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=Welcome to my Wiki!=



"One Hundred Years from now It will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money was in my bank account nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child."

Hello! My name is Margaret Walsh and I am a junior at Rider University majoring in elementary education and psychology and minoring in special education. I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. I have always found so much joy in working with children and watching them grow. I am a very family-oriented person and have many younger cousins who I am very fond of and enjoy spending time with. I am an assistant Irish dance instructor with the DeNogla School of Irish Dance, which was further proven to me that I am meant to be a teacher. Since being at Rider, I have had a few different classroom experiences. My sophomore year, I observed in a third grade classroom at Stuart Country Day School. This gave me a wonderful introduction into the world of teaching, as I was able to watch the school day progress around me and watch master teachers at work. I also had the opportunity to work with students at Mercer High School, which is part of Mercer County Special Services School District. This gave me the opportunity to see what it would be like to work with students with different disabilities. This experience completely changed my outlook on teaching and gave me the goal of becoming a special educator someday. This year, I also had two wonderful field placements. In my fall semester, I was placed in a first grade classroom at Constable Elementary School in South Brunswick. It was during this time I was introduced to a higher level of expectation and more responsibility in the classroom. I was able to work hands-on with students and learned how to plan and implement lessons. To finish up my junior year, I was placed in a fourth grade classroom at Millstone River School in West Windsor. This was one of my overall favorite field placements in my college career. I took on even more responsibility in the classroom and learned how to take more initiative. This was quite a learning experience and helped me feel more confident going into student teaching. My grandfather is my inspiration to be a dedicated, caring, and effective teacher. His name was Ted Callahan and was a very dedicated teacher in Trenton for many years. He eventually became the superintendent of the Hamilton Township School District because of his hard work and passion for education. My grandfather passed away a week after I was born but I have been lucky enough to hear stories about him throughout my life. My grandfather was very dedicated to being a teacher and kept in touch with his students throughout their lives. He believed that every student had potential and he helped his students to work to their full potential. Hearing about his dedication makes me want to follow in his footsteps, as I have a similar philosophy. This wikispace documents my journey in becoming a teacher. Here you will be able to find lessons, reflections, assessments, and my teaching philosophy.