Ever since I was a young girl I have always known that once I grew up I wanted to become an educator. When I was four years old, after school every day, I would collect all of my stuffed animals and “teach” the animals the lesson(s) my teacher had taught me that day — I even provided each stuffed animal with a name tag. Over time, my desire to become an educator grew more and more — especially after working with children throughout the summers. I basically felt like I was being paid to have fun. I believe teaching will be the same way.
I am well aware that to be a good educator requires a lot of work but that’s why I feel perfect for the role. I want to teach middle years because that’s around the age that children begin to develop a sense of self – which comes with joys but also hardships. My biggest goal as an educator is that I want my students to feel like my classroom is a place where they feel safe to be themselves. To truly fulfill this goal, I will incorporate some lessons revolving solely on self-reflection and self-care because I feel as though this type of teaching is often overlooked but is extremely important.
