My Autobiography
Teaching is a profession that not only requires skills in assisting kids to learn, but also requires a certain passion that very few have. In my opinion, the best teachers are the ones that teach their students and also learn from their students along the way. It takes a person with special qualities to be a great teacher. I believe that I have developed some of these qualities through various experiences in my life.
Some of these qualities developed through playing soccer at the age of fourteen. I had been playing with the Madison 56ers soccer club since I was eleven years old. Every year tryouts are held to divide kids into an “A” and a “B” team. I had previously been on the “A” team and was pretty confident in myself. Little did I know that some new players had shown up for tryouts and came ready to take my spot. That year I moved down to the “B” team, and I was devastated. All my friends were on the “A” team, and it was tough to accept that I was not as talented as them. I was extremely frustrated and started doubting my abilities. However, playing with the “B” team made me who I am today. First off, I developed leadership qualities that I continue to use every day of my life. Along with leadership, I developed a passion for proving myself. After I was cut from the “A” team, all I wanted to do was prove to the coach that he made the wrong decision. It created a diligence in me to never be satisfied with my abilities and a motivation to getting better not only in soccer, but as a person in general. This experience created a drive in me that continues to motivate me in everything I do. It is this drive that will not only help me become a teacher, but also improve my teaching skills every day.
Although this experience shaped me in becoming a teacher, I didn’t have teaching as a profession in mind at all at the time. In fact, it wasn’t until going through my first couple years of college that I realized teaching was right for me. Going into college, I was set on being an engineer. In my youth I was always building things, taking things apart and putting them back together. I always had the curiosity of how things worked. My dad was an engineer and I wanted to be just like him. However, when I got to college, I realized that I was missing something. Taking the engineering courses made me realize that I didn’t really have the passion for being an engineer. I wasn’t enjoying my classes and it caused me to do some serious thinking. It was during this time that I gained an awareness of how much I enjoyed helping my friends with homework. Whenever a friend had a question, I would put more effort into helping that person with their homework than I would my own. I had a friend in college who was on the soccer team who was struggling to stay eligible to play. I spent a few nights a week helping her with her various classes during the spring semester so that hopefully she would be eligible by the fall. By the time the end of semester came around, she was not only eligible, but she had raised her G.P.A. almost an entire point. When I went back and thought about this experience, I realized how satisfying it was to be able to have that big of an impact on someone’s life. It was this satisfaction that solidified the decision to become a teacher.
These experiences, among many others, helped me realize how teaching was the career for me. Teachers today don’t enter the career to live a life of luxury. They enter in to be an inspiration to the students who step foot inside their classroom. It takes a certain passion to be a teacher. The best teachers are the ones that not only want to help kids learn but also want kids to have fun learning. These teachers have an ability to make learning fun and interesting. They possess a certain gift: to make kids hungry to learn. I feel, through these experiences, that I have learned what it takes to not only be a teacher, but a teacher who goes the extra mile to make an impact on student’s lives.
Teaching is a profession that not only requires skills in assisting kids to learn, but also requires a certain passion that very few have. In my opinion, the best teachers are the ones that teach their students and also learn from their students along the way. It takes a person with special qualities to be a great teacher. I believe that I have developed some of these qualities through various experiences in my life.
Some of these qualities developed through playing soccer at the age of fourteen. I had been playing with the Madison 56ers soccer club since I was eleven years old. Every year tryouts are held to divide kids into an “A” and a “B” team. I had previously been on the “A” team and was pretty confident in myself. Little did I know that some new players had shown up for tryouts and came ready to take my spot. That year I moved down to the “B” team, and I was devastated. All my friends were on the “A” team, and it was tough to accept that I was not as talented as them. I was extremely frustrated and started doubting my abilities. However, playing with the “B” team made me who I am today. First off, I developed leadership qualities that I continue to use every day of my life. Along with leadership, I developed a passion for proving myself. After I was cut from the “A” team, all I wanted to do was prove to the coach that he made the wrong decision. It created a diligence in me to never be satisfied with my abilities and a motivation to getting better not only in soccer, but as a person in general. This experience created a drive in me that continues to motivate me in everything I do. It is this drive that will not only help me become a teacher, but also improve my teaching skills every day.
Although this experience shaped me in becoming a teacher, I didn’t have teaching as a profession in mind at all at the time. In fact, it wasn’t until going through my first couple years of college that I realized teaching was right for me. Going into college, I was set on being an engineer. In my youth I was always building things, taking things apart and putting them back together. I always had the curiosity of how things worked. My dad was an engineer and I wanted to be just like him. However, when I got to college, I realized that I was missing something. Taking the engineering courses made me realize that I didn’t really have the passion for being an engineer. I wasn’t enjoying my classes and it caused me to do some serious thinking. It was during this time that I gained an awareness of how much I enjoyed helping my friends with homework. Whenever a friend had a question, I would put more effort into helping that person with their homework than I would my own. I had a friend in college who was on the soccer team who was struggling to stay eligible to play. I spent a few nights a week helping her with her various classes during the spring semester so that hopefully she would be eligible by the fall. By the time the end of semester came around, she was not only eligible, but she had raised her G.P.A. almost an entire point. When I went back and thought about this experience, I realized how satisfying it was to be able to have that big of an impact on someone’s life. It was this satisfaction that solidified the decision to become a teacher.
These experiences, among many others, helped me realize how teaching was the career for me. Teachers today don’t enter the career to live a life of luxury. They enter in to be an inspiration to the students who step foot inside their classroom. It takes a certain passion to be a teacher. The best teachers are the ones that not only want to help kids learn but also want kids to have fun learning. These teachers have an ability to make learning fun and interesting. They possess a certain gift: to make kids hungry to learn. I feel, through these experiences, that I have learned what it takes to not only be a teacher, but a teacher who goes the extra mile to make an impact on student’s lives.