Throughout my life, I have always got asked the typical question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Now if you were to ask me this question when I was four or five years old I most likely would have told you I want to be a dolphin trainer. However, flash forward a couple of years and I would say without a doubt I want to be an elementary school teacher. To this day, that still holds true. Now for many people going into the education field or who are in the education field right now, you may be familiar with these few questions or sayings:

"Why do you want to be a teacher, that doesn't pay a lot?"

"You are so smart why don't you do something better?"

"Teaching is just a glorified babysitting position."

"Why would you want to take care of my kid all day, I don't even want to be around them that much?"

"Teaching is so easy anyone can do it."

Last, but certainly not least, "those who can't do, teach."

I haven't been teaching for a real long time yet, but I have definitely heard all of those phrases. So for those who ask why I want to teach, I would love to say, "why wouldn't you want to teach?" However I realize that as much as I find enjoyment in what I do, not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. Like John F. Podojil once wrote, "Teaching is not a profession; it's a passion" and for me I hope to help each and every one of my students find that same passion for something they want to do for the rest of their lives, just like some of my teachers did for me.

Helping students find that passion and drive for something starts as soon as they enter the classroom. I want my students to be greeted as they walk in. I want them to see a brightly colored room. One that is safe, where people's feelings matter, creative minds are welcomed, different opinions are here to be discussed and shared, and passions might be different from one another, but they are to be respected. I want to learn as much as I possibly can about each student, so I can cater my teaching to their actual interests and not what "I think" is their interests. I want them to know that this is their home away from home. Just like their home or their room, I want them to decorate it. There will be open spaces in the class, but let me tell you they won't be blank for long. I want them filled with my students' work. Most importantly I don't want my students to feel like the classroom is Ms. Podschweit's, but rather I want them to openly say, "this is our classroom and this is where I love to learn."

I don't want to be a "perfect" teacher. I want to show my students that there are times where I mess up and it's okay. I want my students to know that it's okay to fail, and it's okay to make mistakes because it's easy to fix those mistakes when there's someone there to support them. I know not all of my students may have that support system at home, but I will not let school be the same. I will support my students just like I support any of my friends and family. That little girl in the class who came in wanting to be a dolphin trainer might change her mind and I'm here to support her. I will help her and guide her to find that something she loves even if it changes; because my end goal is to help shape my students to get ready for the future and that future way ahead in their life has them doing something they are passionate about. When someone is passionate about something, that's when learning takes place and if I don't help my students find that passion I will not be a successful teacher.

So back to the question, why do I want to teach? Well, I would love to start off by saying "do you have a few hours because I could go on for days about it?" However instead of taking up that much of someone's time I simply say, "Teaching is a challenge, but it takes a certain someone to want to take on that challenge and try to succeed at it. There are constant ups and downs in teaching, but let me tell you those ups out way those downs so much more. I put in so much time for my students because I want to see my students succeed and seeing that one student finally get excited over reading a book or finally getting a math problem correct has to be one of the best feelings in the whole world. Simply put, teaching is my passion and I don't know who wouldn't be excited to do their passion every day, if so I think they might want to reevaluate what their passion really is. Waking up each day knowing that it's going to be a challenge is what makes me want to be a teacher because I know those challenges lead to endless rewards and those endless rewards are something I wouldn't change for the world. So to the teachers who helped me find my passion, I thank you and I hope I can continue to follow in your foot steps.