What made you become a teacher?

[Student4life]

I'm just curious what other people have to say-

What made you become a teacher?

For me it was the teachers that really inspired me and also because I love learning and working with kids.

How did you know you would be a good teacher? Not one of the really boring ones??

[Boxcar]

Well...

I feel funny admitting this, but I guess I will.

I just kind of became a teacher. I was like "Well, nothing else instrests me this much. I'll take an education course and see what it is like. I've always enjoyed playing with little kids and maybe it'd be fun to teach them." I had a great teacher for that class and really enjoyed the things I learned. I visited centers, interviewed teachers, and did projects as part of my homework. i liked it, and i stuck with it.

Also, i have another reason for becoming a teacher. I'm a big kid myself. I love being outdoors. I like play dough, sand, paint, fingerplays, picture books, and learning new things. crayons and coloring is great fun for me. The world is such an interesting place to a preschooler. I love exploring with them.

Not the best reasons, I guess. I mean, I didn't think about changing the world, empowering a new generation, or cultivating young minds...

I'm a good teacher because I'm flexible. I love to discover new things or see things in a new light. I have patience. I like to laugh even at myself. I enjoy the same activities as my students. I'm a great listener. I'm just really enthusiastic about it all.

[SS Rocks!]

Other than being a firefighter or heavy machine operator (my dad was both) I can't remember wanting to do anything else. I remember asking friends to play school as a kid. (How nerdy is that?!)

I had a number of great teachers along the way but seventh and tenth grade social studies had the biggest impact. Seventh grade was material that I found incredibly interesting (Egypt) and in tenth grade I had a fantastic teacher that made everything enjoyable and interesting.

[SiobhanMarie]

My inspiration is a little different! I got accepted into a course that wasn't my first choice, however it began to grow on me once I discovered how a teacher can change people's lives and have a big impact. I did not have good teachers, infact I had teachers that would split the class up into the favourite 'name' children and the left overs. I want to make a difference in that every child is equal and should be treated so.

Also I love to play and I enjoy a range of subjects; drama, english, geography, history and I'm beginning to enjoy maths too :)

[Want2Teach]

Frustration with the system made me want to teach.

I had tried on occasion to hire recent high school graduates to do filing, answer the phone, open mail, etc. with the hope of getting them interested in business. I was sadly disappointed with many of the young people that I hired. I was astounded that many lacked the math skills to reconcile a checking account (this is after I'd worked with them on the method of reconciling).

Then it dawned on me that my grandchildren were going to be products of the same education system that I was frustrated with. I've always been a big believer in not complaining about things that I was doing nothing to change, so here I am....not complaining and trying to make a difference. My daughters are running my accounting business and I'm going to be a teacher.

I still view education from the other side, and my misgivings haven't changed. I do, however, hope that I can give a few children the encouragement to learn and succeed.

I've been lucky to date in that I've been subbing, and I've not had to face an administrator with the argument of whether it's my job to protect her job, or whether my first priority is the education of the children. This is where I'll run into problems, and the only thing I can think of the keep me from being absolutely insubordinate is the fact that if I'm not teaching, there's no way I can make a difference.

[MissTeach]

When I was a student, I hated school. I went to college to 'have fun'. Amazingly, I found classes that I enjoyed! Suddenly I enjoyed learning. I decided to teach, so maybe I could help others discover the pleasure of gaining knowledge! Sounds corny maybe, but it is true! I want my students to enjoy learning and to become more curious about the world they live in!!!!!

[Boxcar]

I think it is great that you became a teacher. You have "been there, done that" so you can really relate to the students.

[Sonrisa]

I knew I wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade. Ms. Swaim made learning so much fun. I never felt like I was learning or working just always playing. She took us outside all the time, put me in charge of the class bank, all this stuff and i was learning and not even knowing it.

The other sign i knew i would be a good teacher is because it has always come natural to me. whenever anyone (adult or child) asks me how or why something, i dont jsut tell them the answer , i make them figure it out somehow. "why do you think"...I dont see myself doing anything else.

[Boxcar]

That is the kind of teacher I want to be: Someone who can teach without the students realizing it.

[SiobhanMarie]

Thats a great achievement to aim for.

[Want2Teach]

I think I'm changing my answer.

Today - the reason I became a teacher was (drumroll please!)

TEMPORARY INSANITY

I've come to the conclusion that no one in their right mind would put themselves in a closed room with 16 children who don't belong to them, considering that all 16 of those children have parents!!!!

Now - I feel better.

I had a K class for the last 2+ weeks, and there was one little boy in the class who had been unable to recognize all his letters and letter sounds at the end of the fifth grading period.

It was easy to see that he needed extra help, and we worked with him pretty intensely the last couple of weeks. When his mom picked up his report card, she questioned whether or not I was able to determine that the child could identify all the letter and the sounds. If she had worked with him at home, she would know these things!!!!!!

Please tell me that this too is only temporary.

Sorry for the rant.

[Boxcar]

It sounds like you did all you could help this child learn his letters and sounds. Take a deep breath and remember that this only one parent. Many others are thinking what a great teacher you are.

Don't feel bad about ranting. We all need to vent at times! It is so frustrating at times... That is what in part we're here at this site for - to help and be helped. :)

[MsCoffeeLover]

Teaching is my second career. Originally, the plan was to become a pharmacist. I had since graduated with a bachelors and then returned to school to get all of those required sciences before I applied. Yours truly also got accepted, and there were only 46 spots. I felt so lucky.

Then, I chaperoned an 8th grade field trip to Disney World with a girlfriend's son. That entire experience changed my entire way of thinking. I returned from that trip motivated and soon enrolled in a graduate program.

Another thing that prompted me to become a middle school teacher is the fact that middle school kids are everywhere I go. They apparently like me, and manage to find me, and have been doing so for years. I can't get rid of them--even in the days when I actually said, "You couldn't pay me to be a teacher." I was meant to be with this age group, and didn't realize it until later. Then I just stopped fighting it and embraced it.

Insanity is another good one. During my clearance interview, the principal actually called someone crazy. I looked at the man and said, "We are all crazy. No sane person teaches middle school." It takes on a whole new meaning for enjoying a challenge.

[Parker]

I can certainly see why so meany teachers marry cops (or vice versa) for they are definitely made up of the same "insane" mentality. That's the field I come to teaching from. I worked over 10 years as a 911 operator at a local sheriff's office. I began to take notice that many of the people that were calling me, simply had no problem solving skills. That's it.... they had no idea how to identify their problem, voice possible solutions or even look up solutions via the internet. They called me many times not even knowing what they were wanting me to do for them. I realized this problem would only get worse over time. My only means to help these people around here was to catch them before they are adults. 25 years ago I started my bachelors degree in elementary ed and I'm finally going to finish.

I don't know yet what kind of teacher I'm going to be. I do my student teaching in January. Teaching has always come naturally for me whether it be with my own children or training new dispatchers. I just hope my reality lives up to my dream!

[Brit]

I think I just AM a teacher -- it`s as much a personality type as a profession for me. Whatever I ended up doing, I`d still be a teacher -- just with a different job title. so why fight it?

[Brit]

"We are all crazy. No sane person teaches middle school."

Can I put that on a poster? I LOVE IT!

[MissTeach]

I could never teach elementary. Those kids would drive me crazy in less than a day! I love junior high and high school students! I know a lot of people think I'm insane because I teach 7th and 8th graders, but I love my insanity!!! God did not intend for me to teach elementary. He designed me for secondary!

[stephenpe]

I was fortunate. In 4/5th grade I had a nice teacher that needed a cigarette every morning we went to the library. She let me be the tutor while she puffed away in the clinic by the library (way back when).
Then in jr high I had the BEST pe teacher ever. He taught us everything
and being a nut for a ball game I was in heaven. I just found him about
3 years ago retiring from a Univ postition in Tenn. So I have the best job in the world with people I love to be around (kids). oh yeah, IM the boss and the biggest so what I say goes. I have a little sign over my desk that says "Because Im the coach, that's why. (they call me coach).:cool:

[Boxcar]

Hmmm... That would never work with my students.

[readingismylife]

I decided to be a teacher because I was that strange child that begged to go to school and asked for extra work to do over vacations. Yeah, huge dork :-)

I also love the look on the student that was struggling with something and finally get it.

[Boxcar]

You weren't a dork... You were just interested in learning.

Summers and vacations can be hard sometimes. The lack of things to do can get old.

[Student4life]

I decided to be a teacher because I was that strange child that begged to go to school and asked for extra work to do over vacations. Yeah, huge dork :-)

That was always me also...I begged and begged to go to school and even when school was over for the summer I would ask to go in and help the teachers pack up there rooms just so I could be in school and ask the teachers about teaching. You are not a dork for doing that. I was the one that liked homework too because I wanted to learn more and it kept me from getting bored.

[Boxcar]

There are usually one or two students like that in a class... They'd rather hang with the teacher than play with their friends.

[SiobhanMarie]

I think that shows a good teacher. However I can see it getting a bit full on at times too! I was a little bit like that, but I was kind of the kid to be picked on a fair bit too, well at least one of them and sometimes it's easier to stay where you're comfortable then to go get teased or picked on again. I loved school until I realised that it was just like a never ending battle! Each year, I'd think it would be a clean slate and then something would happen and it just seemed to get worse and worse but I realise now that it doesn't have to be that way just by a few changes and concepts and perhaps a bit more attention to the students themselves as people.