Credo

Abstract

The teaching field has always interested me. I didn’t understand how teaching actually worked until I was in high school, but once I did, I knew it was the career choice for me. I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with students and to help spark an interest in many topics with them. Being an existentialist, I believe it is very important for students’ interest to drive the curriculum. A teacher should not be there just to give students the answers, but to help guide them into the correct way to come up with the answers on their own. Today’s students are the future of our country and world and they require a great teacher to prepare them and I believe I can be that teacher.

     The world of being a teacher has always interested me. When I was in early elementary school, I believed a teacher was just someone who knew all of the answers to the questions that were given. It wasn’t until later in my school that I came to the realization that teachers were there to not only to provide the answers, but they were there to teach the students how to get the answers. Upon entering high school, I started to understand one of the biggest aspects of the teaching profession. Teachers do not always have the answers. Teachers are normal people just like the students. Their profession isn’t only about providing answers. Teachers are also learning just as much as the students. This is one of the reasons I have chosen teaching as a profession. Every day in the life of a teacher is a unique experience filled with its own triumphs as well as tribulations. I look forward to being able to deal with new situations every day. The constant learning experience is one of the major factors that influenced my decision to pursue teaching as a career.

            I believe that the most important people in the world today are children. They will be there future of our country, so we must do everything we can to prepare them for the future. This is why I am excited to become an elementary teacher. The knowledge learned in elementary schools influences the rest of a child’s education. It is during these early years in education that children need to be taught the benefits of education. Many children do not understand that there is life beyond schooling. Granted, these concepts may be beyond many children, but I still believe that a good elementary education will not only prepare the child for the next grade level, but also prepare them into becoming a well-rounded citizen early in their life.  

            I believe instead of being mainly an instructor, a teacher should be viewed more as a guide. Instead of teaching a student how to do something, a teacher should give students the tools they need to understand how to accomplish the tasks at hand. For example, instead of explaining to the students how to do addition, a teacher should instead go through examples and explain why addition works and practical uses of it. I believe that if a student understands that what they are learning about can benefit them in more than just in class then they will be more willing to put time into understanding it.

            As I stated previously, as a young, naive student, I did not understand that teachers weren’t just the people with the answers. I am unsure as to when students start to develop the reasoning abilities to be able to challenge teachers. However, if a young student believed that the given information was wrong or didn’t make sense, I would encourage them to ask why the answer was what is was. These questions can often lead to great learning experiences. Students would be able to see what the correct answer is and understand how the answer was obtained.

            I strongly believe that students’ interests should drive the curriculum. If a student has a general interest in something, such as sports or music, the curriculum should be altered to keep the students intrigued. A math lesson about converting fractions to decimals may be boring to many students, however if the same lesson is expressed as calculating a batting average in baseball, then some of the students might pay more attention than they would have before.

            I feel that the chance for students to work along with their peers in groups is a very beneficial opportunity. Working together allows students to be able to teach others in a way that may be easier for other students to understand instead of always just listening to what the teacher explains. This is why in my classroom I will encourage group work by organizing my room into small groups of desks for the students. I will also try to get students to work with other students that they typically would not associate with. This will help the students to become more effective communicators while also helping the children to branch out from their normal friendships.

              As an existentialist, I believe it’s important for students to truly discover who they are and what they are meant to do. While I want to teach elementary students, I still feel it is necessary for these students to begin to learn about themselves. They can start to explore interests of theirs and I may be able to spark an interest in them with a possible career choice.

            I believe it should be a teacher’s goal to prepare students to become productive members of society. This includes not only teaching the knowledge that needs to be known but also teaching the basic social skills needed to function as an upstanding citizen. Students will constantly be interacting with other students so it is vital for them to be able to communicate effectively.

            The students in school today are tomorrow’s future doctors, lawyers, and even presidents. It requires a great teacher to help these children meet their full potential. I believe I can be one of these teachers. By giving students the tools needed, I will help students to become all that they can be.