In eighth grade, I decided I wanted to be a teacher. I have always had a deep passion for education, and wanted to be a part of it, on the non-student end. People have asked if it was my backup choice, or if I was going into it because of the job security, or because I thought it would be easy. All of these questions attempted to minimalize my choice, but they only strengthened my desire. I dug deeper and deeper into this goal and found the ultimate value of education and language.
Education is the essence of society; how we teach the next generation is a reflection of the current – the current generation and the current that guides where society will go next. As I look at our broken system, I am filled with grief. Thousands of students are lost to it because they believe they are not good enough, they are not valued, or it simply doesn’t mean anything to them. As I look at so many teachers, though, I am filled with hope. Countless students are saved from falling between the cracks of the crumbling system of high expectations and constant standardization by caring teachers. As an education major, I aspire to be one of those teachers. Will it be exhausting? Absolutely. But the most fulfilling things are.
In choosing to pursue the broad career of teaching, I have had to narrow it down to a specialty. I considered elementary, social studies, and even math. Each of these were viable options that I would have enjoyed, but I realized they just weren’t for me. I would not have created a career in which I would be entirely lit up. I would not be in an environment in which I had a love and passion for my discipline on even the most seemingly mundane topics. I would not be able to teach my students to pursue their passions if I had settled for anything less than mine, which was why I chose English language arts.
When I tell people that I’m majoring in language arts education, I mostly hear complaints about high school literature classes and forgotten middle school grammar lessons. When I talk to people about books I have finished or am currently reading, I often hear that they don’t understand how I can read for pleasure. In my everyday interactions, I see a distaste for the English language. And it breaks my heart every time. Language is powerful, and it is up to English teachers to show students what it’s capable of.
In middle school, I joined theater and forensics, or speech and debate. I learned how powerful the written word can be, and how strong it can be when spoken aloud with confidence. I learned that people were willing to listen to what I had to say and that they valued my thoughts. In high school, I continued speech and debate, where I learned that my words were not the only ones that mattered. I learned that in order for anything to be solved, to achieve any value in life – be it morality, equality, or justice – you have to listen to both sides and weigh the impacts. In my literature class my senior year, I learned through other people’s words – authors’ and classmates’ – the value of other cultures, of standing up for what I believe in, of challenging myself and others. It was through teachers with a passion and love for language that I was able to see the value of words, and I hope to spread that to my future students.
English class is more than just studying adverbs and gerunds, or analyzing poetry, or discussing novels; it learning to use a weapon that must be taught to wield responsibly. Which is exactly what my students will learn. They will see every day that language has a power that is not seen directly but is felt in everything. They will see that the cliché “The pen is mightier than the sword” doesn’t do it justice; words, written and spoken, are mightier than the machine gun, the grenade, the atomic bomb.
They will know the power of their words in every situation through improving their own writing. They will see other perspectives are crucial through listening to their classmates and humanizing the opposition through literature. They will see the value of other cultures, and the importance of understanding them to achieve proper communication. They will know that their thoughts are important because they are important, but that they have to be ready to prove themselves through their words in the world. My students will be shown that their childhood phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is only half true; sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will shatter the earth I walk on.
I am not pursing teaching because it’s a “safe” career choice.
I am not pursuing English because I have nothing else to do.
I am pursuing a life of teaching world-changers and earth-shakers how to use their power responsibly in every endeavor they could ever imagine.
