“Why I Want to Teach”

Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be a teacher. When I came home from school, I couldn’t wait to teach my little sister what I had learned that day. Now that I am in college, I know that I need to focus on my career goal, and why I ultimately want to be a teacher. The five reasons I want to teach are to help students feel as passionate about the subject as I do, to help students be successful, to be a role model, to have summer vacations and job security, and to make a difference in students’ lives. I will go through these five major points about why I want to teach more in detail throughout this paper.

The first reason I want to teach is because I want to help students to feel as passionate about the subject as I do. My major is business education, so I will teach business classes in a high school. I love everything about personal finance, accounting, and statistics. I want students to gain a broader perspective on business, so that they can decide whether or not they want to go into business on a college level. I will always remember my history teacher, because of his enthusiasm about the subject and his determination to make sure that his students understand the material. I don’t like history, but taking his class gave me much more of an appreciation for history. I want students to love business just as much as I do. With my degree, I could go directly into business, but I plan on teaching it. By teaching, I can get students excited about business, and allow them to thrive and give them tools to even open their own business someday. “Many people choose to teach because they are interested in a certain content area and want to share their interest and excitement with others (Liston, 2004) (Kauchack & Eggen, p. 7). I cannot wait to influence my students to pursue a degree in business after they graduate high school.

Business classes are very relevant to students’ lives. The second reason I want to teach is because I want to help students have a bright future, and give students the opportunity to be successful. Not all students will attend college, or have a high paying salary. Some students will take my classes to learn how to balance their check book, or file a tax form. The teacher I observed was the special education director at a high school, and she said many of the student’s with special needs will be placed in my class – because money and business terms make sense to them. Nothing will give be greater joy then to know I gave students the tools to be successful, even if it is just managing their own money when they are in the real world.

The third reason I want to teach is because I want to be a role model, and I want to receive very rewarding intrinsic experiences. I want to be a person that my students will look up to. I once nominated by English teacher and volleyball coach for a “Teacher of the Month” award, and she ended up winning! She was such a role model to me, and I want to fill her shoes and inspire my students. If a student were to nominate me for an award like that, it would be one of the greatest feelings in the world. “Many people become teachers because of intrinsic rewards, which fall into two broad categories – emotional and intellectual”(Kauchack & Eggen, p. 4).

My fourth reason I want to teach is for job security and summer vacations. I plan on getting married and having children, so a teachers’ schedule would be perfect for my life. Teachers do not need to take their children to childcare centers in the summer, because they can be with their kids themselves. Holidays can be spent with family; and nights can be a time for family events and personal use. Teachers also have job security and benefits that are an advantage in today’s world. “Job security and summer vacations ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the survey”(Kauchack & Eggen, 2008, p. 8). These extrinsic awards sound very satisfying, but I like to look at them as an added bonus that teachers receive.

My final and most important reason I want to teach is because I want to make a difference in my students’ lives. I am positive that every person who has attended school has had a teacher who has made a positive difference in their life. A long time ago, my older sister was being sent to the special education classrooms in the fourth grade until her teacher really challenged and encouraged her. This was where she hit a turning point. Ever since the end of her fourth grade year, my sister has been one of the top students in her class. She is now going to graduate school, and I think it all started because of the extra attention and motivation that her fourth grade teacher provided for her. Students everywhere need encouragement and someone to believe in them. I feel that schools are in dire need for teachers who can motivate and influence students. I want to be the teacher that allows students to succeed by strengthening the talents that the students already have and making them feel good about themselves. I love to learn about people, and find out what motivates them – and use it to my advantage. I believe that younger generations have so much potential, and they just need the extra encouragement and challenges to strive through their whole educational career.

In conclusion, I have five main reasons why I want to teach. The five reasons are as followed: to help students feel as passionate about the subject as I do, to help students be successful, to be a role model, to have summer vacations and job security, and to make a difference in students’ lives. All of these reasons are very important to me, and I feel very strongly about each of my reasons to teach. My mother once told me that the greatest teachers are the children who played school, and were continuously the teacher. I have wanted to be a teacher ever since kindergarten and I cannot wait to see how teaching will benefit me and each student that I get the opportunity to teach.

Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2008). Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Liston, D. (2004). The lure of learning in teaching. Teachers College Record, 106(3), 459 – 486.

Attached Rubric:

Traits	10	9-8	7-6	5-0
Quality of Thinking	Ideas are thought-provoking, insightful, focused and substantive.	Ideas are clear, interesting and focused though at times lack development.	Ideas have potential but are underdeveloped and vague.	Ideas are clichéd, unfocused and weak.
Organization	Organization supports meaning .	Sequentially organized though transitions may be weak.	Organization loosely conveys meaning; lacks clear direction.	Unorganized, problems at the paragraph level.
Grammar / Conventions	Uses correct grammar, conventions and sentence construction.	Some errors but they do not distract from the meaning of prose; some editing needed.	Several consistent errors; lacks proof of editing.	Fundamental and numerous errors.
Research	Thorough integration of data and research; uses APA format correctly.	Complete but tends to over-rely on research; APA format—some errors.	Partial or incomplete integration of research and data, not integrated into paper; APA format—many errors.	Unsatisfactory use of research and data; APA format not used.