Shaekwon Heard Introduction

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    Hello, I am MiSTER Shaekwon Heard. I am a senior here at UPstate. I am a middle level education major, and I hope to teach sixth grade ELA. The title "MiSTER" comes from being a member of Call Me MiSTER - a mentorship program that strives to have minority male educators in South Carolina elementary and middle schools. 

    I have a lot of hobbies, but the top three would have to be martial arts, cooking, and anything outdoors. I love animals, nature, and especially water. My biggest passion outside of teaching is definitely coaching. I guess that is a form of teaching, though. I am an assistant wrestling coach at Spartanburg High School, and I work as a bookkeeper at a local grocery store. 

    As a learner, to be more successful, I have to be better about asking for help. I don't need help often, so when I do, I just try to see myself through. 

    The books that stood out most to me during my childhood were common, relatable teen-fiction books. During my early reading days, I almost always had Junie B. Jones in my backpack, along with Goosebumps and Captain Underpants. Junie B. Jones was probably my favorite. I admired her rebellious spirit. I LOVE the Bluford High Series and cannot wait to teach through them (if I ever teach 8th grade). As an inner-city kid, I was raised to be opposite and have a different life than the characters in those books. However, I got to see people who really had those lives every single day at school. I knew the drug dealers, gang members, homeless kids, etc. I also loved the story of Beastly. The maturation process and character development of the protagonist was amazing. Books take me to a place that movies can't. If we watch a movie together, we see the exact same things on the screen. We can read the same book, but the way the scenes play out in our mind may not be the same. For that reason, I will always love books. I consider them my own little inexpensive getaways.

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