Why I Want to Become a Teacher

Nicholas Matuszewski

Educational Autobiography

Educ. 361

9/19/2011

Blog 4: Why I Want to Become a Teacher

            My wanting to become a teacher began in high school when I volunteered for an in-school program called Project Charlie. It was a program designed to help elementary kids feel good about themselves and enjoy school more. Helping these young kids and seeing them become better students gave me great joy and a feeling of making a positive difference in their lives. The more time I spent with the kids the more I wanted to become a teacher and role model for young students.

            Seeing all the problems that schools and students are faced with only makes me want to become a teacher even more. I see students that get into trouble a lot being dealt with inefficiently. This makes me want to find the best way to handle these situations. I cannot help much with things that happen outside of the classroom but I do want my students to feel safe, comfortable, and part of my classroom environment. My goal is to create a positive and successful learning environment for all of my students. This is easier said than done but I feel confident that I will be able to achieve this when the time comes.

            There are many students who struggle in school. This bothers me a bit making me want to get these students to become successful students. I volunteer at a place that helps students who are struggling in school become leaders. We also help them with their homework and with school subjects they are struggling in. Most of these kids have bad backgrounds which makes helping them very difficult. It has been a great learning experience trying to figure out what the best way to teach these kids is. The most difficult part is getting the kids to show up for all the sessions. We will be making big progress with these kids and will lose basically all that we have accomplished with them if they miss a few sessions. These kids really need help with school and sometimes just someone to talk to. Helping these kids and watching them become better students and a better person has given me the desire to continue with helping kids. By becoming a teacher I will be in a better position to help these types of kids/students.

            Becoming a teacher is not about making the big bucks or having summers off. To me it’s about giving young people the knowledge to create a good future for themselves and possibly for many others as well. I welcome the challenge of making this a reality. Seeing struggling students only makes me want to become a teacher even more.