As an education major, I am often asked “why?” Why do you want to be a teacher? Why do you want to deal with kids? Why do you want to do something where you won't make much money? Why are you stressing? Being a teacher is easy! Eventually, you’re forced to think about this. The answer might come easily to some, like myself, but to others it might require a little more thinking. So, why do I want to be a teacher? Well, the short answer is this: I want to change the world and make a difference. I want to leave my mark on the world, and this is how I’m going to do it.
I read a quote once that says, “Every child is gifted. They just unwrap their packages at different times.” I fully agree with that, and I want to be able to ensure that my students do, too. I want to change lives. I want to help people, and show the world that everybody can learn. Some students might learn differently than others, and some may have a harder time learning and doing well than others. I was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade. I’ve faced roadblocks and challenges, not only the simple ones that every student faces, but personal roadblocks with my ADHD. I know what it’s like to be the lonely kid on the playground; reading by the fence while everyone else runs around and plays together. I know what it’s like to be the only child in your first grade class who’s already reading chapter books, way ahead of your grade level. I know what it’s like to sit in class and pick at things on the desk or your hands because you physically can’t sit still and you’ve either already done the work or just cannot focus on it. I know what it’s like to be stared at by the other students, because you’re picking at the dried glue on the table incessantly or doodling on your arm. I want to be able to help kids with the same experiences as I had. I want to help them be able to be different, appreciate and accept their differences, and to not feel alone. I want to be able to be a role model for kids and to be one of those teachers that kids remember when they’re in high school, or college, or even when they get married and for them to be able to contact me and be like “hey, I don’t know if you remember me, but I was your student back in xyz and I just wanted to thank you” or something like that. I want to be one of those teachers that I had in elementary and middle and high school that I still talk to, that I still use their lessons even now in college. I want to create a safe space for students who may not have a great family life. I want to instill a love of reading as early as I can. I want to be given the opportunity to change someone’s life, and by being a teacher, I can do that. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take a lot of time, patience, and effort. I’m not in this just to teach and go home. I’m in this because I want to go beyond that. In my teach classes, the word we use most is "passion." From the first day in university 101 freshman year, Professor Alfonso drilled the word passion into our minds. You can be a good teacher by teaching your students what they know. But to be a great teacher, you must be passionate about what you are teaching. You need to be passionate, patient, kind, caring, and compassionate. The world needs more teachers who embody what it means to be a teacher, rather than just taking the title. We need more teachers who are passionate, and fewer who are in it because they think it will be easy. Because it won’t be.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” Teaching is one of those careers that everyone thinks is easy, but, really, is not. Teachers spend their own money to transform the boring plain classroom they start out with into a magical world of reading, learning, and loving. Teachers spend school breaks creating lesson plans, and thinking up ways to inspire each and every student. So if you ask me again, why teach? I’ll tell you this: I teach because I care. I am passionate. There is nothing better to me than seeing a child’s face light up because he can read, or because he can multiply. As scared as I am of the real world, I’m beyond excited for the opportunities in teaching that lay ahead for me. I can’t wait for the day where I get to decorate my own classroom, and greet students on the first day and say “Hi, My name is Ms. Swerdloff, and I’m your teacher.” That is why I want to be a teacher.
