User:Dcarn004

Hi! My name is Daiva, and I joined the ODU course to complete my licensure requirements. Eighteen years ago I came to U.S. from Lithuania - one of the three Baltic States, situated on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea across from Scandinavia. I have MA in Linguistics, and taught English Language and Literature while living there.

Today I am an elementary school ESL teacher in Warrenton, Virginia. I absolutely love teaching these youngest of our English language learners! Being not a native English speaker myself I believe I understand well the confusions and difficulties my students are facing in daily acquisition of their new language. Previously in my teaching career I dealt mostly with college students, military and private individuals. However, nothing compares to the delight of working with elementary age children (ESL instruction covers grades 1 through 5). This is what Dr. Montessori calls “the sponge mind” stage of human development, where our higher level thinking takes root, and the foundations for academic mentality are instilled – harvest time for educators: talk about instant rewards!

Since I myself came from a country devastated by the totalitarian regime, I am a determined opponent of the one size fits all approach in education. United States, like no other country on the face of the earth, was established not by the people with common territory, one language and same traditions, but by individuals with common ideals and common structure of believes. Respect and protection of individuals rights, not crowd convictions is the core of America. So, ideally, in my mind, educators should aspire towards individualized, custom tailored instruction, which, by the way, is quite a risky and way much more demanding endeavor in comparison to “what’s good for the most will have to do for you too” method. Instead of distancing myself from my captive audience, and just delivering the product, I focus my energies primarily to develop personal relationships with the students. Ultimately, it all boils down to an undeniable practicality – education is an extremely personal and delicate aspect of human interaction.

I truly love my kids. All of them: the more talented and better mannered, with courageous aspirations for their future, as much as those with nearly untraceable signs of self-esteem, often carrying on their shoulders unsightly consequences of generational ignorance. It would be misleading to think that the purpose of education is to merely deliver the academic content. Education affects a student as a whole. Teachers are there to demonstrate respect to our young, as well as belief in their potential. We have the privilege to convince them that mistakes produce maturity and expand knowledge, to teach them to stick out from the crowd, and to question ideas and authority. Educators have the undeniable influence to instill in their students confidence to embrace life with perseverance and gusto. The challenge is ours. Each of us decides individually if we are willing and equipped to take it on. Aristotle warned us a while ago “The fate of empires depends upon education of the youth”. Good luck to all of us!