I want to become a Teacher. Notice that teacher is capitalized?

To qualify what a Teacher is, it is much

more than merely someone who is taking up space and collecting a paycheck; A Teacher inspires minds. In

order to become a Teacher, I must follow the requirements of becoming a licensed Teacher. But the process of

becoming a Teacher also requires more, it requires a personal journey. And in defining that journey, maybe it

will blossom, allowing for one to help inspire.

The how I plan on becoming a Teacher is fairly straightforward. I am currently following the guidelines

as mandated by the New Mexico Public Education Department.

The first and most important thing is to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree. I am in pursuit of one now. I haven’t yet

committed to where yet. My choices are financially motivated. The University of New Mexico and Fort Lewis

College. I am currently awaiting for acceptance to Fort Lewis. Upon acceptance I will be working with an

academic adviser to determine the best course of action for my career aspirations. In the meantime, I am

registered to take the New Mexico Teacher Assessment Basic Skills Test on March 15. (Which hopefully works

well with the test taking strategies.) Aside from that, I believe I am on the right path.

My journey into wanting to become a teacher has traversed a very winding road indeed. As a child, I did not

give much thought into my future. I was more of a go with the flow type of person. I did not receive much

encouragement as far as my own education went. My father, probably inadvertently, gave me discouragement. I

only saw him on the weekends, so he did not get to instill a sense of discipline with regard to education. He was

more concerned with my spiritual state of mind and the future that held. He once stated, upon my inquiring

about going to college, “Why invest in a building that is scheduled to be demolished?” Therefore, my

educational welfare was left up to my mother and all her misguided wisdom. So, somewhere along the way,

education was not deemed important or a priority to my young mind. It did not help that when I took tests, I

usually passed, if not outright aced; All while never putting any real effort forth. I rarely, if ever, took a

textbook home for the purposes of studying. And in public schools education, at least in my situation,

homework was usually a significant part of the final grade, so I barely passed. I basically did the bare minimum
in order to pass. I would have to say that I felt a sort of contempt to homework and school, especially since I

was able to pass the tests. After all, why should I do homework, when I was already passing the tests?

Move several years forward, and I began my journey in college. It was fun, mostly because homework was

counted so little towards the actual grade within the classes. Which ironically is what got me so interested in

furthering my education and finally inspiring me to do actual homework. I started to understand “practice

makes perfect”. I was finally being challenged and in so I found that I had to do more and more homework in

order to master the things I was learning. It made me a little frustrated with myself on not having a better

foundation of the simpler concepts. It was only after years of observation that I finally had an appreciation for

school. In the midst of all this self-discovery I began my journey as a California College Student Worker aka

Teacher’s Aide and Tutor. I realized how much I enjoyed helping others to learn. But, I was still struggling with

the contempt I had of the Institution of Education. It is still something that I try to understand better. I have

since realized it is not the Teacher’s that I have issues with. Rather, it is the ineffective policies. By saying that,

I do not condemn all of academia. I think there are some wonderful ideas, but I also think there are many more

faults. Thus I am doing all I can to fully understand the Teaching profession in order to be the most effective

Teacher that I can be. To be able to work within the system and yet still be able to inspire, in spite of the

deficiencies.

I have been working with students for several years now. It is the one of the most challenging endeavors I have

encountered. It is not a static thing, it is a dynamic pursuit in trying to motivate someone. To helping them to

not only become better, but to becoming the best they can become. To realize how to nurture their own spirits.

To help shape and mold them into who they can be at their fullest potentials. That is not easy. But nothing

worth having is ever given. But rather the value of a thing is measured by the sacrifice given to achieve that

thing.

I do not know how my journey is going to end, but it is my hope, that I one day, am recognized by someone I

had inspired, as their Teacher.

Outline

I want to be a Teacher

I. How to become a Teacher

a. Bachelor’s Degree

i. Fort Lewis

b. Licensing for Secondary Education

c. Endorsements with appropriate number of credits within Subject.

i. Mathematics

ii. Physical Science

iii. Special Education

d. Portfolio

II. Why I want to be a Teacher

a. Inspire

b. I enjoy helping others discover themselves better

III. What makes an effective Teacher?

a. Connecting with students on a personal level

b. Compassion

c. Creative Flexible Adaptive mindset

d. Commitment to the idea of helping students

e. Patience in order to not get frustrated when things don’t necessarily go according to plans.
Essay FLC TED 200-300 words. Describe 2 areas of strength as a future teacher & 2 areas of current

improvement that will result in becoming a better teacher upon graduation. Use specific examples.

A. Strengths

1. Classroom management- Having worked as a College Student Worker, tutor, Teacher’s aide, and as a

licensed substitute, I am fairly confident that I have an understanding of classroom management.

2. Compassion and caring- I know walking into a classroom that it is one of low relative pay equating

lower social status and respect as a profession. I grew up in an oilfield region, where high school

graduates were making $50K+ a year. Regardless, I still choose to want to become a teacher. I choose to

want to become a teacher to help others reach their potential.

B. Currently improving

1. Curriculum – I know that I need to become more acquainted with the details of teaching in a classroom.

How to develop and implement lessons. How to structure the content in a meaningful yet manageable

way. One that will challenge students to grow, but not so much that it leaves a student overwhelmed or

worse yet in fear of learning.

2. Administrative abilities – Understanding of the standards that are used to assess not only the students but

the teachers and schools as well.

1. Paragraph 1 Introduction To be a better teacher

a. I bring with me two particular strengths

b. I will develop in two areas

c. Combined, these will help me become a better teacher

As a future teacher, two particular areas of strength that I possess are my desire to become a teacher and my

classroom management skills. And of the many areas in which to improve, the two areas of current
improvement that I believe will result in my becoming a better teacher would be developing a firmer grasp on

curriculum management as well as further progressing my teaching techniques. By bringing together my

strengths with these improvements, I feel I will become a better teacher.

2. Paragraph 2 I bring along 2 previous strengths

a. My desire to be a teacher through compassion and caring.

b. My prior experience with classroom management.

c. These strengths will help me become a better teacher

The two strengths that I feel will most help me as a future teacher are classroom management skills and the

desire to help others learn. The latter is what drives me to wanting to become a teacher in the first place. I have

tried my hand at several jobs, and I have been successful at these jobs. But, the thing that always felt missing

was in being able to help others. Things always seemed to point back to my early college days when I worked

as a college student worker at a local school. So, when I had an opportunity, I decided to substitute on a trial

basis. I soon found out that it just felt right. Which lead me to being a substitute and a school bus driver. And

from these endeavors, as well as others, I have learned how to manage a classroom.

3. Paragraph 3 2 areas that will help with my future ability

a. Through a better understanding of curriculum management

b. Through developing effective teaching habits and techniques

c. When I develop these skills, they will help me become a better teacher

It would be arrogant of me to think that I do not need to improve in order to be a better teacher. Two areas that I

am currently improving in order to become that better teacher are my skills in managing and implementing a

curriculum and developing effective teaching habits and techniques. For instance I have learned that it is

important to know the core standards so that you know the destination of where you want to lead students. And

by knowing what the end objective is for your students, it then becomes a matter of utilizing a plethora of

techniques to help them reach their destination. And by further developing and learning more teaching habits
and techniques while coming to a better understanding how to manage a curriculum, I believe I will ultimately

become a better teacher.

4. Paragraph 4 Conclusion

a. Strengths

b. Developing

c. Upon graduation I will be a better teacher because I will be able to combine my strengths, but

also I will be able to implement these newly developed skills.

As a future teacher I know that I inherently have strengths, but I also know that in order to become a better

teacher I will always have to strive to improve in order to become an even better teacher.