Why Teaching?

My ultimate goal is to be an English as a Second Language teacher. I want to be able to help immigrants who are searching for a way to make their lives better. No matter what background someone may have or where they came from I feel like there is still a place for them to belong in America. It is my goal to be able to help them transition easily. I firmly believe this nation was built on giving people a chance to better themselves no matter what or where their background may have come from. Many times immigrants are looked down upon by people born in the US for not speaking English. Although I believe this is a ridiculous reason to ridicule someone, I hope that through my career someone might be able to say the transition into this new country was easier because I helped them learn to speak the language.

Hopes for a Better Classroom Experience

I wouldn't say my ultimate goal is to be in a classroom for the rest of my life. I wouldn't mind teaching in a high school for a while, but my ultimate goal is to end up at a university or a non-profit that was created to help immigrants and refugees transition into the life in the US. For a time though I would like to be apart of the secondary education system. While I am there I hope to make a difference as far as how typical classrooms are taught. Languages of any kind are my favorite subject to discuss. From English to Spanish or even Greek and Swahili, every person has a unique language they speak and there will always be someone who could benefit from their conversation skills.

In America there is a huge population of Hispanic citizens. Many of whom populate our classrooms. One of my goals as a teacher in the secondary education system is to utilize this to benefit all students. I would like to see a classroom where the ESL students and natural citizens are in the same classroom for the purpose of assisting each other. Hispanic students can help the natural born students learn Spanish and the natural born students can help the Hispanic students learn English. I feel like there are many instances such as this where students have grown up with knowledge that can benefit others in the classroom and it is not always utilized. My goal is to try and find a way to make this change.

Continuous Learning Experience

No one is ever done learning. Even after the high school and undergrad diplomas are handed out, people are always going to experience a growth in knowledge. They will be trained at a new job or even learning a new computer program that is being used at the workplace. Education never stops and I feel like it is my job to ensure this happens in my own career. As an ESL teacher I hope to make students feel continuously at easy by always learning about their cultural background and possibly even their own native tongue.

Limitless Possibilities

I do not feel like any one subject discipline should be the only the only limit in the classroom. Subject matters need to be integrated in order for students to understand how things correlate to each other. I personally think I it helps to answer the endless 'But, why is this important?' questions that students ask. Personally I feel like technology is one of the best subjects to intertwine into its opposing subject matter. There are limitless sources which educators can use to further their students abilities. By not acknowledging the uses of technology in the classroom is like not acknowledging that a mechanical pencil is better than the standard in case of a led snapping error.

Limitless Responsibilites

My students are going to learn the importance of being prepared and thorough in their work. As English teacher my junior year in high school told me 'Mediocrity is Unacceptable.' She was right. This isn't because it is impossible to continue on in life without putting forth amazing effort. It has more to do with the fact that a person has to be extremely responsible and empowered in order to accomplish their goals in life. As a teacher I hope to teach my students on the importance of responsibility by having a lot of assignments be due outside of class. By utilizing things such as Blogs and Twitter and even Facebook my students will learn how to use time management skills. If will be unavailable for a deadline due to extra curricular activities or work schedule, they will have to be able to upload their work early or find free wifi near their location. By giving my students online assignments, I hope that they will be able to further their abilities with technology, learn to be on time with their assignments, and possibly even to think outside the box when it comes to trying to meet deadlines in an orderly manner.

Getting There

It can be very hard at times to do research. Many times it is difficult just to locate a legitimate source. I hope to be able to help my students learn how to do proper research by exposing them to tools which will help them in every field they may choose to pursue through things such the various Google Search Engines and many of the various other search engines exposed to us through this class. These are things I hope will benefit my students in the long run. Hopefully these will be tools they can use even after the they have completed their education goals. This can also come through using a PLN or utilizing tools such as iTunesU. There are endless options and endless ways to find things one is looking for, all it takes is effort.