For those of you who don't know, I was one of those crazy girls who decided that I wanted to spend the majority of my life surrounded by children, and somehow try and teach them something valuable that would help them become functioning adults. When I started the program last semester, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.
Teaching, just like life isn't all lollipops and rainbows.
Duh.
I don't know why it took me so long to figure that out.
I realized that a love of children isn't going to get me through even my first 5 years of teaching. It might not even get me through my first day as a real teacher. Teaching is not for the faint of heart, but I can honestly say that it is THE MOST important job in the world.
Sorry all you doctors, lawyers and politicians.
Teachers are in charge of inspiring children, helping them open doors and discovering what this world is all about.
I think right now, how teachers are teaching, and how children are learning is changing a lot. Children now have so many more advantages than even I had, and it is critical that we as parents and educators help them understand that. So many children leave elementary school with a distaste for learning simply because their teacher did nothing but pass out worksheets and ask them to regurgitate facts.
My hope when I am captain of my own classroom is that I can help my students realize that they CAN learn and that they DO have valuable ideas and thoughts to contribute. I want them to love reading as much as I do. I never want a child to leave my classroom hating to pick up a book and read. I want to be a resource for my students, someone that they feel comfortable talking to. I want to use all the incredible tools that are now available that make learning so much more fun. I want my students to learn through exploration and play-even if they are 11 years old, there are still valuable things to be learned through play.
I know that most new teachers enter the school on their first day with the same hopes that I have, and leave that school only a couple of years later burned out. There are almost insurmountable odds that teachers have to face, and what makes a great teacher is when they face those odds every day knowing that they aren't going to conquer all of them, but they keep trying. Not every child is going to leave my classroom inspired, but I want to be able to tell myself at the end of the day that I did everything I could to help each child.
Check out these other blogs, they have some great articles!
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/
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