Since fourth grade, I've dreamed of being a teacher. My fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Cooper was incredibly kind and showed me what a true educator looked like. She read to us using funny voices, even though some might have thought we were too old for that. She rarely raised her voice and she took great interest in our lives outside of school. I hope that every person has had a teacher or two like this at least once in his or her life because they truly make learning an adventure. In room 24, math was no longer just numbers, they were an opportunity to play with those infamous yellow sticks of 10, squares of 100 and cubes of 600. Reading was not a chore, it was a fun game to earn stars whenever we finished a chapter book. Writing stories did not induce anxiety because Mrs. Cooper always found something wonderful to say about each student’s work. How could a nine or 10-year-old not fall in love with learning in an environment like this?
Teachers have so much power in the lives of children. They can either make school a positive place or set a child up for a life full of academic struggles. Those educators who are dedicated to their students do so much more than fill young minds with new knowledge. They are role models, protectors and advocates. I want to have the ability to influence children in the way only an educator can. For me, school is enjoyable enough to be in for the rest of my life.
Throughout my educational journey, I have had many other great teachers. As I’ve gotten older I’ve been developing my own opinions and strategies about teaching young people. I cannot wait to have a classroom of my own to utilize all that I am and will continue to learn in my education courses. I love watching a child “get it." I love seeing the excitement many children inevitably feel when they are passionate about a book. And most of all, I love that I might be able to help the ones who think they hate school to discover that it isn’t so bad after all. Or even, at times, it’s actually great.
A quote that resonated with me since first seeing it in a great book is, “teachers have three loves, the love of learning, the love of the learner and the love of bringing the first two loves together.” For this reason, whenever anyone brings up the dismal pay, the long hours and the incredible feat of wrangling 25 children together for hours, I only smile. Because to them that all sounds terrible; but to me it sounds like a challenge. And I love challenges. To me, that sounds like an opportunity. Bring on the angelic kids, the tough kids, the ones who never listen, and the ones who have fallen desperately behind. I want them all. I want to show them how to love learning. The desire to teach is something that strikes you deep down inside your core. It is literally a part of you. Perhaps this is why despite all the struggles we push on.
I hope, one day, if I am really, really lucky, students of mine will be inspired like I was in room 24. Then they can begin the inspiring journey towards bringing together the two loves and enter a life of never-ending school.
