Most people who decide to become a teacher have that one teacher from their own educational experience that inspired them to do so. This person could have been their favorite teacher, who made learning fun and made a positive impact on them, which, in return, made that person want to do the same for future students.
On the other hand, the teacher who inspired them to become a teacher could have been someone who made learning miserable for them and they decided to make sure other kids do not have to hate going to class as they once did. As a future teacher, I have heard both from my peers. Personally, I was lucky enough to love all of my teachers, but there is one in particular that is the reason I am becoming a teacher myself and this letter is for her.
Dear Mrs. Monopoli,
I wish that I could come back to your classroom and tell you how much you have influenced me in choosing my career and motivated me to become the best teacher I can be. But so much has happened since I first arrived in your classroom 14 years ago.
I was seven years old and entering second grade, so excited that I was lucky enough to have the fun teacher that everyone wished they had. But a couple years after you were my teacher, I started to notice something was different about you when I would see you in the hallway. You kept losing your hair and then you weren’t coming to school as much, which was strange because I remember you never missed class. I asked my mom why you weren’t coming to drama rehearsals anymore and she told me it was because you were sick. I thought you would be back in a couple days, like when most people got sick. Then she told me that you were not just sick, you were very sick. I never quite understood what she meant until she told me that you died.
I was confused. How could she be gone? It was clear that I was not the only student that felt this way. The whole school was in shock. After you were gone, it felt as though the school was missing something. There was no longer the goofy, kind Mrs. Monopoli walking down the halls to cheer everyone up. You left an impact on so many students, it was clear by how many students -- yours and ones that just knew you -- came together to celebrate you after your death. Even then, I knew that I wanted to do the same thing.
I want to encourage students to want to learn, to want to come to school and to let themselves be silly. You did it for me and I will do it for my students. Being a teacher is more than learning the proper way to teach times tables or making lesson plans; it is motivating your students and supporting them when they need it. In order to be a good teacher, someone has to do it for the right reasons. With this being said, I know that I am meant to be a teacher.
Sincerely,
An Old Student
