Why do I want to be a teacher?
I have spent many years at Utah State. I have switched my major several times, but I never felt that any of the majors truly fit me. I took some time off to think about what I wanted to do as a career. I had always had this push towards the medical field from my family and because it seemed like it fit me. When I finally had enough time to really think about my life, I realized I have always had this pull towards teaching. Through the many years of schooling, I had amazing teachers and those that made me cry, but out of every experience I developed an inner drive to be a teacher. It took many years, but I finally uncovered that drive and have never felt better about a decision. I love helping people and seeing them succeed, I love children and their humor, and I love the various aspects found in the classroom. I have never been busier in my life than I am right now as a level 2 student, but I have also never felt happier or more committed to a career. I can't wait to finally graduate and be able to teach my own students in my own classroom.
What are my teaching plans?
I am just a level 2 student, so I'm still exploring the vast amount of information about effective teaching and the various teaching philosophies. I have found things that interest me, that I want to include in my classroom, and things I don't necessarily agree with. I have also found a theme for my classroom (if I am in an elementary classroom) which is, for lack of better wording at the moment, Traveling the World. I won't go into detail about that right now, I will save that and maybe explain more on a later post.
I like the idea of having a student driven classroom, to a point. When you involve your students in the decision making in the classroom, such as setting class rules, they feel empowered and responsibility for the class and classroom, but it takes up a lot of valuable instruction time. I will include my students in a lot of the decision making, and will release more and more of the responsibility to them, but I will always be close by to help them. I also feel that it benefits the students if you spend time, giving small lessons, teaching students about problem solving and how they can solve conflicts. I plan to include this, as well as "peace talks" to solve student-to-student conflicts. I think it is important for students to learn the skills needed to resolve conflicts, both for the benefit of the classroom and for use in their daily life.
I feel that it is important to include diversity into your instruction, and embrace the various cultures present in your classroom. By including diversity into your classroom you can help eliminate stereotypes and situations where students may be bullied.
