During my preservice studies one professor asked this question. Why did you become a teacher? She warned us, as most good teachers do, that this will change throughout your career. However, she said she never wanted us to lose sight of our idyllic reasons for becoming teachers.
I’ve been asked this question in various forms, “What experience do you have working with children?” and “Why did you want to become a special education teacher?”. Each time I’ve been asked this question has afforded me the opportunity to reflect on why I became a teacher and what kind of teacher I want to be.
So how did I get to be teacher? It was a long and winding road. When I graduated high school I had no clue what I wanted to do; I loved to write. My family encouraged my love of writing but my mom was practical; how can you make this a career? I joined the journalism program at the community college I was attending. I was miserable, writing became a chore and the people I worked with were less than encouraging and friendly. I spent two miserable years on the newspaper. I re-evaluated what I wanted to do. I had a long talk with my mom who reminded me how much fun I had teaching preschool at our church my senior year of high school. The light bulb went off, AHA! I’ll be a teacher.
The first class I took was a human development class; I loved this professor. She was kind, she was nurturing, she was sarcastic (she let me turn in papers late!). I knew that these were the people I wanted to be around: kind, nurturing, witty and funny.
While putting myself through school I worked various jobs, it was a long haul to finish my bachelor’s degree but I did it. I worked in customer service, retail, phone service, and finally disability insurance claims. None of these jobs were my calling; I’d come home feeling exhausted and defeated.
While finishing my bachelor’s degree I had to volunteer for 10 weeks at three different community organizations and the professor encouraged us to go outside our comfort zone when doing this. My first volunteer position was a nursing home; after my first day there I came home sobbing. It was definitely not where I wanted to be nor would I want my loved ones to go. I also volunteered for First 5 and helped parents and kids get ready for kindergarten- I loved this. I also helped adults learning English which allowed me to brush up on my high school Spanish. My last experience was at an organization that used equine therapy to help kids with Autism and women who survived cancer. It was in a canyon in Malibu down a long, winding and very precarious road; that in and of itself terrified me. Additionally, I was petrified of horses, I was sure one was going to trample me my first day there. The people who ran this camp were amazing. They taught me how to work with the horses (who are the most gentle of creatures) and kids with different needs. I came to love going there every Saturday (and later on several days a week) to help kids. There was no judgement from the horses when the kids got on their backs; they were calm and nurturing to the children. The children’s faces changed from confusion or pain to calm and relaxed. I knew after this I wanted to work with kids who have special needs. As the Disney song goes, “This is where I’m meant to be.” I took a few years off of school before going back to get my credential. It was the BEST decision I ever made.
So, after two years of teaching, why do I want to be a teacher?
I know that my whys will change as I continue on my journey as an educator. I hope I don’t forget how much I love my job or my students. I hope I never lose that, I can’t wait to get to work feeling. If I ever do, I will come back to the various lists I have made to remind myself why I became and teacher and why it’s so important.
I’ve been asked this question in various forms, “What experience do you have working with children?” and “Why did you want to become a special education teacher?”. Each time I’ve been asked this question has afforded me the opportunity to reflect on why I became a teacher and what kind of teacher I want to be.
So how did I get to be teacher? It was a long and winding road. When I graduated high school I had no clue what I wanted to do; I loved to write. My family encouraged my love of writing but my mom was practical; how can you make this a career? I joined the journalism program at the community college I was attending. I was miserable, writing became a chore and the people I worked with were less than encouraging and friendly. I spent two miserable years on the newspaper. I re-evaluated what I wanted to do. I had a long talk with my mom who reminded me how much fun I had teaching preschool at our church my senior year of high school. The light bulb went off, AHA! I’ll be a teacher.
The first class I took was a human development class; I loved this professor. She was kind, she was nurturing, she was sarcastic (she let me turn in papers late!). I knew that these were the people I wanted to be around: kind, nurturing, witty and funny.
While putting myself through school I worked various jobs, it was a long haul to finish my bachelor’s degree but I did it. I worked in customer service, retail, phone service, and finally disability insurance claims. None of these jobs were my calling; I’d come home feeling exhausted and defeated.
While finishing my bachelor’s degree I had to volunteer for 10 weeks at three different community organizations and the professor encouraged us to go outside our comfort zone when doing this. My first volunteer position was a nursing home; after my first day there I came home sobbing. It was definitely not where I wanted to be nor would I want my loved ones to go. I also volunteered for First 5 and helped parents and kids get ready for kindergarten- I loved this. I also helped adults learning English which allowed me to brush up on my high school Spanish. My last experience was at an organization that used equine therapy to help kids with Autism and women who survived cancer. It was in a canyon in Malibu down a long, winding and very precarious road; that in and of itself terrified me. Additionally, I was petrified of horses, I was sure one was going to trample me my first day there. The people who ran this camp were amazing. They taught me how to work with the horses (who are the most gentle of creatures) and kids with different needs. I came to love going there every Saturday (and later on several days a week) to help kids. There was no judgement from the horses when the kids got on their backs; they were calm and nurturing to the children. The children’s faces changed from confusion or pain to calm and relaxed. I knew after this I wanted to work with kids who have special needs. As the Disney song goes, “This is where I’m meant to be.” I took a few years off of school before going back to get my credential. It was the BEST decision I ever made.
So, after two years of teaching, why do I want to be a teacher?
- My students are the kids that no one wants in their class. They have had major behavior issues in the past. I want them to understand they are not their behaviors; they are not the bad kids that they sometimes think they are. They are valued and important.
- Learning is an amazing experience. Those AHA moments when my students get something and it doesn’t need to be curriculum; my favorite ones are when they get one another or have an epiphany about themselves.
- I want to be a champion for my students. There are so many people in the world ready to tell them, “No,” or “you can’t”, I want to be one of the people that says “Do it!” “Let’s try it anyway.”
- I want my students to feel safe, loved and supported.
- Do not give up! You will fail, you will do so epically! That is wonderful, it’s the first step to learning. The best thing to do is to pick yourself, dust yourself off and start all over again.
I know that my whys will change as I continue on my journey as an educator. I hope I don’t forget how much I love my job or my students. I hope I never lose that, I can’t wait to get to work feeling. If I ever do, I will come back to the various lists I have made to remind myself why I became and teacher and why it’s so important.