Thoughts from a Future English Teacher

Three years old. According to my mom, that was the age I learned to read. I have always loved to read and write. I enjoyed writing in my journal or making up stories during writer's workshop in grade school, and was a frequent reader as I was not the most social person growing up. Despite my life long love for reading and writing, my positive experiences in English classes did not begin until my junior year of high school. I was bored to tears in my middle school English classes because they moved too slowly for me. I did not have good English teachers my first two years of high school, as they never challenged me or helped me become a better writer. I got A's easily without putting a lot of effort into my work.

However, that all changed when I took Dana's class. Dana had a reputation for being incredibly strict so I was nervous that I would have a hard time in her class. However, my fear was gone the first day of class when I realized that as long as I followed her rules and did my homework, I would be fine. Not only did I not have any trouble in class or with her, but I quickly learned that she was funny, nice, and helped me become a better writer. She helped me improve my writing by putting comments on my papers that showed me what I needed to work on and what I did well, rather than just saying "that was good" or "you need to be more clear." While my sophomore English teacher did not think I could handle honors English my junior year despite maintaining a straight A, Dana thought I was more than ready for the challenge of AP Lit, and I worked really hard to prepare myself for that class. Although AP Lit was my only high school English class that I did not get an A in, I felt that the class really prepared me for the writing I'd have to do in college.

My positive experiences in Dana's class my junior and senior years really made me want to be a high school English teacher. My friends and boyfriend think I would be good at it because I work well with others, have a friendly personality, and am excited about English. However, when I talk to family friends or my parents, they always ask, "what about elementary or special ed?" My first reaction is, "Why? What's wrong with teaching high school English?" I think people are wary of high school teaching because adolescents can be rude and self-centered at times. I'm not saying that teaching adolescents is easy or not frustrating. However, every grade and age has its pluses and minuses, so it's not like teaching with younger kids would be easier than teaching high schoolers.

The choice as to what subject or grade to teach is a personal preference of the teacher. For me, I would rather teach one subject about which I am truly passionate than of focusing on a whole bunch of subjects just to meet the state standards. Okay, so maybe adolescents can be self-centered and rude, but I feel that they act the way they do because sometimes teachers talk down to them and treat them like kids. As a teacher, I would really try to treat my students as adults and take interest in both their academic and personal lives.

When I think about both high school and college, I think about the teachers and professors I really liked or disliked, why I liked or didn't like them and how they taught. Then, I think about how I would either adopt, modify, or disregard that teacher or professor's method to my teaching someday. Because of what I admire or think could be better in classes I've been in, I want to give teaching a try, even if it's just for a short time. I am a huge believer that a teacher can make or break a class. In fact, most of the classes I enjoyed in high school and college were heavily influenced by the teacher or professor.