This I Believe

For my SEDU183 class, we were challenged to make up five statements that encompassed our beliefs about education/teaching.  This activity was inspired by the NPR "This I Believe" series, and could potentially be an assignment I use in my future teaching (it could be a prompt for an introductory speech at the beginning of the school year, for example).


From these five statements, we had to pick one and write an essay about it, focusing on why we believe what we believe.


Here is my essay:


We all have that one moment in our lives when something just clicks. Maybe you just figured out a difficult math problem. Or you finally understand how to properly use a semicolon. Or you realized that what you want to spend your life doing has been in front of you your entire life. All three of those examples happened to me; most notably, the last one. 


In elementary school, I wanted to be a zoologist so I could work with cute, cuddly animals.  Looking back on it, I’m glad I didn’t pursue that career path because I’m not particularly good at math or science. But, the idea of romping through the zoo with koalas and lions fascinated me, and I didn’t give up on my dream…until sixth grade.

It happened so fast. I walked into English class one day, and when I walked out, I knew I wanted to be an English teacher. Mr. Mastalski, my all-time favorite English teacher, taught us the different tenses—not just past, present, and future, but also the participles and more in depth concepts. I loved it.

I didn’t necessarily understand it, however. It was confusing and a lot to memorize, but I was challenged. I believe that students should be challenged in order for them to become better educated, but they shouldn’t be challenged to the point of failure. In this case, I was challenged to a point where my interest was piqued, and I wanted to learn more. I wrote silly short stories and the beginnings of great works of fiction in order to practice my new-found talent.


However, that was not the case in my eleventh grade math class. Long story short, due to the fact that all my AP classes were offered only one period a day, the only available math was either honors pre-calc or remedial algebra 3. I stressed about it for a few days, knowing that my ideal placement would be in general pre-calc. I decided to once again challenge myself.



It didn’t end well. Within the first three weeks I had a D and there was no way I would be able to recover. I was lost. I challenged myself to the point of failure. I requested to be put in the remedial class, where I then brought my D up to an A. Obviously, I wasn’t challenged in the remedial class, but failing because I decided to go out on a limb and challenge myself seemed pointless.     

As an educator, I plan to challenge my students; what is the point of learning without pushing your own limits? I do not, however, want my students to fail. I will have high expectations for my students, but I will also guide and assist them in order for them to be successful.
My experience in sixth grade was my “ah-ha” moment. I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing what was in front of me my entire life: teaching.