Why Teaching?

When I was growing up, I absolutely hated when people would asked "what do you want to do when you grow up?" and I would respond, "I want to be a teacher".. and they'd be like "awwww. just like your dad!" or "just like your mom" or "it must run in the family" and so on and so on. In the beginning, since my school was a K-12, I would volunteer after school while I waited for my mom (since she was the Dean of Students at my school and we'd be at school at least until 5:30 everyday) at the elementary after school care program. That evolved into me working for the summer sports program at my school and I worked there for two summers before becoming an instructor.
Then when I was working as an instructor, I was teaching the kids to play baseball and I was trying to teach this girl Lauren to hit the ball. Her group leaders were like "just let her use the tee" but all her other group mates hit the ball by tossing it and so when they kept insisting that she hit off the tee... she looked sad. So I told her group leaders "No, I believe that Lauren can hit the ball so I'm going to give her three more balls" and the third ball she hit the ball and she was soooo happy as she ran to first. After the game was done, Lauren came over to me and gave me a hug and said "thanks for letting me hit like everyone else".
To me thats when I knew when I wanted to become a teacher.. when the kids have that "ah ha" moment, it really makes me happy and feel good inside like I made a difference. I've always enjoyed working with children so I felt the next step was going to graduate school to get my master's degree in elementary ed. and there is my story!! :)

What could be better?

I love children as much as the next guy, but I had never seen them in a school setting until working at Grout Elementary these past two years, only baby sitting, or summer camps. It is a completely different environment. They come alive, and make you feel invigorated in a way that no 9-5 cubicle job could ever satisfy. Even when I was doing work I loved in a free clinic, or other non-profit work, there was still the dreadful paperwork and data entry that made each day kind of an eye-on-the-clock experience. At school, there is no time for that! Each kid needs you at every moment to be here now. To give your full attention and effort. And the kids keep you awake with their energy, and their moods--no day is the same, and it is the best kind of inconsistency. I find I enjoyed their company more than adults, but the adults I worked with were all (though sometimes we had VERY different methods which caused some friction) working towards the same goal, solving these problems facing our children. And the problems were and are very real. And the solutions can be very visible, tangible even, which offers a tremendous amount of satisfaction. I'd say the best part about teaching is it satisfies so many different ambitions of mine. We're serving others. Every day counts. You're doing something to better the world at large, and the world as we know it within our small communities, and within each individual, you work with brilliant, creative and stubborn people, and are challenged by conflict everyday, but the battles are WORTH it. It's the greatest job I can think of. But I want a raise.

Why teaching?

Finding my way into a M.A.T. program just sort of happened, the way most great and wonderful things do. Upon graduating from my undergrad, I swore I would never go to grad school. I had absolutely no desire to be in school any longer and I thought those that did were crazy. In short, I was burnt out and naive to what the real world really required for success. I was convinced that I was going to make it as a public relations executive and I couldn't wait to start making all that money that Samantha on Sex and the City made and wear all the designer shoes and bags I could ever want!
Then I got into public relations, I made a bit of money and I started buying nice clothes and purses and realized hey, I'm turning into a huge sell out and hey, this isn't success, I feel more empty doing this lucrative job than I did cleaning up throw up and getting peed on by babies at the day care I worked at.
Then it hit me, I need fulfillment through helping others and only through achieving that will I ever feel "successful". It dawned on me that for me, success is not at all connected to money and once I let go of my designer dreams, I plunged head first into my M.A.T. applications and here I am!
I can't wait to start teaching. At this point in my life, I can't think of a more rewarding and selfless position one can hold and that's exactly what I'm looking for. Simply put, I just want the opportunity to make a positive and real difference to the people who matter the most to this world; the next generation.

Teaching for the future!

When most people are asked why they want to become a teacher the most common response is that they love to work with children. This is a given! I always enjoyed working with children because I thought maybe I could change each and every child I worked with, and make them love school and love learning. I know now that you can not change every child, but you can make a difference in their lives. When I first graduated from college I made the decision to teach over seas for a year to see If it was something I really might enjoy doing. My initial plan was to only stay abroad for a year, but I ended up staying three. It was during my time in Japan that I realized I loved to teach. It was also during this time that I realized you can not change every students mind. Though my situation was a little different because I was teaching English, and this is a subject that is difficult for Japanese people to learn, I always had a few students who despised the idea of even opening an English text book. It was also in Japan where I found my calling. I always found the good in my students. Even if I could only bring one smile a day it was well worth the effort.
The most reoccurring question that kept popping up in my head was "If I can not change each child's mind than how can I make a difference?" Could I really make a difference just by bringing a smile to one child's face? In my opinion the awnser is yes! By changing the way just one child thinks we can make a difference. My thoughts are now that if we can change how one child thinks, they might in return change how another person thinks, and this helps give me hope for the future. This is why I want to become a teacher.

Teaching (it's a fmaily thing)

I was not going to be a teacher! Almost every single person in my family was in education; therefore, I was going to work with animals. My undergrad was Zoology with Fish and Wildlife minor, I volunteered/interned/worked in the zoo, and that was definitely where my career was going to be. However, slowly my jobs shifted from working with animals to working with children…what was happening? I was falling into the inevitable family trap, the one that makes us Williams most happy when we are working with children. So, I accepted my fate as a (*sigh*) future teacher. After working in a school this last year and loving it, I am now convinced that, that is where I want to be. Oh well, I’m sure that Zoology degree will come in useful (schools are similar to zoos…right?). At least I won’t have to go to work while the rest of my family gets summers off.

To teach or not to teach?

Why do I want to teach? That is a great question, a question that I have been asked by many people. My answer is simple I want to make an impact on peoples lives and I love working with children. So why not teach? Throughout my life I have some way been involved working with children, they have this energy that captivates me. There were definetly times where I drifted from the idea of teaching due to spending too much time with children but I always got redirected. There is something about introducing new ideas to a child or seeing them having an ‘aha’ moment. When you see a child finally grasp a concept that they have been pondering for sometime, it’s an amazing feeling to be able to experience that with them. I also truly love the thought process that goes behind their life investigations.
Not only does the ‘aha’ moments inspire me but being able to play a key role in so many children’s lives is an honor. I want to be that teacher they remember for years on end, the one that gave them a helping hand through their academic struggles or even personal struggles. I want to inspire their minds. I want to help them grow within and be the best they can be but not in the army or maybe. (:
I have always wanted a career that can aid in the development of people. I wanted a job that contributes to the development of the world. Its crazy I want to be able to have an impact, as did the school of Baraka for those boys. Speaking of that documentary, it makes me mad that the school of Baraka just gave up on the boys. Why couldn’t they open up another school somewhere else? Anywhere else? That movie inspires me to create opportunities for children that truly need to experience a different community, to show them that they can do anything they put their minds to. The film also inspires me to work at an inner-city school where qualified teachers are needed however I am also terrified of getting chewed up. I get pretty emotionally involved but at the same time I am strong and persistent. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!

Why I went into teaching...

It’s kind of funny, I used to think that I had a coherent answer to this question. I guess it’s not so much my answer that has changed in the last five weeks, but my vision of what it means to be a teacher and what good teaching looks like that seems to be changing every day…

I've always loved children. I remember when I was a teenager I always loved playing with my friends' younger siblings. I babysat neighborhood kids all through middle and high school and then worked in day care centers, after school programs and summer camps throughout college. People had always told me that I was good with kids and this type of work always naturally to me because I loved the energy that I got when I was around children. Their energy, imagination and creativity are so contagious!

However, my mother was a teacher for many years and a bit of a pessimist so she tried to steer me away from teaching, because it's not well-paid and it's hard work. I was always good at math and science so I think she wanted me to go into engineering or physics or something. But that never worked out. I had the impression that scientists were boring people locked up in labs all day and I hated math even though I got good grades. Thinking back, I was probably influenced by the fact that I had wonderful, passionate social studies and language arts teachers in high school and dull, boring math and science teachers... just another example of how much teachers can influence their students!

So anyways... I arrived at college with vague notions that I liked working with people and loved children but I shouldn't go into teaching because it's badly-paid. During my four years at college, I became increasingly politically conscious as I became aware of many of the issues of power, privilege and oppression that we are talking about in this class and Zaher's class. I finally decided to major in psychology with a concentration in social psychology and became very interested in the psychological research around race, class and gender issues. I began to get interested in the role of educators in addressing these issues and in my senior year, I took an education class in which we read Paulo Freire and a couple other theorists that dealt with the role of education in promoting social change. So I finally had an excuse to go into teaching, who cares if it’s badly paid because I was going to change the world! Pretty idealistic, but I was in college...

A lot has happened since then… I went abroad to Spain to teach English (I originally intended to stay only one year) and got distracted and stayed much longer. I was dealing with so many different things, adapting to a different culture and language, finding a job, place to live and navigating the immigration system that I a lot of the issues I had been so passionate about got lost somewhere. I was also an outsider coming into a culture with a very different social structure and history in which many of these issues play out in very different ways. I also didn't have the formal training, tools or community to help me bring them to the classroom effectively. Another problem was that I was working mainly with teenagers who I had no idea how to handle because all my previous work had been with preschool and elementary age children. One thing I did learn was that I have absolutely no desire to teach middle school or high school. ..

So I’ve finally made my way back to my decision to teach elementary school and the last few weeks have been a great way to remind me of why I got into this in the first place. It’s taken me awhile to get here but I hope I will be able to combine experience with idealism and everything that we’re learning in this program to give my students the education that they deserve.