My Decision to Teach

I never wanted to be a teacher, but I always knew I would be one. It was in High School volunteering in a classroom when I realized that I did want to be a teacher. I wanted the thrill of creating my own classroom and then having 20+ little faces walk in on the first day with their eyes and minds just as excited as mine. I wanted the assurance of a profession where I knew that I could make a difference and that I could do my part to make the world a better place. I remember the teachers in my life that made a difference. Those teachers who knew who I was and what I was capable of even when I didn't see it myself. I also remember those teachers who didn't make a difference. It was those teachers that made me dislike certain subjects and made me doubt my intelligence and my ability to succeed. When I decided to choose teaching as the career I would do for the rest of my life I made a promise to myself to be the best I could be. I made a promise to be patient, kind, encouraging, and positive. I made a promise to make an impact and to never give up on students who make me question my decision to become a teacher. People sometimes look down on teaching because it seems "easy" or "babysitting" or even because of the salary. I would like to say to those people to try and create a lesson where students are engaged, learning, and behaving, all while having students use their own creativity and intuition to become successful. I take pride in my decision to become a teacher. I am grateful for my future students and the lessons they will teach me. I know i'm not an official teacher yet, but today I took a big step on my journey! Today was my first day of practicum. Practicum is a four-week long experience where I get placed into a classroom (1st grade in my case) and begin teaching lessons. I get to experience the day to day of teaching while still being a student at BYU. BYU has this great program set up to help future educators become great before they do their student teaching and then graduate. I love my new classroom and my new students. For four weeks I get to be with them and I could not be more excited! Here are some pictures of my first day: