Hi, it's me again, writing yet another piece about why the field of education is important. I get it, some of you are probably annoyed, "why is she writing ANOTHER article about education? We get it already!" Well ladies and gentlemen, the reason I am writing this is because it is still an issue and some people still do not see the importance of my major.
Dear friends, family, and loved ones,
I am writing this letter because I noticed that my major has yet again been labeled as "unimportant," "stupid," and "easy." What people do not see however is everything that goes into education. They do not see the tremendous amount of time that teachers put into lesson planning, grading papers, making changes to fit their student's needs, etc. They still see education as the easy way out. That I am not bright enough to enter a different field of study. I recently had a friend of mine ask for assistance with a math problem. Being a math education major, I figured I was pretty well qualified to try and help her. However, it came to my surprise that she did not trust my judgement and would rather have someone with a different major try and help her. I was shot down and hurt by the lack of faith she had in my ability to help her. I mean, the whole reason I am going into education is so that I can help people that are struggling and trying to find their way, whether that is help with math or any other subject. Being told I was not "qualified" to try and help her, that she would rather ask an engineering major for help, it hurt, it hurt a lot.
But helping with mathematics is not the only reason I am majoring in education. I am majoring in education to also help students as they grow as individuals. One of the great parts of American democracy is our rights as citizens to have our own opinions and express them to others. School is where children grow and mold. They gain their own identity. They decide how they feel about different topics and have the liberty to express those opinions. But teachers are there for them every step of the way. Teachers give them insight about different things going on in and outside of the classroom and allow their students to make their own decisions on how to feel about these issues. One of the most influential teachers I had was my AP government teacher. He taught me so much about the changes we have gone through over the past hundred years and and how our government system came to be. I got to hear about numerous influential members of our American political system and decide for myself whether I liked the changes they brought to society or if I was against it. I used the knowledge I learned in class and the information I was taught by my parents to help me discover my own opinions when it came to the US government and which party I would choose to affiliate with.
So yes, teachers are important. They work hard to help students. They are underappreciated and underpaid. They deserve more respect than they are given. They deserve to be seen as important members of society and recognized for making a difference in children's lives.
So do not call my major stupid; do not call my major easy; and do not belittle my major because it is different than yours.
Sincerely,
A Future Teacher
