Literacy Profile

            At an early age, I had an interest in all animals and enjoyed visiting the horses that lived across the street from my house.  This interest turned into a literacy when I got a little older and my parents signed me up for horseback riding lessons at a nearby stable.  During my first lesson, I learned how to handle, groom, and prepare a horse for riding.  I was taught about all of the equipment needed and how to properly put it on the horse.  Most importantly, I learned all of the safety practices that come with working with such large animals.  After going through all of the preliminary steps, it was finally time to get on the horse and learn how to ride.  The instructor taught me how to get on, where to put my foot in the stirrup, and how to hold the reins. She taught me how to make the horse walk forward, turn left, turn right, and stop.  I learned that squeezing with my legs would make the horse go faster and putting pressure on the reins would make the horse slow down.  When the lesson came to an end and I hopped off of the horse, there were so many new things that I had learned in such a short amount of time. Looking back now, after riding for about fifteen years, everything that I learned that first day now seems so simple and comes as second nature to me when I am at the barn. 

            After my first riding lesson I was hooked.  I began taking lessons weekly, reading books about horseback riding, watching other people ride, and helping out around the barn to earn extra riding time.  I learned how to trot, canter, and jump and soon began competing in horse shows.  Eventually, I was lucky enough to get my own horse which I trained, cared for, and successfully competed with.  Although I no longer have my own horse, I still continue to keep riding whenever I am able to.

The skill of riding horses is not the only thing that I take from this hobby.  It has also taught patience, determination, and dedication.  It takes patience to deal with animals that do not always do exactly what you want them to do.  I had to be patient when training my own young horse to do what I wanted him to.  I have been determined to become a better rider since my first horseback riding lesson.  When I do not do something the right way or a horse does not respond to what I want it to do, I am always determined to do it again and do it better.  Especially when working with younger horses or those that do not have as much training, I have to be determined to get the results that I want and train the horse to do what is right.  Finally, since I started riding at a young age, I have been dedicated to the sport of horseback riding.  Examples of dedication are getting back on a horse after it has bucked me off, going to ride and care for the horses no matter how cold or miserable the weather might be, and continuing to work hard to become a better rider.

Patience, determination, and dedication are all traits that are beneficial in other areas of life and will be especially valuable to me as a teacher.  Just like horses, my students might not always do exactly what I want them to do or learn something the way that I would like.  It will take patience to handle difficult situations in a classroom.  I will have to stay determined to keep helping my students learn the material I will teach them.  Finally, I will be dedicated to teaching and to my students through good days and bad days.