“Are you sure you don’t want to go into something less stressful?”, “teaching is tough you know!”, “study something else in Edinburgh and stay at home!” and “Just think about what’s easiest for you!” were just some of the responses I received upon telling previous teachers and friends about my career choice. Initially the responses upset me a tad and broke away a little bit of my ‘happy bubble’ after working so hard to gain my university places but, soon enough I was immensely reassured that my choice was definitely the right one.
I was sitting in the cinema watching and taking delight in ‘The Greatest Showman’ when a certain line stood out and spoke to me.
“Comfort is the enemy of progress” –P.T.Barnum
The line made me realise that yes, a teaching career will most certainly be difficult, stressful and at times uncomfortable however I strongly believe that often when a challenge is faced, a greater thing is born. It’s important to me to aim to create a better future for both our children and society and what other way to progress towards this than to step outside of my comfort zone occasionally, believe in myself (and my ability) and get involved in teaching. In turn, I would want to be an example to my own pupils in the hope that they too will become effective contributors in their own society.
The idea of being a positive role model when undertaking a career in teaching also greatly appeals to me. Like many, I am of the strong opinion that raising our children to be honest and respectful beings is a top priority. Thinking back to my own teachers, I view them as amazing, selfless people who played such a large part in forming the person I am today. They were kind, considerate, fair, incredibly hard working and dedicated. They had time for their students even when the bell had long ran and they cared so much for every single child in the classroom-no matter what race, religion or culture they came from. Their actions and nature inspired me and many others to also adopt the same values and I would love to be a part of passing this on to the next generation again.
Throughout my time at school, I developed a great interest in all areas of the curriculum ranging from Maths to Business and English to Biology. I am incredibly passionate about applying my knowledge and interest of computing science into the primary school as this is an area in which is very quickly growing and advancing. My on-going love for music also encourages me to bring the fantastic qualities of being able to read music and/or play an instrument into my future classroom. I am currently undertaking Italian lessons as this is an additional area where I feel development in would not only be beneficial to myself but also my pupils. Passing on to future children the varied and wide spread knowledge and skill set that I was very fortunately given by my own teachers is a vital aspect of teaching and this excites me enormously.
All in all, I want to be a teacher in order to give our children everything I was ever given and much, much more.
