Education has been an important part of my life since a very young age. Growing up I have always strived to do my best in school. In my sophomore year of high school I realized how important education was to me and decided that I wanted to be a teacher. From Elementary School to College I have always been close with my teachers and professors. I still visit and talk too many of them today, this made me realize that I wanted to be that teacher for my future students.
I have taught students ranging from five years old to nineteen years of age. Hence, being an educator, I have learned that learning is always shifting, therefore I must keep improving with the incessant changes. As a little girl, I have always dreamt of being a teacher and I have carried out that dream. My career journey started as a substitute teacher, a floater between classrooms, an assistant teacher, a teacher, a center supervisor, and an educational supervisor. I presently work as an Educational consultant for Danya International LLC. As an Educational Consultant, I able to review and aid with the learning environment of teachers and educational management in a school
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to play a big part in children’s education, which is why I have decided to enroll for an education course. I believe that educators have a lifelong impact on their students and on the development of resilience. Thus, I aspire to inculcate my love for learning into the next generation, by influencing and inspiring children all through their formal education.
For me, the decision to become a teacher is more of a way of life than a career. I have always loved school, practicing at being school marm from a young age, and voraciously devouring every shred of education offered me in my career as a student. If it were possible, I would be a student for the rest of my life. And then I still would not have learned enough. As a teacher, I hope to instill this appetite for knowledge in secondary students. They are, after all, the future leaders of the world, and what better place to expand the minds of the generations to come than here in Appalachia where education programs, especially the sciences, which I plan to teach, are poorly funded and children’s dreams
From a young age, I was taught that education is paramount. Various members of my immediate and extended family work as educators. Many summers I have spent in my mother’s school helping her prepare her classroom, and I enjoy
Fifty percent of new teachers quit with in the first five years of teaching (NEA, 2015), with this number being so alarmingly high it begs the questions: Why do so many teachers leave after going through years of college for this profession? Were teachers not prepared for the job, through college training, what should colleges teach in order to better prepare teachers?
The low pay for our educators is causing many negative effects. New York Times shows that the low income is causing sixty-two percent of teachers to have a second job outside of their teaching jobs. Just to have enough money to support their families and make ends meet. Most everyone decides to college to prevent having these struggles with money, and to avoid having to work multiple jobs, when they get older; however, not when it comes to living off of only a teacher’s income, the struggles to have enough money are interminable. This low pay is also causing most teachers to retire, and find new jobs. New York Times states, “every year 20 percent of teachers in urban districts quit. Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year. The turnover costs the
past decade or so since the demand for teachers far increases the number of qualified applicants. The career of teaching has become less desirable for college educated students - Many teachers are aging and leaving behind many turnover jobs, and benefits from unions and tenure simply do not draw in potential educators like they did before the Great Recession of 2008. According to Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post,
In a society where money is a survival need, who would not want to earn more and have nice things. Instead of living paycheck to paycheck or on financial assistance. This is why most teens focus on their schooling early on so they can be admitted into the college they want. There are different career paths to choose from once high school is over. In high school, teachers and counselors are trying to prepare and make their students well aware of their options. Four year universities might not be for everyone, personal goals and interests influence the path students take. Education is seen as an investment, in hopes that one day the degree will pay off once the person gets their dream job. But the fact is that tuition and fees make it something
When I first think of education making an impact on my life, my immediately goes to the teacher that inspired me to pursue the field of education: Mr. Quesenberry. The truth is, I never expected to enjoy his 8th grade Civics class. Though I had many wonderful social studies teachers before 8th grade, each year history was always one of my least favorite subjects, and I expected Civics to be the same. Before I took his class, I thought that the government was just a bunch of old rich guys who made laws and ran the country, and I didn’t have the slightest idea about the many complicated issues that the United States was facing or about what I could do to get involved and fight for my values.
As a constituent and a freshman college student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor working part-time in a research laboratory, I am concerned about the inequality of wages for jobs that are available to college students. Though my current job is directly related to my education and professional development, my wages are lower than that of jobs that do not require any education. I worry that these unequal wages will discourage college students from using their education to pursue professions that will assist them in attaining higher salaries to pay off college loans in the future and improve the economy. I earnestly ask you to take action in supporting college students to pursue jobs that are relevant to their academic careers and focus
With beginning teachers usually earning entirely less than other college graduates, the profession is at loss of top-notch, quality people who tend to find jobs seeking more money. Almost 50 percent leave the profession within 5 years, lured by higher pay and prestige elsewhere in the booming U.S. economy (World, 1999, par. 7). Starting teachers average a $25,735 salary in the United States compared to an engineer earning $56,820 or a physical therapist earning $56,600 (Engineer, 2000, par.1). And what signal does it send out about the value of good teachers and a good education when a 45-year-old teacher with a master’s degree earns $45,000 a year and a 25-year-old out of law school often starts at $80,000, considering a six year education for a master’s degree and a seven year education for a law degree (Greenhouse, 2002, par. 4)? A teacher is also given no compensation for the long hours spent basically in overtime work. The teacher’s day does not end when they leave school because if lesson plans, grading, or planning is not completed, it will have to be finished on their own time. Accountants, paralegals, and engineers all are compensated and get paid overtime for work that does not get completed in a regular day or if they want to stay and
After teaching, people either tend to retire or find work in other fields. Some teach until they are able to retire, but some cannot afford to retire so end up taking a different job to earn more money. Educators can retire after 35 years of teaching or at the age of 6, earning around forty thousand dollars to seventy thousand dollars a year after retirement. Most public educators use that money to pay off the rest of their debts and tend to not lose all of their money. After teachers retire, some even end up coming back to teach for a few more years because they miss the kids or the environment, or because they need more money. “The discontinuation of work with the arrival of retirement is a process surrounded by complexity and challenges,
The education habits of students are rooted in them from the earliest days of their educational careers. The different influences on students, whether it be inside educational institutions, or outside is huge. The teacher of a classroom is the first and most pertinent influence in a student's educational career. Teachers provide students with the basic skills they would need to survive not only in the academic world, but also the world beyond. The relationship between teachers and their students is the key element in creating an educational atmosphere that is both pleasant and effective.
As children, we absorb information and learn from experiences that mold us into who we are. Many individuals impact a child’s life, but the most powerful and influential role lies in a devoted teacher, a teacher provides growth to students as a gardener would to a garden of flowers. Each child can bloom into a thriving flower so long as you water their garden with optimism, love, patience, and guidance. Throughout my educational experiences I was lucky enough to have educators who poured their knowledge and optimism into me, and now I would like to reciprocate that back to students who are in the position I was once in. Balancing life and school is hard enough for a student, but a powerful and caring teacher can steer you in the right direction. In this autobiography you will read about my educational background, experiences that influenced my decision to become a teacher, and what I believe the role of a teacher should be in a student’s life.