Rachel Campbell
Multimedia Editor
Even before becoming a student at Crowder College and majoring in Elementary Education, Ashley Collinsworth has always had a passion for helping people, which is what led her to wanting to teach.
Collinsworth grew up in small town Seneca, Missouri. Her mom has an in-home daycare. As a child Collinsworth remembers that if all her friends were there, it was going to be a great day of playing with toys and riding bikes.
“When I grew up to be a teenager those days seemed precious,” Collinsworth says, “and I took them for granted. Back then my friends were part of the daycare and when they got old enough to stay home my world was flipped.”
Now her days were spent working with the younger kids and she realized how hard her mom works every day. That taking care of kids who are not your own is a lot of work.
Collinsworth’s role models are her mom for babysitting, and Ali Strong, a first-grade teacher at Seneca Elementary, for teaching. She is inspired by how her mom wakes up to start her day and be the best she can be for the kids she babysits.
“She tries to make the best of each day and be positive in the lives of each kid she meets.” said Ashley. Collinsworth knows Ali Strong is very positive, she has great classroom management skills, and always tells her students she loves them at the end of every day. Collinsworth knows she will strive to have both the motivation and tender hearts of both her mother and Ali.
“The people at Crowder treat you like family and I love that. There’s not many colleges who have that caring atmosphere, and the teachers here at Crowder do a great job.” Her motivation in life is to see the positivity in the everyday and make the most out of their lives inspires me to do the same.
Her biggest take away so far is to not teach for a test, but to teach for the students and their future. Some of the skills she has gained are time management, self-care, and simply remembering you are human and it’s okay to ask for help, is the best one to have and remember.
“Ashley is amazing. She is so sweet with my kids and knows each one well and what they need. I would tell her to continue to follow her dreams and don’t let the world make her bitter”, said Amber Mckee, Ashley babysits for.
She has and still does face numerous challenges. Every challenge she has faced made her the person she is today. The failure and successes she has had prepared Ashley for where she is now. If she hadn’t failed a test before, she knows she wouldn’t know how to understand where a student is coming from when they fail. She wouldn’t know how to truly help that person, because she wouldn’t understand what they feel like.
“If I hadn’t ever succeeded in anything, I would feel like a failure and not be motivated to do the best, I can. I think these things are vital and everyone should never take for granted their mistakes and their successes.” Ashley acknowledges.
The biggest challenge she has faced so far has been the changes college has thrown her way. Ashley was supposed to graduate this Spring 2021, however with a few complications she is now graduating from Crowder at a later date. However, her plan after Crowder is to attend Missouri State University, starting this summer dual enrolled. After Ashley finishes her bachelor’s degree, she may start her master’s, but for now she plans to enjoy her life and not rushing into anything. The next steps she must take are to finish her classes, then to start looking at potential job opportunities to work with children the. Continuing to work with children during student teaching would also be a huge step in the right direction.
Gwen Osborne, a 4th grade teacher at Seneca boasted, “Ashley has done an amazing job in my classroom! She jumped right in helping students and being an active part of classroom. She started forming relationships the first day she was here! She has been around kids and she is a natural around them!”
The best advice Ashley says she has been given is to “keep on keeping on.” Not every day is joyous, and there are a lot of days when she feels like she has to find peace in what she’s doing and trusting the plan. But when Ashley knows when to take a step back and remember that she does have this, and that she does want this, and knows that it makes every day seem worth it.
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