Upon completion of Morehouse College in the spring of 2017 I plan to transition into an alternative teacher certification program or go into a masters program for educational policy/leadership. Currently I am a sociology major with a minor in education studies and the experiences that I have had the past two summers has shaped my academic and professional goals. During the summer after my freshmen year I worked with a local church for their summer enrichment program. This program was geared towards minority students that scored in the lower percentile on the state standardized test from the current academic year. Majority of the students that were enrolled came from a low socio-economic background and were living in hotels provided by the city. …show more content…
The two audiences that I served during the summer were on opposite sides of the academic spectrum. Immediately understanding the need for positive black male examples in those student’s lives was something that instantly attracted me to the profession. Also, recognizing the disconnect in the field of education and the corrupt policy makers that target urban school systems is something that I am determined to fix. The following summer I was selected as a 9th grade World History teacher for the Breakthrough Collaborative program in Miami, FL. The students that I worked with allowed me to create a space in the classroom that allowed each one of us to grow personally and academically. My main focus during the summer was to push them past their boundaries while making sure that they were socially conscience. I also implemented a culturally responsive curriculum to my lesson plan because I identified the lack of national and global news that the students knew. The summer after Breakthrough gave me the motivation and drive to identify areas in the field of education that needs room for growth, while simultaneously opening up various avenues in trying to fix community building and family involvement in