Why is it that I want to be a teacher? The real question is why wouldn’t I? Mahatma Gandhi once said, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” The world in which we live allows anyone to see the difference between the wise and the ignorant, I humbly profess that the quotation, “ignorance is bliss” could not be further from the truth. It is the learned that go on to achieve greatness. I’d love to be a small part in bringing wisdom to the future generations. We live in a world that is full of obtainable information and I’d delight in seeing the mind of a child be opened to enjoy the taking in of that knowledge. The interesting thing about my desire to be a teacher is that I am not passionate about any subject in particular. It isn’t the materials being taught that matter as much as the process of inspiring a mind to enjoy the greater world that is provided by way of knowledge. Plus teachers get some pretty sweet parking spaces.
Beyond inspiring minds I have always enjoyed my friendships that I’ve made with people of all ages. I sincerely feel that the bonds we create with others are more valuable than the riches or fame that is naively chased by a large portion of the general population. I made a goal very early on in my life to never burn a bridge. Nothing brings me a greater happiness than to run into someone from my past and to be excited not only to see them but to see that they are excited to see me as well. Yeah, I know that sounds arrogant or haughty but I value all relationships to a great extent and it excites me to know that in a few years I’ll be making more of these relationships than I ever have before.
Although I decided to become a teacher within the last year I have a few experiences that have really encouraged me to make this decision. My first experience was probably in ninth grade when I heard Scott Greenburg, a motivational speaker, say a few things that seemed to slap me upside the head and helped me realize my great potential as an individual. He left with me was an experience, as a student, that taught me the great power that comes from being effectively taught. Later in high school my math teacher, Mr. Kevin Chase, profoundly responded to a question proposed by a student. The student asked, “Why are we learning this? I will never use it.” He eloquently replied, “It is not teaching you to do this work as much as it is teaching your mind how to learn, stretch, and think in ways it hasn’t before done.” Hearing that nearly knocked me off of my chair. The math he taught was very important for the tests that year and for the other math classes that followed; but learning how to teach my mind to do new tricks and learn new information has been a lesson that aided in every other aspect of my life.
Since being inspired as a student I’ve had many other experiences teaching. At age 21 I started to substitute teach and found a hidden talent of charisma that I had. The students liked me and I liked the happiness I felt in their presence. I went on to teach in a religious setting for my church and was placed with the 12 year olds, everyone I told that to would cringe and say how sorry they were, they sympathized because they believed that age of kid was the most difficult to keep under control. I loved every one of those kids and looked forward to the time I had with them. I learned a great deal from them during that entire process. It was comparing my fantastic experiences with the false negative criticism of people I talked to that guided me to two realizations. One was that the position of a teacher isn’t for everyone. The other realization was that it made me realize that it was a position that was for me; the part I was born to play.
While I worked for Edge Products LLC we established a project that involved taking in the children of employees during the summer and giving them something to do while also earning them money. I was put in charge of all thirty kids and while managing them we built an incredible friendship, they would ask questions during the hours we had together and I was able to teach them profound lessons in life. They hung on my every word and looked up to me. That was incredibly flattering and made me genuinely smile from ear to ear. I can reflect on this experience when people mention the lack of income that teachers make; I see multi millionaires that aren’t as happy as I am when I am immersed in the well being of others.
To conclude, George Ramirez penned the line, “Blessed are the learners vs. the learned, for the learners will prosper and adapt and bring about good while the learned will find themselves tremendously educated in a world that no longer exists.” I truly want to be a part of teaching and inspiring the youth to enjoy education and become professional learners.