Biography
Hello. My name is Daven Standaert. I am currently getting my Single Subject Teaching Credential in Mathematics because teachers are the reason that I am here doing what I am doing. My teachers were so influential in my growth throughout my life so much so that I am back here trying to be one so that I can make sure that my students can have the same experiences with their teachers as I did. A challenge that I can forsee having to overcome is student's mindsets about mathematics. Not only students, but parents and even other teachers can all have a very fixed mindset about math and think that they are not "good at math" and they could never be good at math. I know that I will have to overcome this year after year and make students and their parents realize that you aren't just good or bad at math but you have just had bad experiences with math and there will always be time to change that. I would tell the teachers and other parents not to tell their students that they "aren't good at math". I want to let the kids have an open mindset and I dont want them to think that if they aren't as good as others that they are also "not good at math". Then I would have class review sessions for prerequisites of whatever lesson we are going to be covering so that I can make sure that my students are up to date and understanding of the concepts that we will be building on.
More about me
San Diego State University
After high school, I went as far as I could from Orange County all the way down to... San Diego to get my Bachelors Degree. At first I started out as Undeclared for the first year and I worked at the school to help get some money. In the begining I took my general education classes which pointed me in the direction of getting my degree in Mathematics. Moving to San Diego for this part of my life was the best choice possible. Nothing beats being able to do homework at the beach. While taking classes at San Diego State I found some hobbies of mine by taking some extra classes like Ceramics and Rock Climbing. I was really able to involve myself in these in my free time (especialy because I had to for my classes) and they slowly have become an important part of my life and a big outlet. In my last semester, the coronavirus outbreak happened and being couped up inside wasn't the most fun. One of the creative outlets and critical thinking outlets that I was able to find was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Hawaii
When the pandemic hit the world I was in my last semester of getting my undergraduate degree and had no idea what to do just like everyone else. So, I did what everyone else would have and I moved to Hawai'i. I worked on Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee Farm where I met some truly amazing people from all different places and backgrounds. It was a beautiful place full of wonderful adventures and sights unlike anywhere I had seen before.
Aviation
After the pandemic started to dwindle a bit, I came back from Hawaii and found myself working in private aviation. A part of the world I never would have thought there was anything more to know about. As a kid being a pilot or an astronaut was my dream so actually coming into the industry and learning so much about it has been very eye opening.
California State University - Long Beach
After working in a few different industries, I decided that I wanted to find a career that I knew I would enjoy and could make an impact on other people's lives. I decided that getting my teaching credential would be the next step in my life, so CSULB was the next adventure I would embark on. During the process of getting my credential, I had the chance to work with and meet many wonderful future and current educators who have taught me so much and have been a wonderful support on the path to becoming a great future teacher. For my student teaching semester, I taught Algebra 1 at Costa Mesa High School where I was able to learn so much from the teachers there and get some real experience in the highs and lows of teaching at the high school level.