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Kali Rowe
Dr. Tim Fiegen
Edited by Dr. Justin Blessinger
EDFN 338
December 2, 2013
Why I Want To Be a Teacher
I want to be a teacher because I want to make a difference in the lives of
others in some way or form. The best way I can think to do that is to instill in young
people valuable knowledge, skills, encouragement, and confidence they can use to
succeed in all endeavors of their future, and provide for them a foundation for
growth and success. Teachers have the opportunity to greatly and positively impact
the lives of their students and often the lives of students who have little positive
impact in other areas of their lives. I want to be that positive impact, to cherish each
student for his or her differing qualities and strengths, and to provide them with the
tools they need to succeed in future jobs, education, and careers. No other
profession has appealed to me as much, or seemed quite as rewarding to me
personally as that of a teacher.
Although Ive always wanted to pursue a career through which I could
positively impact the lives of others, I did not always know I wanted to achieve that
through teaching. I took mostly generals my freshmen year at another University,
and was surprised simultaneously by how skilled and intelligent some of my
professors in their content areas and how unskilled some of them were as
educators. I had not expected this, and I was surprised by what a positive impact a
skilled educator could make on their students educations. My primary drive to
become a teacher came from my realization of what a positive I could have on the

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lives of students. I saw educating as way to benefit and help others in a much more
lasting way than can be done through other human service professions.
Consequently, Ive chosen a career as an educator.
In interest of being the best teacher I can personally be, I want to wholly
focus on the needs of each of my students as individuals to the greatest possible
extent. To do that I plan to utilize several teaching styles to target the strengths and
interests of each of my students as well as embracing several educational
philosophies to create a well-rounded learning environment. I do not believe it is
beneficial for any classroom to be entirely student or teacher-focused. To avoid this,
I plan to utilize student-centered philosophy in activities such as group discussions,
personalized lesson projects, and experiments in which students can apply the
knowledge and skills taught in lectures. At other times, often even in the same class
period, I plan to provide content through lectures to provide students with important
knowledge, skills, objectives, and reasoning as would be used in teacher-centered
philosophies of Essentialism and Positivism. To reach students, I want to make it
very evident that they are each valued individually and that I care deeply about
their well-being in and outside the classroom. I will go to great efforts to understand
each students strengths, weaknesses, personality, background and point of view in
order to incorporate that into my teaching and best benefit each student. I want to
be the best teacher I can be, above all, for my students because every student
deserves the opportunity to attain an exceptional education to prepare them to
succeed in their futures should they choose to embrace their education and work for
a positive, successful life.