This week as I was preparing myself for this I was wondering
what it could be that I could share with all of you. I wanted something positive and inspiring. I was thinking
maybe a short poem, quote, song lyric, or even a Shakespearian sonnet. I looked online and asked friends. What I came up with was a bunch of
cheesy quotes and poems some good, most really bad. Most overused words like hope, success, aspirations, determination,
dreams all words meaningless unless you know how to live life exemplifying
them. This is my journey to becoming a teacher, I hope you will share yours.
A teacher provides the knowledge to live successfully. Teacher’s invoke hope when all other
hope is exhausted. Dreams are
planted in the minds of students across America five days a week eight hours a
day. The job of a teacher is to
convey that your experiences tell about who you are and who you can become. Life will be full of overused words
however teachers have the power of inspiring action that fuels our
society.
I then realized that what I could share with you is an
educator who taught me how to turn the meaningless words in society into life
altering action. Other than my
family my biggest mentor was my third and fourth grade teacher Mrs.
Guptill. She is the woman who
taught me that the sun is more than five miles away.
More than just facts she encouraged my imagination, and
individuality she explained to me that sticking up for my beliefs, despite
stubborn obstacles, makes me a responsible citizen. She taught me how to count money denominations yet instilled
in me that being a genuine and caring person will get me more than money ever
could.
Another lesson that I learned from Mrs. Guptill, which has
changed my life thus far, is how much of an impact a teacher has. From her example I knew I wanted to join
the profession of teaching. I
wanted to make more than money; I wanted to make an impact.
For those of you who are or are becoming a teacher I say
good for you. Don’t let anyone
deter you from a profession that is underfunded, underappreciated, and underestimated. You are more than an evaluation
sheet or test score. Your future
and might I add the future of your students is also much more than a state budget
liability.
The purpose of this post is to show the vast support
teachers across our community have.
Today we can demonstrate that with comments below about a teacher that positively influenced your life. Thank you for posting your support below for teachers like Mrs. Guptill and also thank you
for caring about all students whom good teaching can influence.
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet and thoughtful! I hope Mrs. Guptill gets a chance to have this shared with her (if she hasn't already!).
My motivation for becoming a teacher came from my mother, a Kindergarten teacher of over 35 years. Through her I was able to see how a woman could have such a rewarding career and stay attentive to her home and children.
However, the motivation for the type of teacher I am came from my experiences in middle/high school. I was always that annoying, confrontational teenager asking, "Why are we doing this?" and "What does this have to do with anything?" I'm the teacher now I wanted to have in middle/high school. I work hard to make sure my lessons are engaging, challenging and rewarding. I stay motivated by always looking for and trying that next-best-thing that will help students feel confident and motivated.
Great thoughts and thanks for helping me reflect back too!
The most influential teacher I had was a high school English teacher, Mrs. Wiggin. When we wrote papers and had discussions about the literature we read, she encouraged us to focus on how that made us feel about who we are and the choices that we make about society. She encouraged us to think on a deeper level and to challenge concepts that we had about ourselves and our communities. I value this more than the actual literature we read.
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