Why I want to Become a Teacher

As I start this professional development blog, I've been doing some reflecting on why is it that I want to be a teacher.  This is an essay question required for entry into the program, as well as a verbal question that I've been asked often, and I anticipate being asked it again in the future.  I feel like I've always known why, but I have sometimes struggled with clearly articulating these thoughts.  However, as my teacher education program has progressed, my understanding of why I want to become a teacher has evolved (and I believe and hope that it will continue to evolve).  I think that part of my struggle with clearly sharing my thoughts is that maybe I didn't have as solid a grasp of my reasoning as I originally thought.  However, as I've been learning, thinking, reflecting, and growing, I feel that a concrete foundation is being laid.

In our literacy class today, our professor asked us to journal about what being literate in America means.  I answered with, "It means everything."

As I was thinking over this, I realized that it ties in with why I want to be a teacher: Education means everything.  All students need someone willing to be an advocate for them.  All students need someone willing to recognize them as individuals, to admire their strengths, to help strengthen their weaknesses, and to celebrate their differences.  All students need someone to show them that education rewards the effort put into it; it is a factor that can trump potential barriers, such as race, gender, or culture, and it is an instrumental tool in helping to get them where they want to be.  I want to be a teacher so that I can be that someone and give students the tools to position them in a place where they can reach for their dreams and achieve a higher quality of life.