Hi everyone! Welcome to my first blog post. This first post is going to explain my educational journey thus far at Millersville University.
Influencers:
My biggest influencer in my educational journey (and life) is my mom. My mom has been a teacher for over 25 years. I went through the same elementary school that she is still teaching at. Growing up, I would be in her classroom everyday before and after school. I would spend countless summer days in her classroom as well as she prepared for upcoming school years. As long as I can remember I have wanted to be a teacher, and I owe it to my mom for letting me dive into all of her classroom supplies during all the time I spent in her classroom. Another influence would be all of my elementary school teachers and all of my mom’s “teacher friends”. They are always sharing insightful advice, offering their classroom up for my to observe, and overall just always being supportive of me. 
Pedagogy:
As for educational theorists, I relate to Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky’s theory was the Zone of Proximal Development. This means what a child can do on their own, what a child can do with help/assistance, and what a child cannot do. I think this idea is important because it is imperative to know your students’ each individual abilities. It is also important to know their personal limits in both academics and with their emotions. Vygotsky also believed that nurture was more important with children than nature is. This is the same belief that I have in the nature vs. nurture argument. I agree with Vygotsky that it is more important to be a caring teacher and shaping children’s minds through proper care and schooling rather than just genetics.
Teaching the Why and the How of the Field:
I think that the professors here at Millersville University are teaching the why and the how of the field. Every single professor that I have had thus far at Millersville has brought a new idea to the table. There’s so much diversity among the professors at Millersville. Everyone has experienced different situations in their own time in the field, everyone has come from somewhere different, it is amazing to just hear and take in what every professor has to say.
Insights:
The people that share the most insight with me personally are education majors, professors, and my peers. Every semester I meet new future educators in my classes. Every peer comes from different places and everyone has different experiences with their own education as well as in the field. Bouncing ideas off of fellow future educators is so insightful.
