Week Two of Teach Now Activity One

Well, I'm starting week 2 of the teacher certification. We have four activities to do this week which require a fair bit of research and work. The first activity was reflective in nature. Looking at why I want to be a teacher.

Here was my response.

After looking down the list of reasons for teaching there were several that jumped out at me but I tried to place myself in my shoes 11 years ago when I first decided to begin teaching. The first reason I choice was employment mobility. This was definitely a priority to me when I first started on my path as a teacher. I would say that this is still my primary reason for teaching. I enjoy that teaching allows me to travel the world and I look forward to teaching in new countries in the future.

The second reason I selected was long summer vacation. I know this is a bit of a cliché when it comes to teaching but personally being able to have time off from work it vital to my life. I certainly believe that a person needs time off to explore new interests or have an opportunity to travel. There are lots of personal reasons for choosing a job that has the benefit of time off but the two listed above are mine. I also believe that teachers who teach young children day in and day out really need the time off to recharge their batteries.

The third reason I selected was a desire to work with youth. Through my life I have always taken an active role in working with or being a part of youth groups. I was a hockey coach during my high school and university years and I always enjoyed having an opportunity to help children. I guess coming from a very large family had an influence in this as there were always lots of cousins around to take care of. My mother is an elementary school teacher and I seeing the way she was able to improve the life of her students and return the wonderful experiences she was able to take from teaching definitely motivated me to give teaching a try.

There are few reasons why this survey is important to new teachers. First and foremost, it is always beneficial to anyone who desires to enter any field of work to understand their motivations for entering said field. When reasons are laid out in a list such as this survey it can give someone a new perspective on why they are making a particular career choice and if those motivations are ones that they feel are valid. Anything that can improve self-awareness is very important in my opinion.

Another reason this survey might be important to a new teacher is that it gives a new teacher an opportunity to see other reasons for choosing a career in education that they might not have thought of before. It is always nice to look at a topic or a decision from as many angles as possible and being presented with new ideas on a topic and only help a new teacher make more informed decisions.

It went a little longer than I expected.