"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."-Charles R. Swindoll
When someone questions, why I chose English as a major and why did I decide to teach, I always respond with the same answer, “because it is a part of who I am.” Once I started college the beginning of every class seemed to be the same. The teacher wanted to know who I was, what my major was, and why I chose it. Some people go through their entire lives not knowing who they are. I on the other hand, have known who I am for some time now. I, like most, cannot explain myself in one word, but with many. I am a collector of words. I love that words can make you feel fierce, venerable, awkward, inspired, and invincible. I am a very strong person. I am mostly a clean person and I enjoy organization. My closet is organized by color and type of shirt. I love to make lists. I strive on the smallest aspects of life. I adore everything vintage from vehicles to dishes because not only are they of better quality but they also have a story to tell. The goals for my life are to travel as much as possible; to only leave my husband’s side when it is absolutely necessary, and raise our two girls to love music and life as much as we do. I not only know who I am, but what I want out of my life.
I want to teach. I want to teach my kids the power of words and how with the right words you can be unstoppable. Almost every teacher in my high school told me that I would make an excellent English teacher. This was always funny to me, because as a child I wanted to be a psychologist. When my parents got a divorce I went to a psychologist and she helped me cope and I wanted to do that for others. So at the beginning of every year my teachers would pass out papers asking questions about what you want out of your life. On every paper I would always find the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I would always write a teacher because I could not spell psychologist. The problem with this is I began to notice that I am a sponge. I absorb the emotions of people around me as well as my own and I let them overwhelm me. I still had the urge to help people and what better way to accomplish that than to teach. I could teach them like the many teachers that taught me. I could show students the world of literature and how it can take you away from your problems and learn something in the process. I want to teach them to fall in love with words and realize the power they contain within them to reach their goals. I want to leave a legacy of love and sincerity. I want to help create agents of change. I want to be a part of showing the future generations that life isn't just about material possessions, but about the stories we create and the love that we share. The reason I feel I am an effective teacher is because I am as “inconstant as the moon” (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet). I change with each and every set of students that comes through my classroom door. I make it a point to find literature and ways to relate that literature to each student.
Most days I love my job but, there are a select few days when I feel like a cartoon character when its head explodes. These are the times I ask myself, “Can I keep going?, Why do I continue to do this to myself?” and the answer is always immediately sneaking around the corner of my brain. I change lives every day and enjoy the hours of the day that parents miss out on. It seems like for every 10 students that are rude, disrespectful and out of control there are 100 more that are amazing and leave me thinking one day I hope my children turn out to have some of the same qualities they possess. As for the 10 students it becomes an obsession to not only impact their lives to a point that they are forced to change, but also to find a way to reach them so that they realize that I will never give up on them no matter how many times they make my head explode.
I want to teach. I want to teach my kids the power of words and how with the right words you can be unstoppable. Almost every teacher in my high school told me that I would make an excellent English teacher. This was always funny to me, because as a child I wanted to be a psychologist. When my parents got a divorce I went to a psychologist and she helped me cope and I wanted to do that for others. So at the beginning of every year my teachers would pass out papers asking questions about what you want out of your life. On every paper I would always find the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I would always write a teacher because I could not spell psychologist. The problem with this is I began to notice that I am a sponge. I absorb the emotions of people around me as well as my own and I let them overwhelm me. I still had the urge to help people and what better way to accomplish that than to teach. I could teach them like the many teachers that taught me. I could show students the world of literature and how it can take you away from your problems and learn something in the process. I want to teach them to fall in love with words and realize the power they contain within them to reach their goals. I want to leave a legacy of love and sincerity. I want to help create agents of change. I want to be a part of showing the future generations that life isn't just about material possessions, but about the stories we create and the love that we share. The reason I feel I am an effective teacher is because I am as “inconstant as the moon” (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet). I change with each and every set of students that comes through my classroom door. I make it a point to find literature and ways to relate that literature to each student.
Most days I love my job but, there are a select few days when I feel like a cartoon character when its head explodes. These are the times I ask myself, “Can I keep going?, Why do I continue to do this to myself?” and the answer is always immediately sneaking around the corner of my brain. I change lives every day and enjoy the hours of the day that parents miss out on. It seems like for every 10 students that are rude, disrespectful and out of control there are 100 more that are amazing and leave me thinking one day I hope my children turn out to have some of the same qualities they possess. As for the 10 students it becomes an obsession to not only impact their lives to a point that they are forced to change, but also to find a way to reach them so that they realize that I will never give up on them no matter how many times they make my head explode.