Graduate / 'my passion for teaching and working with children' - Graduate Essay (Dept:special education) [9]

As children growing up, we tend to imitate and aspire to be like the people we look up to. Looking back at my childhood, my passion for teaching and working with children comes as no surprise. Like many other males, growing up in today's society, I was unfortunate to not have a male figure or sibling to model. In my case, the individual who had a tremendous impact on me and I'd idolize growing up, was my mom, a single mother of three, who made a living as a day care provider.

My keen interest for working with children derived from the work she did. Seeing how she interacted, and was so effective with children really impressed me. I had been surrounded by children my whole life, and as I got older, I would try my best to lend a hand, mimicking her every approach with children.

By the time I was in high school, I had a strong oriented sense of the career I'd pursue. I began working with children in various settings, beginning as a youth counselor. Small jobs, such as this one, in a sense became a stepping stone, to the path I would in time follow. As time progressed I held positions in school settings as a volunteer, a residential counselor for troubled youth, teachers' assistant, and substitute teacher. These were jobs full of experiences I vastly enjoyed and became intrigued with, as I'd encounter different personalities, behaviors, and issues that left me with either the desire to help or with inquiries on how I could improve a child's situation.

After my first experience in a school, I grew fond of working with students in a classroom setting. A sense of gratification had set in at the fact that children were learning, and I was involved in their educational attainment. It was at that point in time that I knew I would pursue a career in teaching.

Driven by my interest, lack of knowledge and experience, I became motivated to learn more about the different aspects in the field of education. Graduating with a degree in sociology and urban education would not be the end of my learning experience as I tried to keep up to date with the latest literature and the best practice in the field of education. I began attending teacher development workshops, and graduate courses to expand my knowledge, in order to support and apply while teaching at the time. After becoming familiar with the different realms of education I became aware of a few things. Among the many, I noticed that as a prospective teacher it's imperative to expand on ones knowledge in the field of education, as there are always new methods to be put into practice. Along with the fact that one must apply successfully what has been learned in order to become a successful teacher.

A man by the name of Clay P. Bedford once said, "you can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives." Although I have been exposed to various educational settings and have gained knowledge about the field of education, I feel I have more to learn and achieve in order to reach the goal I have set for myself in becoming an educator. By pursuing a degree in special education not only am I setting out to achieve my goal, but I am also feeding the curiosity, will, and passion I have for learning and working with children.