why??

It has been a while since I updated the blog, I know...but since last time I have moved back to SC, met a new roommate and started my final semester of undergraduate school!!! CRAZY!!! My reason for writing tonight, is because one of my professors in education asked my class to write a 1-2 page paper on why we want to be a teacher...yeah! So, I thought that it was going to be a piece of cake... turns out it's much harder to put down the thoughts in my head and my beliefs on paper- especially when it is going to be read and graded by someone I just met once! This was, however, a wonderful opportunity for me to reflect and really think about why I am pursuing this degree in Early Childhood Education. I wanted to share with you all now, since I am over the initial fear of judgement by others, what I wrote:

I want to be an early childhood teacher because I want to change children’s lives. I feel very passionately about children and I strongly believe in doing everything that I can do in order to help them succeed. I want all children to get a good education and learn how to become a person who can be successful in the ever-changing world we live in.

My ultimate goal is to be a kindergarten teacher in an urban school. I want to be the positive in their lives and show them that the world is not as bad as it seems sometimes. I want to give them a safe place to develop, learn, and grow- somewhere they can be children because children in urban settings usually have to grow up too fast and miss out on being children. According to the Associated Press, “Students in suburban and rural public high schools were more likely to graduate than their counterparts in urban public high schools, the researchers said” (www.foxnews.com , 2008). Knowing how many students in urban schools drop out before they graduate, I want to help teach children good habits with school and homework and teach them the things they need to be successful in their futures- all the way through high school. I want them to think positively about school and not get discouraged easily when the learning gets tough so they will have the confidence in themselves to graduate from high school. I want the children to succeed and be the best people they can be in their community and to be able to go out into the world more knowledgeable than when they walked into my classroom. I “want to be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi, Mahatma).

I am so excited to be a teacher and out in the world with my own classroom! I have decided this week that I would much rather be in a classroom playing with the kids and teaching than sitting in a chair listening to a lecture- this semester is going to be a long one if I don't get use to this setting. I do like all of my professors and it seems like I am going to learn a lot this year! I am counting the days until I graduate, mostly because I just filled out my application for graduation and I am turning it in tomorrow! whoo hoooo!!!!