Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to be a [insert profession here] is one of the most common ways people begin answers to the famous "why did you become a [insert profession here]" question. Although it tends to be cliche and overused, it is my favorite way of beginning my long-winded and winding explanation as to why I ended up as an Education major.
Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to be a teacher. School has always been my safe place, a space in which I feel at home and belong. You could say that I grew up at school. I like to joke that I spent more time at my elementary/middle school growing up than I did at home, but I don't believe this was a bad thing.
My mom is a fourth grade teacher at the school I attended kindergarten through eighth grade. So I had the privilege, well, privilege to me, of getting to school early and leaving late every day. That extra two hours every day made me feel special and especially at home in a school setting.
I loved everything about my elementary and middle school. I was lucky enough to attend a small choice school that fostered community, diverse learning, and unique opportunities that made me want to go to school. Now, that doesn't go to say that I never had days where I would've rather kept sleeping than go to school--what 13-year-old doesn't? But I never particularly dreaded walking through the front doors into the school with murals painted by students covering the walls.
This love for the school transferred into my love for learning and academics. Although, I did not thrive in science or math classes I still learned valuable lessons from them (though, it took me years to appreciate and understand that science and math did indeed have a positive influence on my learning). I loved every second of my social studies and language arts classes and ate up every single book assigned to us. I longed for in-depth conversations about "The Westing Game" and "The Outsiders". I appreciated learning and constructive discussion.
I certainly was not the perfect student--I was loud, entitled at times, and a teacher's pet. But I did deeply appreciate the classes I was in, even if my sarcastic comments did not portray this. As I moved to one of the larger high schools I was lucky enough for this need to learn to follow me into a more "traditional" school setting. School came easy to me, and I did not take that for granted.
When I moved to college I knew exactly what major I would declare the second I could my sophomore year: Secondary Education English and Communication Arts. This was definitely a luxury not all of my friends had, and I grateful for that. And even more grateful that as I moved through the admission process into the Education Department I became even more confident in my decision through field experience and Education classes.
Today I had my first Wednesdays in the Workplace (observations of a middle school classroom) and I am more excited than ever to be in the classroom. Although I will encounter people who bash the profession and prescribe to the belief of "those who can do, those who can't, teach", I know that the work I am doing is as meaningful as any other profession. And I can't wait to learn and teach more.
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