Many people teach for different reasons but I believe it is ultimately driven by the urge to have an impact. That is what has drawn me to the teaching profession. I want to have an positive impact on the world I live and your job is one of the ways you can contribution to society. We all have many options that we can choose for our profession however, after looking back at my 8 years of professional experience I have a hard time identifying my impact. That is not to say that my positions or the companies I worked for did not have an impact but I felt disconnected enough that my jobs become more about the paycheck than the job. Additionally, there are other factors that led me to this decision but it comes down to wanting to provide mentorship, leadership (male role-model), develop coding programs and to feel like I am making an impact.
Genes:
You could say that teaching is in my genes. I come from a long line of teachers and it has been a profession that has been enjoyed by them. I feel that being surrounded by teachers that I’ve learned many of the skills needed to be a successful teacher. Additionally, I know that teaching is a rewarding experience and have been able to see the impact that they have had on my peers.
Mentors:
I want to be a mentor! Mentors are invaluable and finding a good one is difficult. I’ve had a couple of excellent mentors in my professional life but the ones that I value are from my education. They pushed me to look at problems analytically, breaking them down to the simplest components to find logical solutions at each step. There was no problem that was too hard, there were just steps in the process. Fear was replaced by intrigue because I knew I could find solutions if I could figure out the base components. I learned that failing is part of the learning process but had a safe place to do so. It is these teachers that inspired me to learn and challenge myself.
Male Role-Model
The educators who cared about me beyond the results of an exam are the ones who stand out in my memory. Their commitment was to students as people and their purpose was to prepare me to be a smart and ethical contributor to society. Their example is an inspiration to me today as I seek a career in education. However, very few of my teachers were men and I see that as a current gap in public education. I think that we need to re-think the recruitment of male teachers and reposition how society views the teaching profession. I hope, as I move through the program, I can center my masters research paper on destigmatizing the teaching profession with a focus on recruiting male teachers.
Coding:
Another reason that I am interested in teaching is to develop coding programs. I have had a long standing passion for computers and through my professional training I’ve learned to code. I would like to bring this ability to the classroom and help educate the next generation of coders. I hope that I can align my professional talents with my passion to educate and help others.
Automatization of the Work Force:
One of the looming issues for our economical system is the integration of technology in the workforce, specifically related to the automatization of paying jobs. Education is one of the few jobs that will be very difficult to automate. Essentially, in my eyes education will always need people in the classroom and as a result, teaching represents a viable profession regardless of robots and more advanced technologies.
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