Teaching Is A Life Long Endeavor For Me

“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.

Why is teaching an important profession to me? Life is about something, but what it is about for me it is the passing of knowledge that will make society move forward. Without the teacher, we would be in the dark, because, the light of someone teaching would not be. We would not advance as a society, on Medicare or agricultural advances.

Moreover, the military also gave me the opportunity to travel abroad. Living in countries such as Korea, Spain, and Germany and immersing myself in their cultures has given me perspective on the differences between the United States and other countries. Each place I have lived has been unique in some way, from the different languages to the variations in cultural practices. Dealing with individuals with different backgrounds has helped me develop a good rapport with people.

I have always known that I wanted to make a difference in society by becoming a teacher, due to my love of children and helping people understand various topics. I have worked with children by babysitting, instructing karate, leading children’s Sunday school, and working at a summer camp. By doing these activities I have established bonds with diverse groups of children, but at the same time, I kept a professional and respectable boundary. I have successfully worked inside a planning department alongside people of all ages and personalities in planning activities and lessons for kids.

Like many others from my graduating class, I left college and headed for the fast track world of law and finance. After two years crunching numbers, juggling real estate projects and emerging from Black Monday in October 1987 relatively unscathed, I realized I hated my job. Landing a teaching position at Fessenden School became a watershed event in my life. Looking back over the past years, I fully realize that teaching is an essential part of me. Michael Thompson, once said, "There are some teachers who are effective and know why, others who aren 't effective and don 't know why, and a third are effective, but aren 't quite sure why." After five years at Fessenden, I felt like the latter. Therefore, I decided to attend graduate school in order to become a more effective educator. Theory, practicum, and research aside, graduate school was an epiphany for me. It confirmed in me that leading a school was more than a choice; it was a calling.

I successfully recruited many men and women of multicultural backgrounds by relating my experiences in the army to them, and many of them have gone on to have brilliant careers in the United States armed services. As an African-American service-connected veteran I know that my experiences in the United States military are not unique. Many African-Americans and many soldiers of all ethnic groups have inspired others to follow their path and that of the early pioneers.

While observing during my fieldwork assignment I had the pleasure of speaking candidly with quite a few teachers. It was Chanel Thompson’s conversation that stood out to me most. It seems we are like minded in many ways. Currently she works at Francis Elementary, a school that is currently plagued with the daunting tasks of trying to enrich not only the academic careers but the lives of its students. Francis Elementary is one of the many Houston schools that services children that fall in the bottom of the lower middle class, in terms of socio economic statuses. Like me, Chanel stated that she picked this profession because of the impact she would have on various children that she would teach from year to year. After teaching for just four short years she still feels the same way. She went on to say “Teaching will be the hardest yet most rewarding job you will ever have.”

Living as a military dependent has changed my perception of the world. Since I have lived in many different places and experience different cultures, I have been able to develop a better global understanding. I understand that people around the world are all different

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.

First, consider that ever since I joined the Navy I was exposed to different races, religions, and social classes. We worked together as a team and traveled the world in a vessel carrying more than 5000 of us to a hostile environment.

To say that "I am extremely passionate about working with children" would be an enormous understatement in regards to my personal experiences, ideologies and self-proclaimed purposes in respects to working in public schools. Being passionate about ones every day line of work is a huge deciding factor for most of us when it comes to “what we want to be when we grow up.” Conversely, it was quite simple for me, you see the rewards of teaching truly lie in the outcomes of one’s teaching. Knowing that from the first day of school, what I do and how I do it will have a domino effect on hundreds of lives throughout my career as an educator. In hopes to not only work in a field that I both admire and aspire to be a part of, I am also driven to one day be that teacher in which my students can look back and say “Miss. Chadwick really motivated me to be a better learner, artist, writer” and hopefully “a better person.”

In my 24 years of experience employed with the Department of Education I have found that working with children watching as they grow is inspiring as much as it is rewarding. Teaching helps one to sharpen their skills on all levels for the curriculum is forever changing. Being an educator has its challenging moments but its something I want to accomplish. To be successful at educating others I must continue to grow, increase and improve within.

Coming from a multi-racial background I have grown up to believe and understand that everyone in the world is equal and it is only our actions towards the obstacles and challenges that define us. All my life I have taken challenges such as language barriers, physical adversity, and mental fortitude. Having these experiences will not only help me take on new challenges at the Air Force Academy but in my military career.

As a veteran of the military, I've had the distinct honor of serving with many people from different racial, educational, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This job also afforded me the opportunity to travel extensively where I also experienced a diverse set of customs and cultures. I was stationed for many years outside of the United States in places like Costa Rica and Egypt. While spending many years abroad, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to people of different religious and spiritual backgrounds which has been a blessing to my educational growth.

Children are with teachers the majority of the day. Children are influenced by what they see and why they are around. Not only are they teaching them academics, but also manners, sportsmanship, and self worth. These are important factors that children need in everyday life. This is why a teacher’s job is so important. Most would say that teaching would be a hard job. But, I feel that it will be easy if you win your students over. I know that the rewards in the end will out weigh the cost. Watching a student master a new task is the reward I am after.