When I tell people that I am going to be a teacher, I hear the good, the bad, and the ugly responses. Some warn me of the challenges I'll face working with tweens and teens. Others pat me on the back and thank their lucky stars that there are people who will take on this role. Some tell me it is a "good mom job." Others are really interested and tell me about an influential teacher in their life.
But none of these responses are what my response was to discovering I wanted to be a teacher. It was just a natural occurrence. Like waking up one day and saying, "Yep. That's what I want to do."
It first started my junior year of high school. I was taking some
AP classes, and they opened my mind to
think differently, to see new perspectives, to seek out the world in ways I
hadn’t before. I felt empowered. I realized how important education can be in a life. And I saw many teachers who loved what they taught. I found myself wanting to share my passion of social
learning with others like they did.
My senior year, I traveled through Europe, visiting some very significant places. I would surprise myself by thinking, “I could talk about this place or this person in a social studies class someday.” It was then then that I for sure knew I wanted to be a teacher. It just fit.
My senior year, I traveled through Europe, visiting some very significant places. I would surprise myself by thinking, “I could talk about this place or this person in a social studies class someday.” It was then then that I for sure knew I wanted to be a teacher. It just fit.
I personally see my role as a teacher as someone who
helps students understand the beauties (and perils) of humanity. Social studies,
in my opinion, is the study of all of us, who we are, what we do, and how we do
it. I see myself as helping students understand who they want to be and how
they want to affect their lives as a result of my teaching. I want to open my
students’ eyes to the amazing world we have built. I want to teach them skills of interpretation, engagement, and empowerment. I want to make history come alive, tie multiple disciplines together, show how extraordinary the ordinary is, and use controversial issues to help students come to their own understandings.
To help me fulfill these goals in creative and innovative ways, I have found the blogs below to be very helpful.
- http://room9nelsoncentral.blogspot.com/ (classroom using a blog)
- http://www.coolcatteacher.com/ (teachers helping teachers on a blog)
- http://calnewport.com/blog/ (student success advice blog)
To teach was never a question for me, it was always an answer.
