Seth Leasure

Dr. Terry Burant

EDUC 008

11-24-03

Teaching: A Necessary Challenge

Teaching is a very special and crucial occupation that possesses a significant role in the well-being of our society. No matter how old a person is or what someone does, every person will remember their teachers and the influence they made upon their lives. A good teacher can give someone self confidence, inspire a person to strive to achieve things greater than they have ever imagined, and be a positive role-model that will show their students a respectable way of life through their everyday actions. Teachers are most definitely a significant part of society. Countless times I have heard how one teacher influenced a student to fall in love with a subject or issue and become a better person. The success stories of teachers and how they affected their students is inspiring, but they do not erase the fact that the failure of education can and has had a negative impact upon individuals. These past months have challenged my abilities, and my motivation to accept the responsibility of becoming an educator. The experiences of this semester has awakened myself to my positive qualities of patience, dedication, and caring and I must obtain the qualities of vast knowledge of subject matter and public speaking in order to satisfy my desire of becoming a successful educator. The enormous responsibility to create equal opportunities for all students is an attribute that all teachers must possess, and completely dedicate themselves the improvement of their student’s lives.

Teaching is a profession that I have always admired and have dreamed of pursuing, but in the past I did not think I had the qualities to become a successful teacher. Education was a profession that I once never aspired to become out of lack of self-confidence. The great amount of work and teachers immense talents of knowledge, and intra-personal skills were qualities that I admired. The thought of giving an intriguing lecture that captured the attention of the class was a gift that I did not think I could ever possess. The enjoyable experience of coaching soccer and conducting a service project involving teaching in a third grade inner city class during high school inspired me to consider elementary education as a career. For the past three years, I have taught soccer to children primarily from the ages of eight to fourteen years of age. There is nothing that I enjoy more than coaching soccer. The rewarding feeling when a player shows improvement is very gratifying. The work was extremely grueling in that at the end of a twelve hour day of coaching, I would instantly fall asleep once I returned home. Despite the hard work, the next morning I was always excited for the upcoming day. Players and coaches told me that I was knowledgeable about soccer and that I was a good coach. The fact that I was successful at an activity that I enjoyed caused me to consider elementary education as a career.

My experiences and reflection’s during the past semester has caused myself to contemplate changing my major from elementary education to secondary education. A favorite teacher from high school once told me that you will be successful in anything you pursue, as long as it does not require using your voice. The thought of giving a lecture in front of a group of students that would rather be sleeping is an act that I thought I could never achieve. Elementary education seemed more suitable for me because teaching did not mainly consist of lectures, but instead of small group and individual activities. Reflection has caused me to realize that I can become a better public speaker, and that I should not base the decision of my career on a false belief. History is an extremely intriguing subject, and teaching history would be enjoying. A high school is a place with activities that are exciting such as athletic events, college decisions, and extracurricular activities. The school visit to Marquette High School was extremely enjoyable and I literally got “Goosebumps” walking into the school because it brought back memories from my high school experience. My teachers during high school had a great influence upon my life. Switching from a public to private school, I did not know many students and because I was very quiet, I did not make many friends. My teachers went out of their way to try to help bring me out, and pushed me to become a better person. I understand many students in high school who have trouble with confidence or friendship and I believe I could help students to gain a belief in them and inspire them to try to reach their goals. The decision to become an elementary or secondary teacher will be a difficult decision to make and to help aide my decision for choosing which section of education to pursue, I will join activities that deal more with high school students, rather than elementary students where I have more experience. Tutoring fourth graders during service learning was extremely enjoyable, and I have not lost interest in becoming an elementary teacher, however the possibility of becoming a secondary history teacher has caused me to contemplate the direction I wish to pursue.

The service learning project had a great influence upon myself and erased pre-conceived notions regarding the importance of race upon individuals. Race and ethnicity has never been a source of pride for my family. Being raised in a family where most of its members have served in the military, the love of America and its way of life has been instilled in me from my family. My initial reaction to the readings regarding the importance of multi-cultural education was very unenthusiastic. Multicultural education seemed divisive of different cultures and focused upon our differences rather than imposing a shared patriotism in being American. The use of Christine Sleeter’s and Carl Grants use of single group studies seemed unimportant because it gave certain races and cultures special privileges while other cultures were ignored. Sonia Nieto’s belief that schools wrongly attempt to assimilate members of different cultures and “transform all students into a middle-class, American model” (Nieto, 319) greatly angered myself. The United States is an extremely accepting country that guarantees the rights of free speech, and religion which is non-existent in most countries throughout the world. I held the belief that American mainstream culture was important to adopt because it helped people fit into a society that is respectful of diverse beliefs. Tutoring fourth graders at Escuela Vieau that consisted primarily of students who spoke Spanish at home enlightened me to the pride they possess in their ethnicity. Viewing the artwork on the walls that had Puerto Rican flags with “boriqua” written above the picture and other flags of different nationalities displays the importance of heritage amongst children. Talking with a group of fifth grade children in the library, one of the first questions a student asked me was if I was Puerto Rican. The response of the students after I told them I am French displayed that not being of a different ethnicity showed was not derogatory and the notion that pride in your culture is not a belief that develops an attitude of superiority. Working at Escuela Vieau enhanced my appreciation of different cultures and caused myself to attempt to achieve fluency in Spanish and become educated about different cultures.

A teacher should be a person who attempts to make life better for their students regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background or gender. A teacher for social justice is not a person who aspires to create John Dewey’s ideal of education as a social equalizer. A teacher for social justice is a person that fights to give each child a fair chance to achieve their dreams. The belief of white domination is extremely false in that frequent troubles of urban education are not based upon race, but upon social economic status. Education is urban areas has had many problems due to lack of funding since the taxpayers in the areas are usually of low economic backgrounds. Unfortunately, the history of the world has always and will always give more opportunities to those with more money. A teacher for social justice must strive to give each child a fair chance to succeed in life without trampling upon the rights of the affluent. No child is carefree of problems because they were born into wealth. There are many problems such as peer pressure, parental pressure, drugs, and alcohol that are serious problems in affluent neighborhoods. The problems of affluent children are different from the problems of crime, gangs, and drugs that I viewed during my service learning from the experiences of my students and the observation of a student who was caught writing gang symbols upon bathroom walls; however no problem is greater than the other. A true teacher for social justice is a person who must constantly strive to make the life of their students better through hard work, discipline, and self sacrifice.

Teaching is a lifestyle that demands personal sacrifice. Earlier this year, the class participated in an activity where they judged whether teaching was job, profession, work, or calling. Tutoring at an elementary school has given me access to the everyday life of elementary education and I have concluded that teaching is a profession that requires a great amount of work. A successful teacher is forced to deal with great demands such as stress that is the result of conflicts and great amount of work. Nearly every elementary education teacher that I have come in to contact with has asked me “Why would you want to become a teacher” or playfully added a comment such as “spend a day in my life; you won’t want to become a teacher.” Every teacher is forced to sacrifice time away from their family due to their great work load without receiving a high paycheck at the end of the month. Spending several hours each day with children can become arduous in that it can be seen as babysitting, and having to deal with angry parents can be extremely aggravating. The great demands of teaching forced me to contemplate whether the rewards will exceed the demands. The teacher’s who I have come in to contact with during the service learning project enjoy complaining about their jobs, however the smile on their faces assures that the relationships and the notion doing something meaningful are extremely rewarding. To be content as a teacher, I must be successful in helping to improve my students. As a tutor, the days when I was most happy were when my pupil showed improvement throughout the session. The verification that I helped improved a person’s skills in reading were extremely gratifying and leave me with the belief that the belief that I can make a difference will erase the negative aspects of teaching. The smile on the pupil’s face everyday that I picked him up from his class showed the importance of a teacher in the life of a student. Every moment of the service learning project was not enjoyable in that sometimes I had to be “the bad guy” and criticize a student for lack of effort. The service learning project taught me the importance of discipline for students and inspired myself to want to become a tough teacher that will push their students to succeed. The great responsibilities of a teacher in the life of a child can have a great impact upon an individual, and it is important to constantly try to become a better and more effective teacher.

Teaching is an important responsibility that is crucial to the well-being of children. Teachers must willingly commit themselves to creating the greatest opportunities for their students through personal sacrifice. The past semester has enlightened me to my positive qualities, and the numerous qualities that I must learn to become an effective teacher. The service learning project educated me to the importance of race amongst individuals and the problems of urban education. The past semester has made me question whether I want to pursue teaching as a career, and in result I am more educated about the demands and rewards of teaching. Teaching is an extremely challenging occupation and I believe I am willing to take responsibility to become teacher.