Teachers Have A Pivotal Impact On Students

Pursuing the life to empower and educate our youth is the lifelong mission behind most teacher’s motivations to pursue the educational route in their higher education. My practicum placement I gained the opportunity to work alongside Ms. Jennifer Harvey in her endeavor to educate and inspire her first-grade students. In her class, I began to realize the workload and dedication that teachers set forth to help their students succeed. It may seem bizarre to believe how teachers calculate and manipulate their activities and lessons to meet their students' needs best. Consequently, my experience with her and her students, I saw how a connection formulated behind the teacher’s efforts and the performance of his or her students; it was beautiful. Over the course of my ninety-plus hours, I’ve gained more knowledge about how it means to be a teacher and how influential they are to the students than I ever imagined. Upon reflecting, I realized how this course strengthens my resolve, surprised me, helped me learn

Teachers perform a major role in society while being paid very little to perform multiple task. It takes patience, responsibility, and many educational requirements just to work in such an important career such as this. I feel like being a teacher is a great task that will bring all outcomes I desire in my life during the present and the future to come. I want to be able to work in a field where I will not only get a good physical outcome from it, but a mental outcome as well. I know there will be many ups and downs to being in such a field of work, but in the end the time and effort but forth will all be worth it.

Successful teaching occurs when the teacher is able to select the most efficient method for reaching out to each student’s individual style of learning and inspire students to rise to their highest potential. While the responsibilities of a teacher are extensive (as one can serve as a teacher, a friend, a counselor, a disciplinarian, an entertainer, a facilitator), I believe that students should play a big part in shaping own education as well.

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.

This is because of the awesome hours that come with being a teacher. As long as you do your job at work, you work approximately from seven to three, Monday through Friday, and have summers off. It seems like a pretty sweet gig to me but regardless of the lifestyle, I could never picture myself as a teacher. I just couldn’t put myself into the shoes of an educator and that is what threw the idea of becoming one out of my head. I continued to share this belief until very recently however when I began to speak to the individuals I mentioned earlier. They all gave me a new, unique point of view to the previous assumptions that I had on the field and I appreciated this immensely. All of the people I interviewed said that once they started to take an active role in the classroom (being the teacher is about the most active role you can play) they found their field of work to be actually fun and somewhat of a good time. Every single person in my study loved their job and my favorite quote concerning this has to be “Make sure you love it because you’re not in it for the money.”(Medley) I honestly would enjoy working a career where I could care less about the financial benefits and embark in an occupation that truly interests me. However, I don’t think that I could do that to myself because of my drive for success.

Undoubtedly, teachers have the greatest influence on student achievement (Hanushek, 2014, p. 274; Harris, 2014, p. 771). Considering that students spend that largest portion of their day with a teacher, it is easy to assume that teachers are the sole persons responsible for students’ academic and social development. However, Hanushek (2014), contends that teachers alone are not responsible for student achievement. There are several education inputs that contribute to the outcome, or student achievement, as often measured by test scores; education inputs include teacher quality, school resources, and family attributes (Hanushek, 2014, p. 273). Contrary to the education input identified by Hanushek, the Coleman Report - which introduced the concept of education production functions - concluded that school, as an input, did not matter (Hanushek, 1979, p. 352; Hanushek, 2014, p. 273).

I learned quickly that being an effective teacher is an art that takes time and devotion. Many times, teachers are not provided with the necessary materials in order to maintain the various learning styles in a classroom. It is up to the teacher to create an environment where students can succeed. This is a full time job, meaning that a teacher’s work is not done once they leave the school. A teacher must contribute a significant amount of time and effort in order to see positive results in the school and in his or her own classroom. After observing my cooperating teacher’s strategies and learning more about the profession, I knew that I was going in the right direction with my life. I took a significant amount of knowledge away from this experience and have continued to strive to be the type of educator that I was blessed to work with during this experience. .

Throughout my life, I attended a very small school. My teachers I had have been the ones that inspired me to become a teacher. I was inspired to become a teacher by my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Haney. She taught me that no star was too hard to reach. She made me believe that if I put a goal in my mind, that I could tackle it and that I could make it. Before I had her class, I really didn’t have any self-confidence. However, while I was in my class, she made my self-confidence boost. This wonderful person that was a part of my life has lead me to make the decision of become a teacher.

All conscientious teachers are interested in their students’ success, believing fervently that success in the classroom can propel success in life. Student achievement becomes the teacher’s motivating force; those devoting their lives to education do so emboldened by a recognition of education’s promises and prospects.

No surgeon or senator or scientist ever gave credit to a lazy teacher for inspiring him. Instead, it is the teachers who pushed their students hard and themselves harder who most inspire their students. It is impossible to imagine a successful attorney fondly reminiscing about the three weeks he spent copying notes off the board at the end of the semester when his teacher did not feel like designing yet another jazzy activity. Future leaders are motivated by current leaders, and those current leaders are today’s teachers. Apathetic teachers only serve to promote apathy in their students, and stagnant ideas serve no one’s best interests. Students are at an impressionable age, and they deserve to see their teachers finishing their year as strongly as they are telling students

Although society may think otherwise, saving students is not the role of teachers, no matter how many good movies there are out there. The media gives the impression that something is wrong with students when they enter the classroom and that is is the teacher's job to fix them of their issues. Because of this impression, today’s teachers are faced with the challenge of overcoming this great myth that has been engraved in society’s mind. Teachers are meant to be a support system for their students, not a saving grace. They are given the expectation to be a superstar in the classroom because media portrays them to be just that; a hero.

To motivate students intrinsically, Katz, Kaplan, and Gueta (2009) looked more closely at the perceived teachers’ support of students’ needs. They found that when teachers supported their students and believed in their academic abilities those students had higher intrinsic motivation values (Katz, Kaplan, & Gueta, 2009, p. 261). More important is their research also suggests “junior high school students perceived their teachers as less supportive of their psychological needs than did elementary school teachers” (Katz, Kaplan, & Gueta, 2009, p. 262). In other words students perceived their teachers to be less endearing, and this could be detrimental to students who experience higher levels of psychological needs (p. 262). Teacher support is important for all students. Students will experience higher levels of autonomous motivation for completing homework assignments when students feel like their needs are supported in the

The goal of being an educator is centered on the student, making sure that he/she excels not only in the classroom but in life as well. The children’s success in school determines their success as future educators; furthermore determining what profession they will enter and how much money they will acquire over the years. This “life cycle” if you will, all comes back to our educators and how their roles in the classroom had a positive influence on the student or a negative one. The question is, is that the only factor to success within these students?

Confucius, a famous Chinese teacher said, “Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” In the previous quote by Confucius, it is obvious that a teacher can impact a student’s life. Moreover (TRANS), the way a teacher generates hope and confidence provide a good equity at school for the students; therefore, a good teacher spread confidence in students, which may help them to be encouraged. Maintaining the right balance of strictness and friendliness, encouraging students, and finding the right teaching methods for each student are three of the many characteristics in becoming an inspirational teacher.

I want to be the type of role model that some children do not have. I desire to be more than a teacher to my students, I will be an advisor, a supporter, and a comforter; like my dad was to me. The importance of a teacher in today’s society is crucial. One of my favorite quotes by author Barbara Coloroso is, “If kids come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they do not come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important.” As a teacher, I aspire to pass down my father’s love and inspiration to my students, that he taught me. Looking past any disabling condition, to teach my greatest asset of treasuring each day like there may not be another. I want my students to know their importance, their self-worth, and to treasure their lives, living each day with a positive attitude, just as my dad taught