As I am sure you have heard many times, from many different people (and are probably sick of hearing), I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a young girl. Although I have always known this, I never actually fully understood why I wanted to teach, until applying for university.
Teaching is the most rewarding job in my opinion. Having the ability to help develop a child’s knowledge, whether that be on the difference between there, their and they’re or teaching them how to tie their shoe laces, each day is a day for development inside and outside the classroom which teachers have a massive impact on. Seeing a child’s strengths and talents get stronger over time, to make their difficulties a barrier you help them overcome, to have a positive impact on that child’s day; the list is endless and these are just some of the small perks which made me want to become a teacher and which I look forward to experiencing on placement and soon in my own classroom.
However, I do not believe a teacher’s job is restricted and closed to only teaching. I believe a teacher should be able to understand each of their pupils individually, rather than having a generic teaching style for all 30 pupils in the classroom. This restricts some children’s potential as every individual has a different way of learning and we need to cater to these needs as best as possible, encouraging children to go even further than their “best”, but not pushing too hard. This all contributes to their quality of life outside the school community as well as inside.
Many people thought I’d most likely change my mind on what I wanted to do, as anyone would when an 11-year-old decides what career path they want to take. I was always a bright girl, but never the top of my class, so I wasn’t entirely sure how well I would do at my time at high school. This soon changed when I received my National 5 exam results last year, and finally started to believe it could be possible. So, come August 2018, I decided sixth year was not going to be for me – the best decision I have ever made. I was predicted to get the grades I needed for university and despite my teachers concerns about my age and this affecting me even getting interviews for a Primary Education course, I applied. I received offers from all courses I applied to, and exceeded my conditions for them all. Reflecting on this, my advice to anyone would be to go with what you think is best for you no matter what barriers may be in the way as here I am now, studying an MA (Hons) in Education and making the dreams my 11-year-old self come true.
