Teaching. To educate future generations. To shape the minds of tomorrow's leaders. To be paid less than we should. To foster knowledge and receive minimal appreciation. To love your job fiercely to the confusion of others. These are just a few of the things that come to mind when an education student thinks of their future career.
My journey into education started my sophomore year at Marshall. My whole life I thought medical school lied ahead of me but I realized that my heart was leading me to teach. I knew nothing about the education field aside from the content I wanted to teach: English and Science. Now as a senior, I know that education holds more than I had ever thought possible. Marshall has taught me that the life of an educator is a hard one, a stressful one, but one that is filled with heart and joy.
Marshall has taught me that becoming a teacher isn't as easy as some may think. Did you know that we have to complete an 80+ page resource that documents our student teaching experience? Once certified and we begin our careers, we are required to further our knowledge and better ourselves with more schooling to be able to be able to renew our certifications every three years. And boy that job market is a doozey, but when we secure a job, we must prove our selves as effective and capable teachers as we trudge through three years of probationary contracts.
But educators persevere. Teachers push through the turmoil to see those moments of realization and understanding on their students faces. Through clinical experiences, I have had the great joy of witnessing this moment of accomplishment, the moment that a student thinks "Hey! I get this!". This moment of understanding is when you realize that you are making an impact.
As an educator, we are responsible for covering our content, teaching our field to the best of our abilities. However, we are also given the responsibility of fostering our students image, their self worth, their physical and mental health. We are not only our students teachers but we are their cheerleaders, their coaches, their biggest supports, and an endless number of other roles. We give our students the tools they need to become functioning members of society.
When I signed onto the field of education, all I knew about it was that I was responsible for helping my students gain an understanding of my content area. I had no idea that educators play such a larger role in the greater scheme of things. Marshall has shown me that education is a field of accomplishment, of heart, and of joy. I have been shown that teaching is not for the faint of heart, it requires the strongest of work ethics, a creative mind that flows with endless energy and ideas, and this is the only area that I could ever see myself in. Thank you, Marshall, for helping me see that education is where I am meant to be.
