Why I want to be a teacher...

Teaching was not always my passion but when I was in college I developed a love for it. The desire began when I went on a mission trip to Arlington, Texas and had the opportunity to teach and work with inner city children. As the summer progressed my passion for children and teaching deepened. When I went back to school in the fall I began developing study groups with my cross-country teammates and found myself leading and teaching the group. I also had the opportunity to teach a few science lessons in the local middle and high schools, along with teaching chemistry lab classes at the university. Currently I am substitute teaching for Citrus County Schools. These experiences gave me the desire to start thinking about a career as a teacher and now to pursue that career.

As a teacher I want to be able to reach out to the children in my community not just through education but also through being a coach, mentor, and role model. Equally important I also want to provide the students with a caring and nurturing environment, encouragement, and a desire to succeed in life. I enjoy seeing students excited when they learn something new. I know that there will be times of great challenges and difficulties but persevering through these times will bring me a sense of accomplishment, strengthen my character, and increase my leadership abilities as I reach for the goal to allow each student to be successful in his or her eyes.

When I am hired as a teacher I would like to teach at an elementary school. My preferred grade would be second grade. I found a desire to teach and work with this age group after working at a summer camp this summer. I am also currently interning in this grade and love this age group. I feel that I understand their learning abilities, how to manage them, and can relate well to them.

Being able to impact a child’s life by doing all of these things and more is what drives me to pursue this career. I look back on the summers I have spent in Dayton, Ohio, Arlington, Texas and in Serbia and the children that I was able to work with. I know how much they influenced my life and I can only hope that I influenced their lives.