The Life of Luke Schroeder

Schroeder 1

The Life of Luke Schroeder

An Autobiography

Luke Schroeder

EDUC 111: Introduction to Teaching

Professor Eastman

February 21, 2008

Abstract:

Even though I am not a Existentialist thinker, the best way to describe my life is a series of events that have led to my present person. Throughout all of my experiences as the oldest of six kids, as a life student, and as a physically limited person I have decided that teaching is what I truly wish to do with the rest of my life. My hope in life is that I’ll be able to take what I have learned from all of my experiences, and help a younger generation grow and develop healthily.

On the fifth day of the eighth month of the year of our Lord 1989, I entered kicking and screaming into this world. Firstborn of James and Susan Schroeder, I was a slender child of little over seven pounds, but quickly became known as the typical overweight baby. This stage of my life lasted about as quickly as my stead as an only child. Eighteen months after I was born, my brother Nick decided to begin competing with me as soon as he left the womb. We were pretty much inseparable from that day. Wherever I was going, he was going and whatever I was doing, he was doing. I was known as a child to be a biter. I bit everything and everyone I could get my teeth on. This caused some problems for my parents and my brother needless to say. This is where I first started learning about appropriate behaviors. Fortunately I also grew out of that stage. My family did not stay small forever though. Soon after Nick was born, Joe, Max, Will, and Ellie followed suit. We became known as the typical large Catholic family.

I was a very adventurous child, always getting into mischief and getting myself injured. I loved to climb trees, fight imaginary epic battles with stick swords, and catch every type of creature I could find. My lifestyle was very active, and the night was my greatest enemy. My brothers and I would take advantage of every ounce of sunlight, from the early morning to the late evening. The house I grew up in, which my parents continue to live in, has an in-ground pool in the backyard, and the property the house is on spans roughly three acres. Just behind my house lies a corn field and a forest, although my family was not of the farming sort. We live in a rural area and so my life basically revolved around my outdoor adventures. I learned mainly from experience in my younger days. My parents would teach me things, but then I would take the things I learned from them and test them myself.

The biggest part of my early life was my family. Being the oldest of six children, I have been teaching my whole life. My brothers and sister have been looking up to me my entire life. I have always been the go to tutor when any of my brothers have had homework issues. Beyond school work, whenever any of my younger siblings have had a problem with life in general they turn to me. Another huge part of my entire life has been my religious beliefs. I was born and raised in the Catholic church and those values I learned early in life I have always tried to adhere to be a role model for my younger siblings.

I started school at age five in Preschool. The things I remember from preschool are not academic, but I do remember the social skills I learned. Developing friendships and being able to communicate with people other than my parents. I switched schools from preschool and was sent to Our Lady of Mount Carmel from kindergarten to 8th grade. This was a parochial private Catholic school. We wore uniforms and went to Mass every Tuesday and Thursday. From kindergarten to 5th grade my teachers taught all the basics, from math to reading to science. In those years we only had different teachers for art, music, Spanish, and gym. My most influential teacher during those years was my 2nd grade teacher. She incorporated singing into the lesson plan which made everything we learned more memorable. Because of all the songs we learned, every topic addressed had a built in mnemonic device. This had a profound affect on me because whenever I didn’t know an answer I could think back to a song we sang and I would remember. This type of thinking stuck with me my entire life, taking the things I’ve learned and applying them with different techniques such as using music or activities to better remember them.

In fifth grade, changes became apparent. We were introduced to desks lined in rows, always being organized alphabetically. In this grade we had homeroom teachers, and the out of class gym, Spanish, exc., but in addition to that, we would switch rooms with other teachers for different classes twice a day. One teacher taught math and science, one teacher taught English and religion, and one teacher taught social studies and history. This trend continued throughout my years in grade school.

I attended High school at CathedralHigh School, again a Catholic school. My years there were crucial in my development as an adult. During the summer of my sophomore year, my life was changed due to an accident. I had been bailing hay in my cousin’s barn all day, and we had stacked the barn full of hay. We were nearing the end of the day and I was at the top of the stack because everyone was handing the bails of hay to me. As I was being handed a bail, I stepped on a hay bail on the ledge and it fell through. This caused me to fall nearly 25 feet from the top of the barn to the concrete floor. I was rushed to the hospital where I was told that I had snapped my femur and smashed four pieces of bone in my left wrist. After immediate surgery to correct my femur, I had to stay at the hospital for three nights. My wrist was put in a caste. The doctors said I would have to be in a wheelchair for the next three months.

I started school in the next two weeks and was forced to begin my second year at Cathedral stuck in a wheelchair. This very much gave me an appreciation for handicap capability and the feelings that a physically handicapped person goes through. This experience literally changed my life. I gained much empathy and the ability to relate with a much larger group of people through this event. I finished out my years at CathedralHigh School with the stigma of being once in a wheelchair.

Finally my education has led me to ManchesterCollege. I chose this place because it was close to my extended family in Fort Wayne, and because of its solid liberal arts program. My experience here has been great so far. I started my freshman year without knowing what I truly wanted to do. During the summer before my sophomore year I went to a career counselor who tested my personality traits. This was another event that changed my life. I had no direction in my college career until that meeting. My conversation with this counselor led me to the realization that teaching is the career for me.

Many factors in my life have led me to choosing teaching as a profession. I can highlight four main factors as most influential in this decision. My second grade teacher, my hay bail accident, my position as eldest brother in my family, and my meeting with the career counselor have helped realize that teaching is what I want to do with the rest of my life.