that goal. But it was impossible.

My love for English, started very early, because I had relatives that lived in the United States and they constantly visited us, and they spoke different to us, I really felt attracted about understanding what they said and, speaking like they did. So, at school English always was one of my favorite subjects.

When I finished school, first I insisted in trying to enter to medicine school at USCO, but that was not Gods plan. So, I couldn´t. then, while I tried to decide what was I going to study, our parents paid for us a course of English during a year and a half in a really good institute, that unfortunately doesn't exist nowadays. There I was one of the best students and we had an excellent teacher, named Beatriz, she also contributed in growing my love to English.

When we finished the course, I tried to travel to EE UU whit the help of an aunt and a cousin whit the idea of living and studying there, but again, it was not possible, because at that moment, the Embassy council did not sympathized whit me and my dreams, and she denied me the Visa.

At that point, I needed to do something, and study a career. So, I decided to study a technology in Publicity and Visual Communication. I did three semesters, and I decided to change university and career, and I started at the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. And after six years I graduated.

During four years I was trying to find a work in a clinic or a hospital, but it was very difficult. Then my best friend gave me the best advice in a long time: "why don't you present at the teachers contest?" then she lend me a pair of books of mathematics and pedagogy and I dedicated six months to study judiciously. And thanks God I passed it. And after three or six months I started my teaching experience in pre-school and first of primary at a rural school. There I was two years and a half. After this marvelous experience, I was transferred to a school here in Neiva. 

During the process of stablishing myself, I worked in several schools in the primary level improving my teaching practice and teaching a little English because of the structure of teaching at primary.

After almost two years, I changed from primary to secondary level and I had the Hugh possibility of teaching English to eleventh and tenth grade students at Misael Pastrana School, as a cathedratic teacher., when God and life gave me the opportunity of being an English teacher and do what I love and feel passionate doing.

From that moment till now, I had been preparing to be a better English teacher, doing several courses, with the Municipal Secretary of Education, and different allied institutions, and giving the best of myself to learn a lot and to return my learning and improvement to my students.

Finally, since the last year, I was one more time blessed by God, and I had a new possibility of studying the English Didactics Master degree at the USCO, which has been one of the best learning/teaching experiences.

And, the last weeks, I have been learning to improve a very important technique that will allow me to understand better my students, and my own practice. I am learning to be a reflective teacher.