From a young age, I have been very ambitious. At one point (when I was about 6), I wanted to become a gymnast, missionary, singer. I thought that I could do whatever I wanted. As I got older, my ambitions shifted, but I always had a clear vision at every point in my life of what I wanted to be. Finally, when I was in about 7th grade I thought I had really found my passion, pediatric physical therapy. My younger brother, Isaiah would go to the physical therapist due to having Brittle Bone Disease or Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I thought that because I grew up with him, I would be perfect for working with kids that have disabilities. I also was (and still am, of course) very passionate about my brother's disorder and helping kids with this disease to live better lives. Therefore, I thought I had found my perfect fit.
My 10th grade year arrived and my career plan started to shift. That year I had an amazing English teacher whom everyone loved. Her class was one of my favorite classes in all of high school. She inspired me to want to teach, to be a teacher like she was, to give students a teacher that they like, but that also gets the work done. I thought that English would be a good fit also because I had always done really well at it and I loved reading. After my first semester of college, I realized that english was not the right fit. I did not love English enough to teach it for the rest of my life. However, when I thought about doing another subject, there was not one that jumped out at me. That is when I remembered my passion for children and about making their lives better. I decided to study elementary education, which gives me the option of teaching every subject.
Why would I want to be an elementary teacher? The kids are annoying, there is little to no recognition for teachers, the pay is terrible, the hours are long, and when you are home, you are still not finished with work. I do not care about any of those things. I am not choosing to be a teacher because it is easy or because I figure that I will be able to find a job easily after I graduate. I am choosing to become a teacher because I think that it is one of the most important jobs in our world. A teacher is in control of what a child learns. A teacher helps to shape who that child becomes. A teacher can also be the best part of a child's day. There are many children, especially in the public systems that come from very hard homes or neighborhoods. Some children do not get much attention from their parents. I want to be the teacher that helps those kids to overcome the challenges of their home life. I want those kids to understand that even if the odds are stacked against them, there is still someone that believes in them. I want them to feel loved and cared about by at least one person. I want to be more than just a teacher to my students. I want to be the person that they come to when they are feeling down or if there is something going on in their life. Obviously there are boundaries involving teacher-student relationships, but I just want to be the person that my students feel safe with. There are so many kids that do not feel safe or comfortable at home. I want to give them a place where they can feel that way, while learning.
My 10th grade English teacher gave me a place where I could learn, but also enjoy the learning because of the safe environment that she provided in her classroom. She was the type of teacher that understood the hard days that people go through, but still encouraged them to persevere. This is exactly the type of teacher that I want to be because it is easier to learn if you feel safe.
