Personal Statement: Why Teach

My decision to be a teacher did not come easily to me. This choice was dependent on a reflection about what I was passionate about and how I could make a difference. I have chosen to become a teacher, as I believe teachers have the ability to provide future generations the stimulation for one of the most significant roles in life; to become a lifelong learner. Many teachers that I have had during my education have had a positive impact on my decision to grow and develop the skills that are fundamental to pursue a successful teaching career. My aim is to be a part of an honorable profession with the optimism that one day I will become an efficacious teacher who can provide future teachers with inspiration, as my teachers have provided for me. Through personal educational experiences and peer-reviewed academic literature, I am able to shape my approach to my pre-service teaching, as it will influence my future practice. As a teacher, there is not just one singular approach to educating students; there is a need for flexibility, diversity, adaptation and reflection.

My reasons for choosing to become a teacher were nicely summed up by the quote cited in chapter 1, “...If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child – become a teacher. Your country needs you.” (President Obama, State of the Union, 1/25/11). Some of the reasons that I relate to are a desire to make a difference in students ' lives, a desire to serve, and excitement about the learning process. I want what I do professionally to have meaning, to leave a lasting impact on others. How better to leave a lasting impact than to teach children? Assisting children to learn seems to be a worthy endeavor. The impact a teacher has can be far-reaching as the students of today are the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. By teaching I am helping the community by assisting my students on their way to becoming contributing members of society. Not only am I interested in helping young minds grow, I am also interested in my own growth. The life of a teacher further appeals to me because it is a career choice that requires the professional to be an active learner themselves.

I am studying Early Childhood Education to become an elementary school teacher. For as long as I remember, I have wanted to be a teacher. I would say that my decision was influenced by the fact that I am the oldest of my siblings and cousins, so I’ve always been the leader and sort of in charge. I am the only girl out of my cousins and brother, so they just accepted the guidance because I had the most attitude. Another reason that could contribute to why I want to teach is my personality. I’ve always been the student to follow the rules and I’ve never been able to understand why some of the other students did not. When my class had Fun Fridays in elementary school, instead of playing games with the rest of the class, I would ask the teacher if I could run errands or help put our graded worksheets in the cubbies. I also read to the pre-k and kindergarten students while I was in fifth grade. The school counselor was the one to give me the opportunity to read to them and many more things that has inspired me. Since it is mandatory for all children to attend school, it is important for them to be safe and comfortable. I want to be a teacher that can make this possible for students. Throughout my life, teachers have helped me with many challenges that I have faced, I know that I can make a positive difference in students’ lives!

All my life, I’ve had trouble deciding what I want to be when I grow up. I’ve wanted to be pretty much anything you could think of, a chef, a police officer and even a doctor. But, one day I had an epiphany, I thought why not be a teacher. In school I was never a “good” student and by the time I was a junior in high school my teachers had already given up on me. However, I didn’t let the lack of support stop me from what I needed to do to succeed. I want to be a teacher because, I want to be the teacher I never had going through school. Students are the future of the world and by being a teacher I can help impact and mold A piece of the future.

I decided to become a teacher for many reasons, some cliché and some very realistic. Everyone has a story that we know nothing about. That’s what I think about when I think about why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place. The cliché reasons, such as: wanting to make a difference, wanting to inspire others, wanting to help all of them grow and develop. The thing is, not everyone wants it, but everyone does need it, especially the age that I want to work with. Kindergarten.

Writing papers is definitely my weakest skill in school. At the beginning of high school, I had already acquired plenty of experience writing and had found my style of writing. High School has given me a chance to further explore different ways to write and allowed me to learn what I do and do not like writing about. This past semester of DE English has felt like the next step in my evolution as a writer.

For the future educator, student teaching is the culmination of the past four or more years of life, all compressed down into two eight-week sections that are meant to give you a starting pace for when you get out into the real world of education. I am happy to say that despite how short these past sixteen weeks have felt as I have journeyed through them, I feel like I have learned more about myself and how to be an educator than I did during all my time in classes at the university. I am well aware that the foundation created at Iowa State is why that I feel like I was able to grow so much because without that foundation I would be wandering aimlessly without any guiding force. One major guiding force for me throughout my time at Iowa

It takes a truly unique, influential teacher to drive a student into a specific field, and in my case, those teachers were Ms. Kim and Mr. Salters. When I entered fifth grade, I thought math was fun and interesting, but then in Mr. George’s class, I was berated quite loudly in front of the entire class for being an idiot after misplacing a digit. I had loved science and math until that point. For many students, this would be the end of the road for loving math and science. Thankfully, later I was fortunate enough to move on to two inspirational teachers that solidified my love of education, math, and science. Both Ms. Kim and Mr. Salters were enthusiastic and supportive, and made thinking about science, technology, science, and math (STEM)

I was rushing through another busy day at work while thinking in the back of my mind what I could write about for this assignment when I came across a Chinese Proverb and I knew that this quote was where I needed to start. This is how it goes… To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep stepping. This quote had an immediate effect on me as soon as I read it. It summed up how I feel about this upcoming quarter and my life in general at this point in time. I am in my final quarter here at Lindenwood University and will have completed all the classes needed to earn my bachelor degree in Human Resource Management at the end of March. This simple, yet powerful little quote seemed to get to me on an emotional level because that is how I have worked my way through school and my life since I decided to continue my education two years ago, by taking one step at a time.

The first reason I decided to become a teacher because I have always enjoyed interacting, inspiring and guiding young people. I remember as a kid I always used my little chalkboard and pretend to teach to my friends what I had learned in school. I am also very patient and love to learn new material and explain it to others. The second reason, my ESL teacher during my first high school year was a real inspiration to me; I admire her ability to guide students. The third reason, when I started working at an elementary school as a nurse assistant, whenever the nurse gave me lunch breaks I used to spend that time in the special education classroom helping the teacher with their students, she was an amazing and patient person

Do you remember being young and playing pretend? Do you remember wearing your mom’s high heels, dressing up in a nice outfit, and marching around teaching your ten American girl dolls a lesson. I for sure do. This was my everyday afterschool routine. Teaching my younger sisters and my dolls the lessons that I had learned in school that day. I had a mini classroom in my basement set up with a chalkboard and all. Teaching to me gave me the opportunity to lead. It gave me the chance to be in charge. Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a teacher. I couldn’t wait to set up a classroom and make it my own. But even more, I couldn’t wait to begin a school year with thirty children and watch them grow and learn throughout the year. I want to be a teacher who is an influential part of their lives. For the amount of time, effort, and work that teachers put into their job they should be more appreciated because they are educating the children who will grow up to be the leaders of the future.

The people in my life I have always looked up to the most have been my teachers. When I was a child, they seemed all-powerful, the givers of the knowledge I didn’t even know I sought. Now, as a teenager, I still hold the opinion that educating the next generation is one of the noblest tasks a person can devote themselves to. Like many children, I went through many “dream career” phases: astronaut first, inspired by the “Magic School Bus” books, then veterinarian, a seemingly natural fit with my love of animals. (That dream ended quickly when I discovered I fainted when my own blood was taken and couldn’t bear to see animals in pain.) However, at a relatively young age, I abandoned those lofty goals for one that genuinely seemed to fit me. I wanted to pursue teaching, specifically English. These days when my relatives ask me about college, I’m ready with an answer and many reasons to back me up. I want to be a teacher because of the influences of those in my own life, a desire to be a leader of others, and my passion for language arts.

We are first taught to speak, because we need words to acquire the skill of writing, and then we are taught to write, because we need a way to express ourselves. There has to be a beginning, each and every distinct story has a beginning, but how can we find the beginning when we were incoherent of who we were? In the society that we grew up in writing is a must, in fact the better writers we are the further we will go in life, or that’s what everyone says right? So at a young age I remember that being drilled into my brain, if you don’t learn to write you won’t go into the next grade, if your handwriting is too bad you won’t get into the next grade, I remember those words being shoved down my throat every single solitary year of school. When I was starting kindergarten I could already write the basics because my parents thought this was a very important skill and made sure both my brother and I could both read and write well enough. I remember the nights where I would lay in my bed and my mom or dad would sit on the side of the bed and read me stories. I can still visualize myself looking over at the book shelf and just loving every single book on the shelf, the lights were just dim and they would read, I can still hear their voices and remember how their words would affect me. I can truly thank my parents for first developing me into both a reader and a writer at such a young age.

Science is the exploration of discovering life and the impact it has on people and the atmosphere. All around us is the opportunity to learn daily about something related to the field of science and how it impacts us and our surroundings. In my autobiography I will share with you my journey in learning and experiencing science in my personal life. I hope that my experiences and perspective on teaching sciences and discovering it will guide me and help me as I become a teacher myself. I believe a good foundation in education is one of the most important things in a child’s success and approaches to learning in their future. My foundation helped me in my education journey and I desire to give young students the same.

My desire to become a teacher goes beyond a professional aspiration; it is also a personal commitment to self-growth and societal advancement. Since the time I was in school I have had the opportunity and pleasure to work with young people and listen to their problems in school and in their lives on a level where I’m neither a peer nor an authority figure. During this time I have decided to devote myself to these young people; I want to know that I can make a difference in their lives. With my teaching certificate, I will fulfill personal goals, make a change in student’s lives, and inspire younger generations to look for horizons as of yet unconceivable to them.