About Me

“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite imagination, and instill a love of learning.”-Brad Henry
    
      My name is Megan Ballachey. I am a mother of three beautiful girls, a wife, and a student of education. I was born in Long Beach, California and have lived here in California all my life. As a very young child I attended Roch Courreges Elementary School in Fountain Valley. Apparently I was very bright as a child so in elementary school I was in a gifted child program. I often like to reflect on the fact that my first grade teacher was Mrs. Good and my second grade teacher was Mrs.Wright. I like to muse they started my

academic career off on the right foot. When I was ten years old my family moved to the city of Corona and I spent the rest of my childhood there. I attended Stallings Elementary from grades 3 through 6. It was in 6th grade when I had the opportunity to be a student of an exemplary teacher. My 6th grade teacher was fun, creative, invested, enthusiastic about learning and innovative in his teaching craft. It was Mr. Sweet that showed me a different way to learn, a way to be involved in events and activities in the community and a way to dream big.He taught me to be enthusiastic about what you are doing, to think outside the box and to always try to excel in everything you take on. I then attended middle school at Corona Fundamental Intermediate School. For my high school career I was a proud Husky at Centennial High School in Corona, California. In high school I entered into an honors program and at every chance I got, took on an extra science class. Instead of art I chose marine biology, while my friends were in ceramics I was in anatomy. I tallied up 6 years’ worth of science classes. I had always known I loved science, since I was a child. Other kids had imaginary friends as children and I had my life plan which involved me being a scientist. Okay maybe that’s a little too far, but you get the picture. After high school I attended California State University of San Bernardino and received my Bachelor's Degree in Biology. When I say it like that it sounds simple, like I just went out and got it. The truth is I struggled for my degree because while I was focused and invested in my education I also had a life. I became a wife and a mother while in college and being mommy became my first priority. I took off several years before finally going back at the age of 30 to finish my degree.It was important to have my children see me graduate because I wanted them to learn that you can do whatever you put your mind to and to not give up when life throws you a curve ball. Because of my children, great teachers, and my love of learning I decided to enter into a career of teaching and I am so excited to get into a classroom and start this new part of my life. I would love to make an impact on kids and can't wait to teach them all the reason why I love science and love what I do.

     What I find of particular importance is to prepare students for college and the technological age. I believe it is important to teach to the future, not the current. This is an age of technology an age where the newest cell phone is outdated by the time it hits the shelf. Students need to not only be prepared to successfully live in this tech age regardless of economic status, they need to be able to contribute and progress technology even further. I plan to stay on the cutting edge of technology and what is being expected of students in the college classrooms. During my classroom observation hours I have seen students at the high school level capable of web page building and power point presentations and I hope to have the technology and more available to my students. It is my belief that there is a change brewing in the teaching field and it has to do with the technical age we are living in. We are seeing a change in that the students don’t need to be taught things that they can just type into Google. When speaking to the teachers in the field in my classroom observations about this, I find that they are in agreement. I believe students need to be taught the love of learning, to be lifetime learners, to challenge and think critically about information they find, how to verify and gather facts while excluding opinions and biases.
     In the Fall I will be attending California State University of San Marcos's Single Subject Credential Program in order to gain a teaching credential in biology. When I read the mission statement for this program there are a couple of things that stand out to me. The mission statement says that the school aims to "advance innovative, student-centered practices". To me, this is of utmost importance because I believe teaching should be centered around the students. Lessons should reflect the various ways that students learn. Students should be able to relate new material to previous knowledge and real life experiences. I feel that in order to engage students teachers need to be innovative in how they present the material to the class. Another statement that stands out in the mission statement of the School of Education at CSUSM is "inspire reflective teaching and learning". If we don't stop and reflect about what and how we are teaching, how can we know if it is effective? I plan on being the type of teacher that stops and analyzes my own teaching practice. It is a great practice to stop and check in with yourself now and again in not just with teaching and learning but in life in general. These statements found in the mission statement of the school are a great surprise. While they had no bearing on my decision to go into this program, I am even more confident now in my choice to attend the School of Education at California State University of San Marcos because it seems like it will be a great fit for me.