At a young age, most children are asked:
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Of course when their young most respond with, "an astronaut, a princess, a superhero, etc.". As high school approaches the answers turn more acceptable, but still daring such as a doctor, a lawyer, a police officer. And let's not forget the ones that say, a teacher.
As a young child I always said I wanted to be a teacher, partly because I had such great teachers. As I began to grow up I felt like people were judging my future career decision. I began putting teacher at the bottom of my career choices.
One comment that still to this day bothers me is the classic "you won't have a good salary" or "you better hope you marry a rich husband". At one point I googled the top paying jobs. I thought about becoming a nurse or a dentist, but it just isn't for me. If I was worried about making a six figure salary I would choose a different major and career path.
While careers have days off, everyone thinks I'm only becoming a teacher to "enjoy the summer". Yes, summer vacations will be nice, but it will not be laying out on the beach every weekend. Signing up to become a teacher I know I'm also signing up to give (most) of my summer just to prepare for the next up coming school year. Even with all the preparation, I know it will still be a bumpy road at times.
If a future teacher makes it to this point in a conversation, the people come up with even more reasons why we shouldn't become teachers. "All kids won't be easy to teach." Yes. As education majors we know every child will not be easy to teach. A doctor will have patients that are hard to diagnosis, a lawyer will have tough cases, and teachers will have tough students. In reality, "tough" students may just need a little bit more love and that's where I come in.
My senior year of high school I was a teacher helper. I would go In the first grade class for an hour every morning and help around in the classroom, so I know exactly what I'm getting myself in to. I saw with my own eyes how outgoing all the little munchkins are and I have one thing to say, I am ready. I am ready to give these precious children an education and help them grow into smart young kids.
So no matter how many times I have to explain that I am ready to be a teacher, or how many more comments I may hear, I am beyond happy to say that in one month I will be attending Lander University as an Elementary Education major with a minor in music. I will continue to follow my dreams no matter what.
