To me, there are numerous reasons to become a teacher. Having the ability to reach and help guide each child towards a positive future is probably my biggest. This video is completely relevant to the future of our economy. As I have mentioned previously in another of my blogs, teachers have first hand (besides parents, and we can’t be a parent to every child) at guiding students to a successful path. I truly value education and believe it is important, especially starting with the young. I have always said, it really doesn’t matter to me what grade level I teach (K-6) because just having the opportunity to be a part of every child is rewarding enough. Of course, the grade level definitely determines the behavior and complexity level, but that is beside the point. I think the idea is in order to become a successful teacher, they must be looking towards the future, not only of our children, but our economy. Our economy is constantly changing and we are preparing our children for things that don’t currently exist. (So they are able to create new inventions or become talented on a whole other level. Becoming a teacher, for me is to help not only my own child, but being that extra/external guidance (beyond the parent level) in assisting children towards a positive, greener, innovated future and for their lives. I believe any great teacher will be adaptable, creative, knowledgeable, fun, and interactive with the community. They would also understand the importance for guiding our children towards an unknown future. Preparing them for what is to come, or rather, what it is they make of it.
As a future teacher, I find it really frustrating the amount of value we have towards education in America. I think that Americans sometimes take advantage of free education so a lot of children or even un-supportive parents take advantage of it. Then we have third world countries that so thirsty for the knowledge and truly have interest, yet they lack resources to build up their economy. I believe that Americans tend to value business or money, or even materialistic items. My step mother just visited Norway a few months back. She mentioned that they provide a completely free education to international students. If Americans are no longer looking for factory workers, we need to support our children to “think outside the box.” Shift our way of thinking and promoting education. I am not able to change the future, although I would love to, but I am able to change my own way of thinking and possibly touch the lives of children. I can guarantee that it would make me just as proud as their mother. And if it is not enough to inspire a student, than wait till a student inspires YOU!
I think students also have something to teach us.
JCarmell's blog 
Thats cool that your step mom visited Norway! I would love to go to any scandinavian country. I love Viking history. And about their education, that is awesome. I know that scandinavian countries in general value education much more than we do here. It is interesting to see how each country channels their best and brightest. In the US you become a doctor, a lawyer or a wall street trader to name a few. You alluded to that with your comment about how we value money and materialism. I think that is awesome that you are open to being a teacher of any grade. To me, that kind of willingness signals a true desire to be a teacher. I am doing fieldwork in a 10th grade world history class. While that is not my favorite history subject usually, it is now. I love diving deep into the subject so I can have a true understanding of what I’m teaching (and so no smart students show me up, haha). After watching the vision of students today video, it is sad to see the proportion of students who feel alienated from school. I think your attitude and goal of leading them toward a greener future will help bring kids back into the fold. Loved reading your blog!
Hi, Janice. I really like your post. Mainly because it’s obvious how passionate you are about teaching! Your genuineness really shines through =) It’s really too bad more teachers don’t share the same sentiment. I’m sure you’ve encountered a teacher that was completely ineffective— unmotivated, unable to provide successful classroom management, maybe even a little mean, boring, or just totally disconnected with the students. I wonder why these people decided to become teachers in the first place!? Did they lack the passion and motivation that you speak of? Or did they become disheartened some where along the way? These teachers really aren’t helping the students. I remember having teachers like this, and I certainly didn’t learn very much in their classrooms.
I definitely agree with your comment that educators need to constantly prepare for the future and I think we need to embrace change. I think if we educators stay committed to preparing for the future we will lessen our chances of becoming the dreadful ineffective teacher. We need to be committed to constantly educating ourselves on the most beneficial teaching methods and we need to stay committed in preparing our students to become exceptional little human beings =)