"Why would you want to be a teacher, do you really want to be broke for the rest of your life?"

I have been hearing comments like this ever since I decided that I wanted to be a teacher way back in first grade. These comments always offend me and it is shocking that so many people value money over happiness in their career. I always answer these comments by stating the truth: teaching is my passion and I could never see myself doing anything else.

I have always wanted to be a teacher. The idea of getting to impact the lives of children everyday is exactly why I want to be an educator. First of all, I love children and I am majoring in early childhood education because that certifies me to teach preschool through grade two which is exactly the age range that I love. Children at those ages are able to absorb so much information and those years of their lives are crucial to the rest of their academic futures. I want to ensure that my students are getting the best education possible and that they are extremely well prepared to move on in school once the year is complete. Teaching, in general, is something that I love to do and when I combine that with my love of children, being an educator makes perfect sense. I love the feeling of teaching someone something that they never knew before and seeing them actually understand it. Seeing the eyes of a child light up when they master a new concept is an indescribable feeling that I am looking forward to experiencing on a daily basis.

When people find out I want to be a teacher, many people immediately question the financial aspect of what being a teacher means. They fail to understand that being a teacher makes me happy and that it is my passion. Being happy in my job everyday is much more important to me than making a lot of money. Also, teacher unemployment rates are always very low compared to those of other professions so it is reassuring that there will always be a great need for teachers. I also want to get a master's degree in the future after I complete my bachelor's degree so that will allow me to make more money as well. I want to be the best teacher that I possibly can for my students so obtaining a masters degree is a crucial goal for me.

Overall, I love working with children and I love teaching people new concepts. Therefore, being an early childhood education major is perfect for me and always will be. The idea of loving my job and not dreading having to go to work everyday is much more important to me than money ever will be. I love helping people and I look forward to having the opportunity to be able to do so every day in my classroom.