Today you will commence your online reflecting process by meditating and answering the following questions:
1. Why are you interested in teaching?
2. Tell me about a significant person, event, book or idea that made you want to teach?
Prof. Arlinda Lopez
UPRAg
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Acquiring knowledge had made me a better person through the understanding of the world where I live, and through the understanding of other people and cultures. This is the reason for what I would like to become an ESL teacher, and because I'm very grateful to the teachers that had educated me. The first teacher I had in my life was my mom and her memories inspire me to teach. The idea of been capable of touch a life in a positive manner, inspires me also. The novel "The Giver" by Lois Lowry had impacted my ideas about teaching because a "perfect society" is not possible without adding values (specially love), freedom, and meaning to our existence.
ReplyDelete//During high school I was known as a sub-average student who lacked the motivation necessary, to attend school on a regular basis; after-all, I had a total of thirty-six absences my sophomore year. I guess many would say that I had given up on the possibility of college and a lucrative career. I was slowly becoming a walking-statistic, one of the all too common realities of my Humboldt Park, Chicago upbringing. An upbringing in which the majority of my classmates ended up dropping out of school, in prison or working menial jobs for minimum wage and sub-existence. In fact, if it was not for the persistence, guidance and compassion of a few of my teachers, and the loving strength of an annoyed Puerto Rican mother --with battle-flip-flop in hand-- I would have succumbed to the hostile statistics that plagued my neighborhood.
ReplyDelete//Even though there have been times during my eleven year struggle towards my bachelor’s degree, that life would often provide obstacle, after obstacle of closing doors and limits, I have kept myself focused on my dreams. During those times, I would often hear the voice of my history teacher saying “Villanueva, never let race, finances or social barriers limit your dreams!” The voice of my teacher and the memory of my father coming home from the night-shift at a manufacturing company, dead-tired and plagued by the loss of light in his eyes served as a grim reminder that I too, could end up working a job that would exploit my health. These voices mixed with the memories of my personal experiences within the Chicago Public Education system have helped me evaluate and determine the importance of my career choice.
//It is the desire to positively impact my community that motivates me toward commencing my teaching career, with the hopes that I will be able to help motivate students pursue their dreams and goals despite their social and economic limits. Often times, dreams and visions of Hollywood movies flash in-front of my eyes --like the teacher in Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, and the Ron Clark story-- they often become mixed with the real-voices of the silent heroes that refuse to sell their student’s education and dreams short.
//My inspiration is deeply motivated by the teacher that guides and educates their students despite budget cuts, NCLB, and communities horrendously plagued by violence. After all, I am the product of a teacher’s compassion and through this I know that I can help edify and strengthen a child’s vision of themselves and serve as a facilitator of knowledge that will guide my future students towards a brighter future.
Side Note:
*Here is an interesting article about Chicago Public High School graduates college completion rate:
http://www.metrosquash.org/articles/CPS%20Article.pdf
1. Becoming a teacher has always interested me since I was young. As a child, I would always play "Teacher" giving my little brother and cousins assignments and even tutoring them. As an adult, teachers interest me so much because their job impacts lives in so many ways. Being a teacher is not only about teaching your students skills they need to pass your class, it is a non stop job. It involves dedication, responsability, vocation, leadership, intelligence, and much more. Teachers are role models inside the class and outside in the open community. They have the ability to impact students lives in a positive way as well as in a negative way. Teachers are very powerful, they are the ones that form students both in the present as well as in the future. What really impacts me is how important the role of a teacher is. With a single phrase or word they can boost the confidence of students. Their power amazes me.
ReplyDelete2. I want to teach basically because of my 3rd grade teacher Ms. Willet. She was a tall, light skinned women in her late 20's. Although she had not been a teacher for long, she was great. She motivated us in so many different ways. She was my role model and I always said I wanted to be like her. She inspired me to become a lifelong learner and showed me the importance of reading. Most of my passions for learning come from her. She made everything so fun and always brought a smile to our little faces. It's teachers like her that make us who we are today. Maybe if my 3rd grade teacher had been boring or never taught us the importance of reading, I wouldn't be here right now. Since now I see the positive impact that she had on my life, I would love to impact a students life in that same way. I want to be like her, have students remember me even if more than 10 years pass. Her impact in my life is my greatest motivation until this day.
When I was in secondary school a student from the University of Puerto Rico came to Catalina Morales de Flores to do her practice teaching in English. She was awesome, her methods, strategies, and techniques were totally different from what I was used to (copy, answer, and go). Her name was Mariam Villafañe. She gave the class in a creative manner that each and every student was involved in class and I like it. She had the spark that a real teacher must have: love to her profession. From that moment, I told my mother that I wanted to be an English teacher. My mother said: you always like education you used to play since little with your two sisters the game called: “de maestra”, no matter what you decide you have my support. Before graduation, I ask Miss. Villafañe for a brief orientation. She said to me that if I like to help people, give advice, guide, learn, study, and use innovative resources then I was on the right track. Now, here I am trying to make the difference in English education to complete my goals and dreams. Many young adults do not know the importance, benefits, and advantages that you can have by knowing a second language. I want to open their minds for them to reflect and realize how the subject of English can help them in the future. Finally, I know that I have work to do, that is not going to be easy, but learning English can be fun and interesting as well if your students get involve.
ReplyDeleteYashira M.Ramos
Why I want to become a teacher? Well I believe that a teacher has a lot of power in the studetns life. We can influences them for the rest of their life positively or negatively. I believe that I as teacher can be a good teacher and role model. I want to help the students to learn the English language.
ReplyDeleteWhat made me realize that want to be a teacher? In high school I helped my friends in the class of English. I like to help them and to explain them how to do the homeworks and other stuff. Still the thing that most captivated my mind was my teacher of English at high school. She organize her classroom into four learning station. She include in the classroom technology, reading, grammar, and listening activities which was very cool and it work with the students great. Those were practically my reason which I choose to a teacher.
Why teach? Thats a really awesome question. When I was in middle school I was thinking what i wanted to be in the future, at first i tought about becoming a musician a great singer or a keyboardist. After all that time I did accomplished to become a musician, but there was something missing. From time I developed the English language without notice in it. That helped me think that I was really good at this class than the other ones. In my nature I always felt good helping my classmates with the assignments and explaining the material given in class. Then I started to develop writting skills and speeling skills. When I started High school I was getting better and better by the moment. When I graduated in high school, I knew that this was my future, and it what Im good at; so I thought If have a gift why should I waste it. All my English teachers from k- 12 have been my inspiration to become an English teacher. Today, I'm giving tutoring to students and as far as I'm concerned I enjoy what I do, I see kids who are interested in learning the language. My decision is much clearer now, and yes I still want to be a teacher, thats my goal and it always will be.
ReplyDeleteJuan A. Vera Santiago
1) Becoming a teacher, and having the privilege to teach and provide all the knowledge that I have acquired to students is an honor. Having the chance to listen to students, and having myself learn something new everyday is really important. Being a teacher consists of having myself on constant education, maintaining and also gaining more knowledge. This is very important since my mind will always be active, and it will help me teach my class and present myself better each day.
ReplyDelete2) My friends have always told me that I should be a teacher. Since I am pretty on correcting and recognizing orthography. It also helps that I have a decent English background, that will give me confidence in my future learning and teaching. So here I am :)
1. I am interesting in teaching beacuse I enjoy helping others especially if they need my help. It alo feels good inside when you are teaching any subjectto someone and they actually learn or understand what you are trying to say. It would make me feel happyif my students understand and participate in class because to me it is very important that the students talk and express what they think or feel about any subjectin class. I think that the best thing in life as a teacher is that your students will become successfull when they grow up. I also wish that I can make a positive on my students lives and that they will hopefully remember me as a their teacher that taught them well.
ReplyDelete2. When I was young I did not understood or speak any Spanish because when I was 6 years old my family moved to Puerto Rico. Thanks to my first grade teacher Ms. Daisy I could pass my grades and eventually graduate with honors from that school. She taught me so much and she help me with my Spanish. Till this day I feel very grateful of having her as my teacher. Maybe this is my main reason that I would like to be an English teacher because as she help me and taught me so musch I would like to help others that are in need or simply need my help in order to understand English better.
1. The reason why I want to teach is because; I believe that this profession is one of the most important professions in this world. That is because teachers/educators are the ones who impact a child’s life as much as their own family. Good educators inspire creativity, a sense of responsibility for oneself and for others; they also inspire in students the desire to better oneself. I want to do exactly this, I want to inspire students that they can do more than they or anyone else thinks that they can. I want them to understand that the only true obstacle one has is oneself. Not only is acquiring the knowledge that they need to pass a grade or to become professionals important to me, I also want to give them the necessary skills they need to conquer life; to become lifelong learners.
ReplyDelete2. My best teachers were always those who were demanding, tough, and feared by everyone including me. But what made them great to me was that they gave me feedback, they cared about my progress and they showed me to be independent. Mrs. Robinson my third grade teacher was the first one to inspire me to believe in myself and to never give up. My home life was very difficult and not very intellectually stimulating, but Mrs. Robinson’s class and her time with me really molded me into the person I am today. She was the one who noticed that I had a learning disorder and did the necessary procedures to get me treated. It was because of her that I am a lifelong reader even though I have dyslexia. She also had me protect myself from a boy who called me a “bitch” and for me that was the end of the world. I began to cry and cry, when she asked me what had happened I told her, but her reaction was far from what I expected. She looked me straight in my eyes and said “so what!” I was just in shock, for me that was terrible and she didn’t understand how bad it was. But she just continued “do you know what a bitch is? It is a female dog. Are you a female dog?” When I answered no she said that I didn’t have to waste my time or my energy thinking about what other people think or say about me when I know what I am and what I’m not. From there on, I was stronger and not so “ñoña”. I didn’t let anyone put me down ever again; I began to defend myself and to prove that I wasn’t anything negative. I wasn’t stupid or slow or anything like that, I just learned differently and that was not going to stop me from becoming something, from becoming a professional. I swore not to become a dependent little housewife who had to swallow everything and behave to the norms of a community that just settled. I would like to be inspirational for my students. I believe in the power of their minds as long as they believe in themselves. So many teachers out there today are mediocre and teach their students to be the same. I just want the opportunity to let them know that you don’t have to settle just because the world around you has. They are the future of this world and we need to prove to them that not all teachers are lazy or just there for a paycheck, that we believe in them and wish them to be successful in life. Whether they turn out to be the next neurosurgeon or an electrician; their title isn’t really important, what is important is that they are able to continue learning, and succeeding. This is why I want to teach.
1.I am interested in teaching because it is a profession where you can interact with other people, you have to create new things and best of all you have to teach other people. Teachers are the second family to those children or young adults who need to be heard. Teachers are guides and models for students. This is why I want to be a teacher; I want to become a good model for my students and teach them that life is not easy but is not impossible. I like this carrier because it is challenging for me. I want to be the difference in education, make it fun and intriguing.
ReplyDelete2.I am going to be very sincere in this answer. The truth is that I choose this profession because I had no idea of what I wanted to be as a professional. My father was a physical education teacher and he always told not to become a teacher because he had suffered a lot during his carrier days. I did not pay attention to what he told me and here I am, studying to become a teacher. As I began taking my education classes I began to realize that this was my profession. Now I can say that I want to become an excellent teacher because education needs good and passionate teachers who are willing to give their lives for others.
Well to be honest, I was never interested in teaching and I even told myself that when I graduated from high school, that wasn’t going to be my option. The main reason why I chose to study in the English Department was because I like English and that’s what I speak the most. So I took the risk and started studying in the department. But what really gave me the push and helped me attain that interest was taking classes like methodology and seminar. These classes gave me the opportunity to give class in schools, which helped me a lot in becoming interested in teaching. I say this because when your in the classroom and you give class to students you see how they react and how they respond to you as the teacher. Also when you see that you’ve helped someone learn, that becomes the purpose of why you’re their teaching them. For me, that was my motivation to be interested in teaching to the point where I felt good about my decision in being a teacher. Sure being teacher means a lot of preparation and work and it scares me, but I know that with the right effort I can achieve it.
ReplyDeleteI think that my friends from school helped me want to become an English teacher because they always told me that I was really good at speaking the language and I always helped them through out school in their English assignment. So I think that they motivated me and made me think in choosing this profession.
The main reason for me to choose teaching as a career is because of the huge difference one can make in the lives of students. As a child, I had many great teachers, but also not so great teachers; anyway the point is that they both influenced me in a positive way. Teachers, who weren't dedicated with their students, gave me the motivation to be a better educator for students and to make the classroom a place where they can feel comfortable and not afraid to learn. Students see teachers as their role models and as a former student I had some excellent teachers who served me as an example to be one in a future. What also influenced me to be an excellent teacher was my dad. My dad has been teaching physical education for 28 years and when I was in the elementary level I took class with him, and he was and is my role model and my main motivator to become a teacher. So, why teach? I chose to teach because I believe I am capable of making students think and develop intellectually, and motivate them to learn and to achieve their goals and dreams in life, by students achieving these qualities we will all have a better future
ReplyDelete1. I feel that as a teacher I can be a more useful tool in society. I've always wanted to do something with my life that was both significant and meaningful to me, something that wouldn't only benefit me but also the people around me. That is when teaching came in. I want to be a teacher so that I may become a role model to my future students. There are so many negative influences out there. But I believe one person can make a difference.
ReplyDelete2. My inspiration to become an English teacher came from my elementary school peers and my cousins. I came to live to the small town of Quebradillas, after moving from New Jersey, in 1993. At school I was the only bilingual kid in class, and at home the only one of my cousins who knew English. After 9 years I graduated from the 9th grade in 2002 still being the bilingual freak and still being the only granddaughter who knew English. Was there something wrong with me? Did I miss something? Did they really waste 9 years of their lives? Would I have been the same as them? All these questions had suddenly risen in me. Thankfully high school was a lot better. I finally had bilingual friends, people who I could relate and socialize with more easily. Why couldn’t my old classmates and my cousins be like them? Who really failed the teacher or the students? I realize I couldn’t blame either. But when senior year arrived and there were so many career choices to make, I made the decision to be someone who could change that. I decided to become an English teacher in the memory of all those who never fully learned it. They will my inspiration for year to come.
I see the importance of being a teacher and the weight it carries, but I'll accept it, because the outcomes are so worth the effort.
Your answers are very reflective and allows me to see where you are comming from as a future educator. Thank you for sharing your stories with me. I look forward to reading more in this blog during the semester.
ReplyDeleteProf. Arlinda Lopez
Since I was a little girl I have always loved and enjoyed teaching. I remember teaching my dolls and stuffed animals, imagining they were my students. I would align them all in front of me as if my room were a classroom. I used to write my walls with chalk and I loved it. I always had a bunch of papers and I used to play with my friends at school. We had a teacher club. Most of our parents were teachers so we brought in all the papers and materials we found at home and shared them with each other. It was really fun. My dad is an English teacher and my aunt who passed away 2 years ago was also an English teacher. I have always been surrounded by teaching environments. My house was filled with books which I would read and carry around forever. I think teaching is an important vocation that is not taken seriously or even respected. Teachers hold an important key in the development of tomorrow and today men and women. When I say teaching I don’t only mean teaching English or any subject in particular, I mean teaching in general. We are constantly teaching and enlightening people with knowledge even if it is teaching about cooking. I say this because I teach kids and young adults in church and it is the same thing. The look on the kid, adult or young adult’s face of deep thought, analysis and reflection makes my teaching hours worth it.
ReplyDeleteEven though I have always wanted to be a teacher as I grow up and mature my ideas become clearer and I discover more reasons of why I want to teach. My vision on society and social problems make me want to stand up and do something about what is going on in the world. I think as a teacher I can do a lot of work and guide others. My young adult literature class last year made me very excited to teach. For my last project I had to use a book and prepare a class. I chose “An Island like you”, Stories of the Barrio. The book contains many short stories about teenagers with different family, love and personal situations very easy to relate to kids today. All the kids and stories connected and it made me eager to teach that book. Students and people today need good role models and positive people around that can influence, motivate and transmit love and passion for what they do. I believe as a teacher, an educator I can achieve that.
Why am I interested in teaching? I always ask myself that question everytime I start a new semester. Since I was little I always wanted to be a doctor. Throughout my school years (jr high school through 12th grade) I always had that goal set in my mind, always loved science. But when I was in 12 grade I started tutoring my cousins to help them improve their english, because although I was good in science I also was good in english, I saw that their teachers werent helping them and they werent learning english. They just didnt care because they said that they didnt like english because they didnt understand it and the teachers eventually end giving the class in spanish.
ReplyDeleteThats what kind of lend me towards becoming an english educator and also because I wanst that good in math. But now I'm in my fifth year and I want to make a difference and really teach my future students english.
Teaching is the most important profession that one can choose. with out teachers there would not be any other professons in the word. A teacher is muthch more that just that. she is a mother a social worker a friend among other things. I decided to be a teacher because I think that I can make a diference. That because of me and my efforts there can me many children that will want to study and grow up to be profesionals.
ReplyDeleteMy twelfth grade English teacher Mrs. Colon was the one that inspired me to be a teacher. It was her enthusiasm toward education that made me want to be like her. She did not allow her students to speak Spanish in her classroom and because of that we all spoke English all the time in her class. I remember that two years after I graduate I went back to my old high school to talk to her and when I told her that I was studying to be an English teacher you could see the excitement in her face. This made me very happy to see that I was no longer her student and she still care about me. Because of her I am where I am today.