Why I Want to be a Teacher...

I want to be a teacher because I want to make a difference. I know, that might sound cliché but that is my honest answer. I came to Auburn University as a Pre-Medicine major; this had been my plan for years. I had done all the research on medical schools and what it took to become a doctor. I had shadowed a couple of doctors; I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be an Orthopedic Surgeon because when they fix something (broken bones) they are fixed, even stronger than they were before. I wanted to help people physically. I truly thought that medicine was my calling in life. I was wrong. It was like the very air in Auburn changed my mind. As soon as I arrived to campus and began my Biology for science majors class, I knew that medicine was not for me. I searched for options. What was I going to do? How was I going to tell my parents? After many discussions, my mother suggested I look into the College of Education. She knew how much I wanted to do something that involved people. So I checked it out and knew instantly how well education fit with what I wanted to do. That day I officially changed my major to English Education and have been happy ever since.

I believe that teaching is without a doubt the most important job anyone can have. Without teachers, every doctor I shadowed would be without a job. Everyone is what they are because of teachers. I want to make an impact on my students that is felt years after my presence is gone from their lives. While in my classroom, I want my students to learn more about the subject matter but more importantly, more about themselves. I want to challenge students to find something they love to do, and go for it. Because my field is English, I will challenge students to read about things that interest them and to help them broaden their horizons with every word they read. My goal as a teacher is to help each student live up to their potential. If a student loves science, I want to help them learn as much as they can about science. In my classroom, they can study science-related books and do research projects related to his/her interests. The teachers I had in high school did not do this with their students. I believe this is why a lot of students do not like English. If a female teacher is only teaching love stories from the Victorian era, they are not going to appeal to a wide variety of students. I want to change the way students view the study of literature. I want them to see that it is not just about extended metaphors and flowery language, but about stories and characters and different genres. I know that each student can find something they like about literature; I will strive to show students this. The student that likes science can read science fiction, a student who is interested in history has tons of historical fiction in front of them, even students interested in sports can find something interesting. In my future classroom, I hope to not just teach things I enjoy but reach a variety of students through different genres. I want to be a teacher because I KNOW that I can make a difference. I can make students feel the love that I feel for literature by exposing them to different and interesting types of books. I want to show each and every student that they are important and that I value their opinion.