Good Afternoon Class! My name is Erin Rozelle, but the kids at school call me Miss Erin. I am a native San Diegan. I lived in Mira Mesa for the first 17 years of my life. I attended Sandburg Elementary School, Challenger Middle School, and finally graduated from Mira Mesa High School in 2004. I went off to college in Santa Barbara (brutal, I know!). I attended a small private Christian school, called Westmont College. One of the most amazing experiences from college was actually leaving!... To study abroad of course. I spent 4 months in Lithuania, enjoying the culture and traveling. I received a BA in History, with a minor in Sociology in May 2008. I currently work for the Poway Unified School District as a substitute instructional assistant for Special Education.
I never particularly considered myself a "computer person," but I know I am dependent upon my computer, whether I know how it works or not! I love to use the computer for e-mails, g-chat, and facebook, especially to keep in touch with friends from college. I spend countless minutes researching movies, books, and anything that I have a curiosity about at any given moment throughout the day! When I went to college, I was so proud that I had worked the whole summer to save up for my very own laptop computer. With some help from my Dad, I bought Dell. Now, to be fair, this Dell got me through a hundred essays, a few all-nighters, extensive research, millions of e-mails, and a great photo collection. But after a few years, my Dell was not as dependable. And like a lot of Dells, we had a huge issue with overheating. The many cleanings, installing more memory, and an external fan improved its co
ndition somewhat. But I stopped taking it to class and the library, because the fan sounded like an airplane taking off. It got me through the rest of school, but now I use a PC desktop. The next time I buy a computer, it will definitely be a Mac. I know people usually stick with one or another, but I have no ties to the PC. I'm a regular Benedict Arnold who has been won over by Mac-users who rave about how much better they are! Especially since you can use cool programs, such as Photobooth to create pictures such as this one!Every time I read the CSUSM Mission Statement, it gets me excited to become a teacher. I am actually still in the process of applying for the program, and if I didn't agree with the mission statement, I would not apply for the school. One thing I love about the mission statement is that it is not only a far-off philosophical, unattainable goal. "We are committed to diversity, educational equity, and social justice." They could have stopped there. Many people, organizations, and institutions are committed to these things, but no one ever tells us how these things are going to come about. However, the College of Education states in their mission statement that it is "exemplified through reflective teaching, life-long learning, innovative research, and ongoing service." This is what I want to strive to be as a teacher, constantly reflecting, constantly learning, and constantly serving. Teaching is not only a job, and the COE understands the difference we teachers-to-be can make. In order to make the difference in society, the teachers need to be taught. I look forward to seeing how this is evident through each class I take at CSUSM.
