August 19th, 2015... this is the day I started the journey of my career. I've known since a very young age that God was calling me to work with children. I have a passion for teaching children because I believe that you are not just teaching them simple skills to pass tests, but that you are forming a future society. To quote Mahatma Ghandi, "Be the change you want to see in the world." This quote speaks volumes to me, however as a future teacher, I feel the need to take this one step farther and not only be that example for my students, but teach them and give them the proper resources to become that change.
Teachers have a huge influence over their students. You spend 180 days out of the year and 7 hours a day with them, that equates to 1,260 hours spent influencing those students. Those students look to you for guidance whether in the form of questions or not. Teachers constantly have someone watching them during the day. This topic brings up something we talked about in class that I had not necessarily considered before our class discussion. Public Trust as teacher is.... HUGE! For a 21st century teacher this means something completely different than it did years ago. Children now have full access to the internet and to social media sites. The boundaries of trust for a teacher expand far beyond their 4 classroom walls, for a teacher public trust must become a way of life.
August 19th, 2015 was the first day of my introductory level Education course. It was also the day I was bombarded with information and questioned the career path I had dreamed of for so long. That night I sat down and truly thought about what my next step should be. I quickly came to realize as the girls I had babysat the entire previous summer messaged me explaining how excited they were after their first day back to school why I wanted to pursue this career. I remembered that I've wanted to become a teacher not because it's the best or easiest job around but because for me it is the most rewarding. This journey will not be easy all the time but in the end it will be always be worth it!
