A Closer Look at Me…
This is me in Harmons, Jamaica in July, 2001.
If you were to visit the basement of the house that I grew up in, you would find a mock classroom, complete with a chalkboard, a teacher’s desk, four student’s desks, a number line across the side wall, a few inspirational posters, and a bookshelf adorned with miscellaneous textbooks, all of which were purchased at various garage sales throughout the years. Although its ambiance was often interrupted by the sounds of the washer and dryer on the opposite side of the basement, or by my mother calling down the stairs announcing that my dinner was getting cold, starting at around the age of seven or eight, this was my classroom. My brother and sister, as well as a few of my cousins, will readily attest to their roles as my students. Following a long day in school when my siblings and I would arrive home, my brother and sister would scurry for the Nintendo, while I would repeatedly request their presences downstairs in my classroom. My sister would usually, yet quite reluctantly, come meandering down the stairs and I would quickly prompt her on who she was going to be for the day, as well as how she was supposed to respond to me as the teacher, “Your name is Cindy Bradley, and I’m going to give you back the math test that you failed, and then you have to come talk to me, at which time I will make you feel better and you will stop crying, okay?”
One could argue that this behavior at such a young age is confirmation of a somewhat innate desire to be a teacher, or perhaps it suggests that through observation of the teachers that I had in the primary grades, I attempted to model them, creating a condition that is evidence for the social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura. Whichever the case, I truly believe that teaching is in my blood, and to become a teacher is to carry out my natural role in our society. A lot has changed since those years when I would spend countless hours in the basement teaching my class, which sometimes consisted of only invisible students. I have taken numerous courses, from child development to behavior management, and I have experienced classrooms with “real” students who do not always do everything that I ask. Additionally, through the compilation of courses that I have taken and the experiences that I have had, I have begun to create many personal beliefs with regards to various aspects of teaching. However, there are a lot of facets of myself that have remained the same. I’m thankful that the classroom in the basement is still intact, although it is now polluted with some of my parent’s items that are too “good” to throw away, yet too “bad” to use, such a blender from 1978. The classroom reminds me that along with my courses and my experiences, I naturally have the necessary characteristics of a successful teacher. I hold an abundant amount of genuine concern for all students, and I highly value the opportunity to make an impact on students’ lives.