My name is Aly Bernhisel. I'm from Cowley, Wy, which is a 500-person town about 90 miles south of Billings, Mt. I love trail running, writing, traveling, and peanut butter. This is my 8th semester at USU, where I'm studying English Teaching. I hope to teach in a high school someday.
Being an English teacher, I think, comes with a lot of responsibility. While the traditional things we think of as being part of a high school English curriculum, such as grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, etc. are important, I feel like my main purpose as an English teacher needs to be teaching my students how to communicate effectively: with people, texts, society and, MOST importantly, with themselves. Reading and writing aren't the "end" of instruction; rather, they are the means English teachers can use to help students learn about interpretation and communication for use in their own individual lives.
I guess several things influenced my decision to become an English teacher. One is that teaching is sort of a tradition in my family: both of my parents, as well as all four of my grandparents, are/were at one point teachers. Carrying on the tradition wasn't so much the motivator, though, as was the fact that all of them love teaching, have enjoyed the opportunity it gives for one to continue learning themselves, and have been able to make a real difference in many of their students' lives over the years. These are what I hope to experience as I teach also. On a less sentimental note, the ideas of having summers "off" (although, I learned from watching my parents, "off" maybe isn't the most accurate word...) and may even being able to coach are also definite bonuses.
Really, I feel like one of the "lucky" ones in this class, in that I think the material we will be covering might benefit me more than it might other majors. Or, rather, will be easier to apply to my major. Along with that, us English majors may also be a bit more naturally interested in this stuff (ie discussing literacy) than, perhaps, someone planning on teaching health. I do feel like this stuff is applicable and important for teachers in every discipline, though, so hopefully we can all find that out a bit this semester.
