Autobiography

By Tannah Sellers

EDFD 2020 Found. Of Education

Jeff Jones

October 22, 2017

 When thinking about all the things that have made me want to become a teacher many

things flood my mind. I have many things that have influenced me to become a teacher even if it

took me quite some time to realize it. When thinking about all these influences I can’t help but

wonder how my life would be different without them. When I was younger I always wanted to

be a professional athlete, but then reality set in and I realized that was not possible. Then I

thought I wanted to be a doctor until one day I took a look at my life and realized that wasn’t for

me. Some of the most influential things that prompted me to consider teaching were my mom,

being a teachers assistant, and finding my love for helping others.

My mom has always been the biggest influence in my life. I have learned almost

everything I know from her. One of the greatest lessons she has every taught me is to do what I

love. She always told me this when I was younger, but when it came to choosing a major for

college I did not need her to tell me this, I just watched her. Growing up in a small town my

school was K-12 and my mom taught third grade. I grew up with my mom in the same school as

me and sometimes I felt that it was a bad thing, but it was one of the greatest things. Growing up

I got to see my moms love for teaching and how the kids loved being in her classroom. I saw my

mom change lives and children grow. When I was a junior in high school I finally realized I

wanted to do the same thing my mom was. I was able to witness first hand what teaching is all

about and I strive to be as good as my mom is at teaching.

Even though my mom had a big impact on me wanting to be a teacher, becoming a

teacher assistant also had a big impact. My first time being a teachers assistant was in the seventh

grade and I helped out in one of the second grade classrooms. I was in the classroom during math

and it was a real eye opener for me. I took the class thinking it was going to be an easy A and

possibly time to do my homework from other classes, I was wrong. I got assigned to a couple
students who struggled and I would help them with their math work. At first I thought it was

pointless because the students still did not understand even when I re-explained the lesson. As

the year went on I fell in love with seeing the expression on their faces when they finally

understood a problem. It was enough of a reward for me to see their eyes light up when the

finally got it. I went on to be a teachers assistant every year after that. This experience also

taught me what grade level I wanted to teach. I realized I did not want to teach fifth grade

because thats an awkward stage for a lot of students and I decided I would not handle that well. I

also found out kindergarten was not for me. So my goal is to teach somewhere between second

and fourth grade.

One of the biggest influences for me was realizing my love for helping kids and wanting

to change lives. I come from a small town and some families do not have the best resources.

Some kids only meals are at the school. It is children who have the hardest time at home that are

the best to watch learn. They are so willing and excited about school it makes teaching fun. I

love helping children learn new things because when they finally understand it, it is the best

feeling in the world. I also really want to help change lives. There are certain teachers who make

an impact on you and really change your live for the better, I want to be that teacher. Some

children do not have the best home lives and after a while school does not matter to them. If I

can help them learn and want to continue learning I would feel that I did my job. I think that

teachers do more than just teach curriculum, I think they inspire children as well.

In life there will always be something that influences you to do one thing or another. For

me it was all the little things that added to help me make the big decision of considering

teaching. There are many things that influenced my decision but the three main things are my
mom, being a teachers assistant in school, and my love for helping children. I have had my

doubts about becoming a teacher, but I have come to realize it is a great fit for me.