CHAPTER 1
I see myself as a future teacher in many ways. I thoroughly enjoy teaching to others the things I know. I feel confident that I will be able to successfully share with my future students information I have gathered throughout my education. I am also always eager to learn new things. I know I will be able to always continue learning new ways in which I can teach information. I am a very patient person. I have no problem taking my time with others and trying to understand the best way in which each person can learn. I have always envisioned myself as a teacher. I love the setting of the classroom, and after being a student for so many years, I know I will be excited to finally be on the other side of education. I definitely always have, and always will have a passion for teaching. I am outgoing, spontaneous, friendly and kind, giving, and open to new ideas. As cliche as it sounds, I simply see myself as a teacher. I attempted to major in something other than Education, but I kept feeling like something was missing. I knew in my heart I am meant to become a teacher and share my love of education with others.
I believe learning is essential to growing up and becoming a successful adult. Learning is also much different than merely memorizing and reciting information. In order to learn, I believe you must be able to translate information you have been taught to other circumstances you encounter in real life. True knowledge stays with you after you have taken a test. Too often do students simply memorize an insane amount of flashcards, take a test, and then completely forget the information right after the test is over. I know I have done this for classes I am not passionate about. I believe learning and passion go hand-in-hand. In order to really learn something, I believe you must be passionate about it. You must want to learn it and want to be able to keep the information within your brain long after it is taught to you. As a future teacher, I believe to teach students to learn information takes the same amount of passion. You have to truly want your students to succeed. It has always bothered me when teachers seem disinterested in their students--it breaks my heart. When I become a teacher, I will take the time to learn each student's individual needs, wants, and values in life. I will ensure each student will pass my classes. Failing someone would honestly be the worst thing I could ever do--I never want to have to give a student a failing grade. In order to successfully teach students, I believe teachers have to be selfless in how they teach. Students must be the first priority.
As I went throughout school prior to college, I encountered both teachers who were passionate about teaching and those who were not. I always did much better in the classes of those teachers who were excited to be there and anxious to teach and to also learn from his or her students. These are the teachers I remember and will always remember. I hope to be one of these teachers. I hope to be a teacher my students will continue to remember as they grow older. My beliefs about teaching are much like the beliefs of one of my previous teachers in particular. Mr. Silvidi, my AP English teacher senior year of high school represents the style of teaching I hope to aspire to. He was very devoted to his students and was always available before and after class for one-on-one time and help. He took the time to know each of my classmates personally, which allowed him to successfully teach us difficult information. While this class was one of the hardest I have taken (even compared to college courses thus far) I received a very high grade because I was always excited to come to class and always did my work so I didn't let Mr. Silvidi down. I believe these types of personal relationships are important between teachers and students. I think the experience I had with teachers like Mr. Silvidi will help me greatly as I journey down the road to become an educator. I will always keep his teaching tactics in mind and will strive to create a classroom setting much like his.
While this could be a great asset to my future career, it could also pose challenges. I must not forget to become my own teacher. I can build my methods off of my teachers of the past, but I cannot become too biased toward one style of teaching. I must always remember that my students will be much different than my classmates and I were as students. As I start teaching each class, I have to remember it will be much different than those previous. I believe I will be able to do this very well. I am so excited about becoming a teacher and am very confident in my future teaching abilities.
CHAPTER 2
When thinking about historical educators, I think first about Catharine Beecher. I learned about Catharine Beecher around my sophomore year of high school. Sh made a major contribution to how teachers are visualized today, especially for female teachers. Catharine felt passionately that in her time, the 1800's, the profession of teaching should not be limited to only men. She felt it was only right that women could teach, as well. Beecher argued that because women were caretakers in the home, they could adequately be caretakers in the classroom. Women in Beecher's time were held back educationally and intellectually, and Beecher strongly believed this needed to be changed. Beecher's efforts did not go unnoticed, and she helped allow women to teach in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Without Catharine Beecher's passion for female teaching, teaching would be totally different in today's time. Perhaps women would not be able to have the same opportunities for teaching as men do. Being a female and a future teacher, I definitely first-hand feel appreciation for Beecher and her efforts and accomplishments. I am thankful I could learn about Catharine Beecher in high school and that I can continue to learn about her in this class. I think it is important for all future educators to learn about people like Catharine, for she truly paved the way for female teachers in America.
I also believe teachers do draw on their personal experiences as a means of developing a teaching method. Teachers who have experience with mentally disabled children, for example, probably transfer that knowledge over into their classroom methods. Certain teachers can also influence future educators. For example, as stated above, my previous teacher Mr. Silvidi made a huge impact on the type of teacher I want to be. I want to try to mirror some of his tactics, for they definitely stood out to me as extraordinary. This influence can go both ways, however. Perhaps a teacher had, as a student, a negative experience with a teacher. This could greatly influence how said teacher will continue with his or her career. This is always important to remember, for as a teacher you greatly impact so many people. You could be the teacher who causes a student to want to become a teacher as well.
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