My Introduction

My name is Jeleysa and iam a Junior in high school.  My high school offers a class to prepare us for a career in  education.  My class is fairly small so we do a large amount of class disscussions.  I choose this class because I plan on becoming a teacher after I complete high school and college.  I want to teach because I want to effect childrens life the way teachers in the past have effected my life.  So far we have learn about learning barriers and how everyone learns differently. Second semester we will be at the local  elementery school to get hands on experience.  I hope to be placed with either Kindergarden or First Grade.  I feel that is when children learn the most.  I would really like to know how you like teaching.  Also if you feel that it was the best career move for you.  I would also like to know what you like most about teaching, what you dislike about teaching and what you would tell a up and coming   teacher.

Comments

[Lani]

Hi Jeleysa,

It’s wonderful to meet you through your blog and to learn that you are considering becoming a teacher! Your Teacher Cadet program is a grand opportunity to help you on your career path.

Just a bit about me. I am a retired teacher in Ohio. I retired to be home with my husband who was not well after teaching for 35 years! I worked with students in middle and high school who were learning disabled. I taught Social Studies in middle and high school. I worked as a resource teacher in the Instructional Technology Office of a large urban district helping teachers integrate technology into their curriculum. And before I retired I designed, developed and taught a program for high school juniors and seniors who wanted to become teachers! That program was called “Teaching Professions”. The seniors did internships four days a week but were not paid as you will be. But they did earn high school and college credit. Now I work as an instructional designer from home on my computer designing online courses for teachers. Sometimes I facilitate online courses for teachers too.

You had some questions. My answers follow.

How did I like teaching? I loved it. It was my passion next to my family. Of course, there were days when I felt discouraged or tired. But I never called teaching work. I never said I went to work. I went to school!

Was teaching the best career move for me? Absolutely. And the reasons follow in my answer to your next question.
What did you like most about teaching? I liked always learning something new. I am a lifelong learner and I had the opportunity to learn during the entire 35 years of my career. I loved sharing that love of learning with young people. I loved seeing the “aha” moments when a young person finally understood a difficult concept or when that young person began to be successful and become confident. I enjoyed creating learning experiences for students that would engage them and encourage them to learn more. School is never boring and never the same. I enjoyed the challenge of the surprises. (The student who arrived with a python one day, the student who suddenly began to read fluently when we began using word processors for writing.) Being able to make a contribution that may positively impact someone’s life is important to me. Teaching provided me the opportunity to do just that.

What did you dislike about teaching? I disliked meaningless meetings. We used to have many meetings where we had to sit and listen to something that could have been distributed on paper. I wanted to be spending time with my students. I sometimes felt that teachers were not treated as professionals and I disliked that.

What would I tell an up and coming teacher? It’s hard to choose just a few words but I’ll share with you one of my favorite quotations from Shirley Hufstedler who was, at one time, Secretary of Education:
“The role of the teacher remains the highest calling of a free people. To the teacher, America entrusts her most precious resource, her children; and asks that they be prepared, in all their glorious diversity, to face the rigors of individual participation in a democratic society.”
Teaching is demanding with long hours, and poor pay but can bring incredible joy as you touch the souls of children and help create the future.

I could write lots more but want to hear your reaction to what I’ve written or wait to see if you have specific questions.

Best,
Lani

[Esta]

Jeleysa,
I loved teaching! It is not a job. It is a passion. There is a love for children and young adults that you either have or you don't.

When I had children of my own, I quit teaching and became a full time Mom. Slowly, I began substitute teaching. I missed the contact with the classroom. I now work in Juvenile Court with a mentoring program.

The worse thing about teaching was the administrative work. The non-teaching stuff.

I think you are in a wonderful program which will give you enough of a taste of teacher so that you will know if it is the profession for you.

Esta