I cannot really remember the moment I first decided I wanted to become a teacher, but I believe it was long time ago. My wishes were mostly related to me learning the language, since now I hold a title of an English teacher. Through out my years as a student, I was always told that my peers can learn something from me and tutoring my friends and colleagues was an ordinary thing which fulfilled me by just having the sense I’ve done something positive by helping them.
The moment I received my diploma, I felt fear, I felt the security I had by being a student, has suddenly disappeared and instead came uncertainty. At first I didn’t know how to cope with this feeling and I just decided to go with the flow. And then the magic started happening.
As the teaching experience grew, my insights, desires, wishes and most importantly – goals started to get more shape of what I want to be and have in my teaching career. Here, I will state just few.
Inspire Students
“Nothing pushes students to do their best work like a professor who takes pride not in his or her own accomplishments, but in helping others realize their potential. “ —Jason Dent, Philosophy, ’05
I have always thought more of how teachers can influence me becoming a better student, rather than what kind of satisfaction it brings to them once their students achieve a certain goal. However, once I got the chance to be a teacher, I realized that personal achievements are in my students. Every time my students acquired a certain list of grammar rules, sentence structures, vocabulary set, or just learned the basic steps of greetings and introducing themselves, the world was finally at peace. And I was the one making that peace. Not only did I find personal satisfaction through making them achieve their goals, but I watched as they grew stronger with their intellect which was further built with more knowledge. I was the builder. Great teachers inspire their students to believe in themselves, and as one of my personal teaching goals was to become one.
Mastery of the Field and Facilitating Others to Master the Field
“The secret to mastery in any field is to forever be a student.” — Martin Palmer.
Teacher’s classroom is their own play ground, a field with a thousand flowers to nourish and make blossom. This classroom has to have an open window to the ever changing world. In order to keep up with the world, the teacher must still strive to learn as well. Everyday improvement, sense of neediness to become bigger and better is what everyone should do with their professions. However, since teachers are sometimes the only source of all the space out there, they have to inform the students in their field with fresh information. Seminars, conferences and teaching training courses is something every teacher should go through. Not only does it give the necessary knowledge of the teaching field, providing you with tools, new methods and ways of teaching and learning, but it also gives you the opportunity to meet and greet all other teaching lunatics such as yourself. Only when a student sees passion in the way you teach and by doing what you preach, they will strive to master themselves in what they want to be in the future. Teachers are most commonly the first role models in the lives of their students. So, think again of how you present yourself next time you enter the classroom.
Help Students Find Their Voice
“Be a voice, not an echo.” — Albert Einstein.
One of the main teachers’ tasks is to help students step outside of their comfort zone. Experience will certainly make them tougher through their life, but they always have to get the real notion of the world out there that awaits them after their schooling. Teachers are the link to the social potential they want to reach, but also that one person that can instill them with the adequate responsibilities in order to cope with the world the best way possible. After mastering the field they want to do through their lives, the very best thing to learn are the moral values that the world outside is not going to give them at once. What teachers should do when it comes to making their students achieve more is to ignite the fire in them, give them the sense of responsibility, believe in them, and make them have their say. Not only will the students become stronger individuals, but will know how to use their knowledge as the resource for all the monsters out there they will be fighting with. And every victory needs to get a praise. Praise your students for they are the reflection of yourself.
At the end, becoming a teacher was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made so far. I can thank some of my own teachers for who I am. Goals should not be measured by how big your salary is, or how many material things you have, but how big your heart can grow by doing something meaningful. Those who can, teach. I can.