Why I Want to Become a Teacher

“Of all the hard jobs around, one of the hardest is being a good teacher.” Maggie Gallagher. The noblest deed one can commit to bringing about a change in someone’s life is to teach them something they will never forget. A teacher takes up an unassuming and uninformed mind and guides them towards a path that allows becoming individuals who will end up not only changing their lives but also impacting that of those who surround them. If we look around us, we are amidst people and things those who can significantly affect our existence and the decisions we take.

Just like every other profession, teaching has its own merits and demerits. The choice to become an individual who impacts and nurtures young minds has its rewards. But these rewards are not easy to come across, and the path is full of obstacles that one needs to maneuver to fulfill the high level of expectations. These challenges allow a teacher to show their creativity without restricting access to knowledge.

Through the following passages, I would like to share my reasons for choosing to teach as a profession, even though obstacles cover every inch of the path. The leading factor is the desire to work with young people (Ryan & Cooper, 2015, p2). The burden of managing future affairs of the world has been placed on toddlers from the day they are born.

Since the decisions they will take in future will decide the fate of our society, teaching them ideas and thoughts, from a young age that not only educates and satisfies their curiosity but also instills a sense of morality along with ethical guiding principles.

In the Japanese culture, kindergarten going children are taught the importance of cleanliness and always picking after themselves. As adults, these same people are never ashamed of picking up trash from the streets and keeping the environment clean. This characteristic is an example of values instilled from a young age, go a long way in determining the kind of person one turns out to be.

Besides instilling moral values, the joy derived from teaching a particular subject and seeing students dissect it and understand it from a whole new perspective also has sway on why I want to take up teaching as a profession.

The students would not be the only ones gaining something from these classroom sessions (Ryan & Cooper, Those Who Can, TEACH, 2015, p16). A new point of view along with constructive criticism achieved as a result of health discussion benefits all the parties involved.

Moreover, there will never be a dull moment while teaching children. As a teacher, I get the liberty to define how to impart the vast amount of knowledge available, what techniques can make the lesson plan an exciting activity and how to capture the attention of young minds. The art of storytelling is refined while teaching and opens the chest of unbridled imagination and creativity.

Despite the fact that the salaries paid are not what most of my peers will take home, the joy of helping someone build their self-esteem and raise their potential and expectations can never be measured, and no amount of wage paid can genuinely assess its worth.

The connection I will establish with my students will last a lifetime as I can never forget some of my similar relationships and the heartfelt joy that came along with having them while trying to search for my footing in the world.

Some challenges encountered while making teaching a fun process which makes teaching a somewhat difficult task than it needs to be. A class is made up of students from the various socio-economic background, and when they are put together in a group to execute a task, with their level of world awareness, the students cannot interact freely with each other, or situations of conflict may arise. In this case, it becomes the responsibility of the teacher to monitor every individual and their actions separately to avoid any unpleasant situation.

With the right of education to everybody, the number of students with special needs has increased manifold in public schools. I may not be adequately trained to handle a situation where they might need assistance, and this would raise a question on my competence as a teacher and whether I can handle such situations. When as a teacher my ability to handle situations that I did not train for will be questioned, it will lead to a certain amount of dissatisfaction towards my job and will affect my performance levels.

Furthermore, the policy makers and decision makers on the education plan and everything else connected with it are people who have been out of the loop for long and never consider to ask for feedback from the people suffering the issues. As a teacher, if I cannot have control over what I need to do to develop a healthy learning plan and am forced to work with policies that bring more harm than growth, then how can I be expected to diligent towards the task at hand.

Thus, like every other job, teaching has both its rewards and challenges, but as somebody who is interested in taking up education as a profession, the awards will always out-weigh the obstacles. The optimism that I will carry towards my job will make a better educator, as everyone can teach but not everyone can educate.

Works Cited

Ryan, K., & Cooper, J. M. (2015). Examining Your Motives for Teaching. In K. Ryan, & J. M. Cooper, Those Who Can, TEACH

(14th ed., p. 2). Boston: Cengage Learning.

Ryan, K., & Cooper, J. M. (2015). Those Who Can, TEACH (14 ed.). Boston: Cengage.