Cultural Inventory

I was born April 28, 1984 in Hemet, California the eleventh child between my two parents, the fifth of my moms children and sixth of my dads and the last child they both had making me the baby on both sides of my parents group of children.  I do not share one full blood sibling relationship since there was a mix of yours and mine.  I do not know much about my parents really, however I do know my parents were not married when I was born and didn’t get married until about ten years after I was born.  I was born into a very toxic, stressful, dysfunctional environment.  Both my parents were drug addicts and placed their addictions above the needs of my sister who lived with me and myself.

 

Because my parents were addicts and irresponsible my other siblings lived with their moms or dads.  I had two sisters that lived with me until I was five years old and then my one sister was taken away to live with her dad leaving just my sister who was two years older then me together.  I do not know anything about the roles the sons of the family took since I did not grow up with them and have only recently met one.  The role that my sister that lived with me took was being my friend and caretaker for a good part of my elementary age.  At the age of eleven however, my father went to prison so my sister who is nineteen years older then me took the role of guardian of me and raised me until the age of eighteen.

My father and mother both dropped out of high school their sophomore year and eventually completed their GED certification.  I never learned anything about my grandparents on both sides other then they had passed away.  English is the spoken language on both sides for my parents and grandparents.  Being that my parents were extremely dysfunctional courtship and marriage were definitely not a thought.  I however value courtship and marriage and have been married for thirteen years to my husband who I met at the age of fourteen. 

I do not currently and have not had contact with my parents for many years so we really have no special occasions that we celebrate.  I also have no contact with the sister who raised me since that as well was a very toxic environment.  When I think back to the time I spent with them holidays were not celebrated because drug use was the priority and focus. 

Currently in my home and with my husband’s family we celebrate every holiday possible and host many events at our house.  My husband had a very large extended family so my boys have many cousins.  We love to have ham, turkey, stuffing, and desserts when we get together for the holidays and games are always included.

I do not know the birthplace for my father however, I do know he was one of eight children unfortunately all of his siblings were addicts as well.  My mother was born in Sacramento, California the only girl born with four brothers.  I am not sure of the birthplace for either set of my grandparents or the culture they belonged to.  My parents belonged to the drug culture.  My dad took up the habit of heroin at the age of fourteen and has continued to use and sell since then regardless of the times he has went to prison.  My mother is a meth addict and has let that pretty much destroy all her relationships and her life. 

Although this is my family, this does not define who I am or who I have become.  My life has absolutely no evidence of the culture I was brought up in.  That’s not to say I haven’t had to overcome obstacles and mentally talk myself through the bad choices my parents made.  I made a decision as a child to not follow the paths of my parents but to choose differently, to have more and to accomplish more, to be a generational breaker and start a new generation within my own family.  My family is not who I am or who I have to be.  I have used my childhood as a stepping-stone and reminder of what I don’t want.  I have created a stable culture environment for my family.  I am an involved parent, active member of my church community, a runner, and try to be the best wife I can be to my husband and show my two boys that hard work and commitment can take you beyond your circumstances.  Having a mindset and a value that you are worth and deserve more can be what fuels you to give your best and try your best.  I hope the obstacles I have faced an overcome can be used as strength to give my students my absolute best, but also to use my history to relate to those students who may be growing up in the exact same environment.

Introduction

Hello,

My name is Mary Terry, I'm currently working on completing my education degree.  I have lived in Las Vegas for the past 22 years.  I am a wife of going on 14 years and a mom to two boys ages 7 and 9.  I recently began going back to school to finish my teaching degree now that both of my boys are in school full time.  I currently substitute full time pretty much for the same school every day.  I have chosen to pursue a career in education because it is something I find myself being very passionate about.  I hope to one day in the near future to be able to teach elementary education preferably the third grade.  I love third grade because I believe it's a huge transitional age for students, a lot of growth takes place academically and maturity wise.  I desire to be a world changer and I believe that we can take part in doing that by being involved and growing the children of our future.  Growing up teachers were a huge stability for me and I found a lot of comfort in that.  I would love to some day be able to be that stability to my students.  I believe through passion and determination I can be a great teacher and change lives for the better not just through educating the students academically but nurturing them and teaching them life lessons to grow them into decent human beings who think of others.  I am looking forward to advancing my knowledge in the education field through TED 310.
After taking the online teaching personality test I was rated as having ESFJ personality type.  This personality type seeks to develop harmony in relationship, promoting cooperation and teamwork.  This type seeks to recognize value in others and to encourage and motivate others.  I believe my personality type promotes my choice of career in the third grade.  I believe my personality will positively affect my students by engaging them, encouraging them, making them feel safe and motivating them.  I believe my personality type will also allow my students to feel comfortable to fail and learn from mistakes which will promote growth in their personality and learning.  
After taking Learning Style Scales I rated to have moderate preference for one dimension of the scale which means I learn easier in a teaching environment.  I believe because I learn in a teaching environment I will be able to sympathize with my students and meet them where they are at.  I will have a mindset to teach and train my students and check for understanding.  
Teaching Style Survey I rated High for all five of the categories scored.  On this particular survey the result that stuck out to me the most was the delegation one.  Being able to delegate as a teacher will benefit my students tremendously.  This will allow them to take an active participation role in their learning environment and grow them in the area of responsibility.   Responsibility is such a key in learning because the student has to put in work to gain results, to grow and to learn and when they do this they have a sense of pride and accomplishment.  These are life skills that they can take with them beyond the classroom.      
Taking these learning and teaching styles really engaged me into thinking exactly what I want from my students success and for my own personal success with teaching.  I look forward to keeping these results in mind and applying them to my classroom.