How VTfT has Impacted Me--Mimi Dang

Educating the youth is something that I value, and it ensures me that our future is secure. These
past few weeks of interning at Centerville Elementary have shown me more about education and our
future than anything I have participated in before. Teaching these kids valuable lessons to help them be
successful warms my heart and makes me excited for their future. My time spent with these future
doctors, engineers, artists, astronauts, and veterinarians has shown me that kids are still taught to reach for
the stars and they have a very supportive family of teachers to help them. ​ Taking the course Virginia
Teachers for Tomorrow within my final year here in the public school system was one of the best
decisions I have made for myself.
My parents come from a background where education couldn’t be a priority to them. They both
didn’t get the chance to finish high school, as they moved to the United States when they were teenagers
and were left to care for their siblings while my grandparents went to find jobs. However, their passion,
drive, and determination paved the way for a successful career in a new country. This is how I was raised.
Every project I pursued came from passion and was a stepping stone to help me better myself in one way
or another. Every club I committed to allowed me to gain a new perspective or skill that enhanced my
educational career. Every job I applied for was a job that I believed in fully and wasn’t just for the money
or convenience. There was always a reason and always a purpose. Because of this background, education
has always been a priority in my life and teaching has always been a dream of mine.
One of my proudest accomplishments at Tallwood High is placing first in an EdRising
Competition for Researching Learning Challenges. My team of three students studied ways to better
accommodate for students with Intellectual Disabilities and other challenges in our school system. We
interviewed different teachers in our school systems and those involved in the Special Ed department to
gain more knowledge on how VBCPS prepares these students. The information we found was shocking
with the statistics and methods used. Through this, we were in charge of researching different solutions
we could offer to our school board and explaining to them why our solutions could be effective and why
they should be taken into consideration. We explained our points through an eight-page research paper, a
presentation, and hosting a question and answer panel. After placing first place in the state-wide
competition, we were notified of qualifying for the national competition which is located in Dallas, Texas
this year in the month of June.

Through this course, I was able to have an almost “behind the scenes” perspective of school and
made me so much more grateful for where I was raised and grown up. It made me realize how much I
took everything for granted. To have a seventeen or even a sixteen-year-old student take charge in a
classroom and teach is something that I honestly still can’t get over today. It warms my heart as a student
to have not just a single adult, but multiple, having trust in students to be able to do these things and
believe they have the right motives to take on such a role. This year I was able to create two of my very
own lesson plans, one being the lesson that I taught to my actual students that I was interning with. My
lesson plan truly made me realize the amount of work good teachers put into their passions and this only
continued to motivate me to become a better student. My big lesson consisted of a BreakOut game related
to the Planets, Sun, and Moon. Students were given different riddles and assignments to unlock a box
filled with stress balls and candy to help them prepare for their science SOL. When these students were
engaged in these activities, the most satisfying feeling rushed over me. These students were so used to
sitting in their desks for about six hours a day in a row and were cramming so much content, that when
they started getting up and moving around, they didn’t even seem to realize that they were relearning so
much while having such a great time in the classroom. This was such an accomplishment especially as
many administrators came in to observe this lesson as well. After my lesson, Mrs. T was explaining to me
that Centerville doesn’t do many activities like that and they wish to add that to their inventory for future
years, and those words meant so very much to me. I can’t express how great that felt knowing I was able
to make an impact like that at their school.

Though I don’t plan on entering the education field right after my post-secondary education
career, I still do have a passion for teaching and wish to continue this. I believe that teaching is best after
mastering the field in the “real-world,” and that is my plan. I’ve had lots of ups and downs with VTFT
and though there were times that I wanted to quit, VTFT has only grown my passion for education and
has given me a glimpse of my future.