Teaching: It Chose Me

Teaching: It Chose Me

What inspired me to be a teacher? In the back of my mind, I think I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Although I wasn’t always particularly fond of going to school early in my life, I always, it seemed, really liked my teachers. I didn’t like being away from home when I was in elementary school and a lot of times I would cry and want to go home, but my teachers would talk with me and help calm me down and then I would be okay for a while. Looking back, I appreciate the way they helped me through those "bad" days. I realize now teachers do more than teach -- they are role models for their young students and they can have a tremendous influence on them.

Another factor that helped influence my decision to enter the teaching field is that I love children. I have always enjoyed babysitting, not just for the money, but for the enjoyment I usually have when I babysit. I think kids are such fun. In a way, I guess when I babysit, I do some of the things teachers do. I like to read books to them and ask them questions and do learning activities with them.

Today’s young children are our next generation. I love to see how well they learn what you are teaching them, like when they learn to read. It is so exciting to them to be able to read! I still love to read to this day from being inspired by my elementary teachers. My teachers inspired me to be anything I wanted to be in life. I want to have an impact like that on someone’s life one day also.

My road to the teaching field has taken a few curves along the way. While I had given some thought to being a teacher earlier in my life, other things began to influence me. When I was in high school, I gave serious thought to being a journalist, especially a television newscaster. I thought that would be an awesome job! You get to dress up, have your hair styled everyday and, on top of that, you would always be ‘in the know’ about what’s going on locally, statewide and nationally.