Martyka Johnson took a class to become a K-6th grade teacher. She discusses her favorite assignments, journals, and week from the class. The assignments and journals helped her learn about cognitive skills, stress management, and building self-confidence. Her self-assessment scores show she improved in areas like self-motivation and believing in herself. Her goals are to become a teacher, buy a home, take her children places, and save for their future.

1. MARTYKA JOHNSON
TEACHING K-6TH GRADE
I AM A STRONG, INTELLIGENT, AND KIND-HEARTED WOMAN.

2. 3 FAVORITE ASSIGNMENTS
• COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES: I LIKED THIS ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE I LEARNED HOW TO BREAK DOWN CONCEPTS
MORE. I LEARNED THAT I SHOULD THINK ABOUT THE CONCEPT AND SEE HOW IT RELATES TO OTHER CONCEPTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, I SHOULD FIND ONE WAY TO STUDY AND USE IT EVERY TIME. BY DOING THIS, IT HELPS ME
REMEMBER WHAT I STUDIED. IF I STUDY DIFFERENT WAYS EACH TIME, IT WILL BE HARDER FOR ME TO
REMEMBER BECAUSE MY BRAIN GOES BACK TO HOW I STUDIED BEFORE.
• STRESS: IN THIS ASSIGNMENT I LEARNED THAT STRESS PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN YOUR LIFE. IF YOU SUFFER FROM
TOO MUCH STRESS, IT CAN CAUSE MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS. IT CAN ALSO BE A DISTRACTION WHILE YOU’RE
TRYING TO FOCUS IN CLASS OR ON HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. STRESS CAN CAUSE YOU TO HAVE ANGER AND
LASH OUT ON THE SOMEONE WHEN YOU DIDN’T MEAN IT.
• LETTER TO THE NEXT CLASS: THIS ASSIGNMENT GAVE ME A CHANCE TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT WHAT I LEARNED
IN THIS CLASS. I LOVE TELLING OTHERS GOOD NEWS AND WHAT THEY CAN LOOK FORWARD TOO. I THINK WHEN
THEY READ WHAT I SAID IT WILL GIVE THEM INSIGHT AND WHAT’S TO COME . AFTER READING WHAT I SAID, IT
SHOULD HELP THEM BE PREPARED FOR THIS CLASS.

3. 3 FAVORITE JOURNALS
• JOURNAL ENTRY #13…THIS JOURNAL WAS MEANINGFUL TO ME BECAUSE IT HELPED ME SEE
HOW I USE MY TIME EVERYDAY. IT SHOWS ME THAT I RUSH TOO MUCH TO GET THINGS DONE
OR TO BE ON TIME FOR SOMETHING. IT GAVE ME AN IDEA OF HOW TO PRIORITIZE MY TIME
THAT WAY I’M NOT IN A HURRY ALL THE TIME.
• ENTRY #16…THIS JOURNAL ENTRY HELPED ME SEE THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE WHO CAN HELP ME
STAY FOCUSED. IT SHOWED ME THAT AS A SINGLE PARENT I CAN MAKE IT IF I JUST BELIEVE IN
MYSELF. IT HELPED ME REALIZE THE CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES I NEED TO OVERCOME IN
ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL AND IN LIFE.
• JOURNAL ENTRY #23…JOURNAL ENTRY 23 HELPED ME SEE THE AREAS TO WHERE I NEED TO
FOCUS MORE ON. THE FINANCIAL PART OF MY LIFE IS THE AREA I LACK THE MOST. IT REALLY
HELPED ME THINK OF THINGS TO DO TO GET IT IN ORDER AND HOW TO SAVE MONEY.

4. THE WEEK I LIKED THE MOST
• THE WEEK I LIKED THE MOST WAS WEEK 4. IN THIS WEEK I LEARNED ABOUT MY
EMOTIONAL PATTERNS, THOUGHT PATTERNS, AND CORE BELIEFS. ALL OF THESE
PLAY A BIG ROLE IN YOUR LIFE. THE WAY I BELIEVE AND THINK ARE LINKED
TOGETHER. THE WAY YOU BELIEVE AFFECTS THE WAY YOU THINK. WHAT YOU
BELIEVE WILL ALWAYS SHOW THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS. YOU HAVE TO BE
MINDFUL OF THE THINGS YOU DO. IT’S BEST TO ALWAYS THINK BEFORE ACTING
ON THINGS. YOUR ACTIONS SHOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE. THINKING AND
BELIEVING ARE TIED IN TOGETHER IN SO MANY WAYS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF I STUDY
THE BIBLE AND BELIEVE WHAT I READ, THEN THAT WILL SHOW IN MY ACTIONS
AND THE WAY I THINK.

5. LESSONS I WILL CARRY ON
• THREE LESSONS FROM THIS CLASS ARE COGNITIVE SKILLS, CORE BELIEFS, AND
STRESS. I BELIEVE THESE LESSONS HAVE TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT MYSELF. I HAVE
LEARNED MORE ABOUT MYSELF NOW THAN BEFORE. THE LESSONS AND JOURNAL
ENTRIES MADE ME THINK ABOUT LIFE IN A WAY I’VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT
BEFORE. IF I CARRY ON THESE LESSONS, I BELIEVE IT WILL SHOW MY CHILDREN THE
POSITIVE SIDE IN ME. THEY CAN LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES AND GO A DIFFERENT
ROUTE. THESE LESSONS HAVE ALSO TAUGHT THAT, MY CHILDREN ARE LOOKING AT
WHAT I DO. THEY WILL DO MORE OF WHAT I DO RATHER THAN WHAT I SAY. THIS IS
WHY I WANT TO TAKE MY COGNITIVE SKILLS AND CORE BELIEFS AND LEARN USE
THEM THAT WAY I CAN CONTROL MY STRESS LEVEL. IF I AM TOO STRESSED, THEN I
CANNOT FOCUS AND WILL NOT DO WELL IN TEACHING MY CHILDREN WHAT I
LEARNED FROM THIS CLASS IN 5 WEEKS.

6. SELF ASSESSMENT SCORES
I LEARNED THAT IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS CLASS I HAD
TROUBLE BELIEVING IN MYSELF. I DID NOT THINK I WOULD
MAKE IT THIS FAR IN LIFE ON MY OWN. I HAD SELF-ESTEEM
PROBLEMS. AFTER READING AND STUDYING ABOUT WAYS TO
BELIEVE IN MYSELF, MY RESULTS ARE HIGHER AND BETTER
THAN BEFORE. THIS CLASS PAID OFF IN THE END.
• BEGINNING SCORES:
• _75___1. ACCEPTING PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• __80___2. DISCOVERING SELF-
MOTIVATION
• __75__3. MASTERING SELF-MANAGEMENT
• __60___4. EMPLOYING INTERDEPENDENCE
• __70___5. GAINING SELF-AWARENESS
• __70___6. ADOPTING LIFELONG LEARNING
• __65___7. DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE
• __72___8. BELIEVING IN MYSELF
• ENDING SCORES:
• 80 1. ACCEPTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
• 80 2. DISCOVERING SELF-MOTIVATION
• 80 3. MASTERING SELF-MANAGEMENT
• 80 4. EMPLOYING INTERDEPENDENCE
• 80 5. GAINING SELF-AWARENESS
• 80 6. ADOPTING LIFELONG LEARNING
• 80 7. DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• 80 8. BELIEVING IN MYSELF

7. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
MY LIFE
• IF I ACCOMPLISHED ALL OF MY GOALS, I WOULD BE A
TEACHER, AND HAVE MY OWN PLACE. I WOULD SHOW MY
CHILDREN THE WORLD. THEY WOULDN’T HAVE TO WANT
FOR ANYTHING. I WOULD OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT
FOR ALL 3 OF THEM AND BE VERY SUCCESSFUL AT WHAT