What Being a Teacher Means to Me

I have known that teaching was the profession for me for a while now. There was never any changing my major or changing my mind with what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It was an easy decision and for many reasons. First of all, I have a passion for teaching. It is something that I have been given the gift to do with my life. I have naturally always been comfortable working and interacting around children and intermingling in the classroom. I get excited about seeing children each day and even go to sleep wondering what they will bring to the table in next class. Elementary students are like little sponges. They want to observe everything and learn each and everyday. I want to be that person in their lives that helps them understand. I long to see children’s expressions when what I am teaching finally makes sense and see the connection take place. Just knowing that it was me that helped them achieve success that they did not even know was possible, gives me motivation to get up and keep going each day.
Secondly, I have respect for others around me and I want to share that with all my students. I am open and understanding towards all religions, cultures and backgrounds. I want to express this openness in my classroom to my students by incorporating it into lessons and activities. Diversity is a wonderful thing that Americans fail to take full advantage of seeing. All students in a classroom are going to be different and have different beliefs and views. It takes an understanding person to be open to all these cultures and I feel that I am one of these accepting people. I should use this in my teaching career. I am also good at self reflecting. I refuse to be someone who just simply goes through the motions each day. I want to strive to be the best teacher that I can be and if something does not go well, I want to step back and ask my self questions. Why did this not go as planned and what can I do tomorrow to make sure that my students get more out of the lesson tomorrow? When a person loves their profession enough, like I do, there is nothing more they want then to be better at it. I hope that I still say that I want to be a better teacher fifty years form now. You can never stop learning and growing.
Last but not least, I want to make a difference in someone’s life and there is not a better profession than teaching to achieve this. Some children do not have the stability that they need at home and I want to be a light for their dreary, world. These children are the future of our country and they need leadership and guidance to show them the way. Without great teachers there are not great students. I want to see each and every one of my students succeed and help make for a better tomorrow. Growing up during my elementary years, I was not blessed by having the best of the best teachers. Looking back from 1992 to 2000, I feel as though elementary school was such a learning and growing experience that could not have been better. The few teachers that were undoubtedly, exceptional come to my mind right away. First of all, Mrs. Jones was a sixth grade teacher that I will always remember. She was a history teacher that made me want to go home and study. I never thought about how she got away with this, until I recently went home to observe her classroom. She cares for her students, sincerely. She does not settle for simply having an ordinary day at school. She makes every day count by staying after school to plan activities and lessons that will engage students’ minds and interest. She does not just want her students to learn. She wants her students to want to learn and strive to learn. Remembering Mrs. Jones’s class defiantly came to mind when I picked teaching as my career of choice. It is because of teachers like Mrs. Jones that I am now interviewing for this job and longing to make differences in children’s lives.
I remember Mrs. Jones and how she made a lasting impression on my life. Someday, by picking teaching as my career, I hope to make a lasting impression on another child’s life. I may be on one of my students’ minds when they are writing a paper or asked the question about why they want to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor or a writer. I could be that inspiration that they need in their life to push through and strive on in life. If I can be an inspiration to just one child, it will be worth my complete career in teaching.