I didn't always want to be a teacher. Actually, in all honesty, for the majority of my life I had no interest in teaching anything to anybody. I wanted to change the world, not stand in front of a classroom.
Little did I know, there are some special people who can do both.
It happened some time during junior year of high school. I had some amazing teachers. They were passionate and motivated about what they were teaching. I enjoyed the discussions. I learned new things and felt as if I was launched backward to elementary school when I was running home in excitement, telling my parents all the interesting stuff I had learned that day. It was the first time I felt like I truly appreciated my education. And those feelings I had, the interest, the excitement, the appreciation, that's what I wanted to make others feel.
It was then that I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Not just any teacher though, I wanted to be like the ones that inspired me.
I want to be like the teachers that teach their students empathy, because we all know the world needs a little more of that. And like the teachers that figure out what the students actually want to learn and work with them. I want to be the kind of teacher that isn't afraid to have a little fun even if that fun, that enjoyment, results in little productivity some days. I dream of being the kind of teacher that can teach grammar, statistics, or how to make a chemical reaction, but also how to be a decent person. Because that matters (sometimes a lot more than a math problem). I would love to be the teacher that lets students read the books they actually want to read. The kind of teacher that assesses their students learning off of progress and effort and bigger concepts rather than a few multiple choice questions. Because A.) that is no way to judge how much a student knows and B.) everyone knows if it's an option, the answer is usually C.) all of the above. I want to be like the teachers that taught me how to think in different ways and see the world through alternate perspectives. The teachers that ask good questions and the hard ones, which are in many cases the same.
These kinds of teachers do exist. I'd know because I've been lucky enough to have some of them.
May we know these kinds of teachers, may we appreciate them, may we figure out some way, if possible, to resemble them.
To the teachers that inspired me: Thank you. You showed me that someone's world can be changed and it has everything to do with the person standing in front of the classroom.
