My animoto video

I would show this video to my class on the first day of school and ask them to write a one-page essay about how language works in our lives. It would function as an introduction to English class and get them thinking about why language arts are an important part of our knowledge base.

https://animoto.com/play/aXQQsYE2b8YokPNQLr0EGg

Introduction

My decision to become a teacher has been gradual. I've had teaching experiences throughout my life. Teaching has always been one of my strengths. I love being around kids and I love the process of helping them learn. After graduating high school, I thought I wanted to be a French teacher. I enrolled in college and declared a French Education major. But two years into the program, I got cold feet. I began to question if teaching French was really what I wanted to do. I dropped out of college and worked a variety of jobs, hoping to learn what I wanted to do for a career. Four years later, I finally decided I needed to go back to school and finish my degree. I decided to get an English degree, with an art minor. I wanted to become a writer.

I haven't given up on my dream to become a published writer. That being said, my writing is at best a hobby in terms of paying the bills. I've worked a variety of jobs over the years, but of all the jobs I've worked, I enjoyed substitute teaching the most. I love being in a classroom, and I love working with children. In my last year of college, I participated in an internship working with elementary children after school. That internship was the most rewarding thing I'd done in years. In fact, thinking back, the last time I felt such a sense of accomplishment was six years earlier, when I was a permanent substitute teacher. It was for a middle school class for three months. It was the last quarter of the year. I created lesson plans, gave and graded assignments, and collaborated with other teachers. I loved it. They even wanted to hire me to teach the following year. Unfortunately, I wasn't certified to teach, and at that time, didn't even have a degree.

Although substitute teaching has by and far been my favorite job, it's part-time work. I took a full-time job as a travel agent last March. Although it's been interesting to learn about the travel industry, it just isn't my passion. I can't see myself doing it for years, much less decades. Teaching, on the other hand, is something I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life. I've missed substitute teaching. I would have done it full time if I could, simply because I love all the subjects and all the grade levels. Realistically, my best option to be happy in my work and to cater to my strengths is to become a full-time teacher. When I learned about the opportunity to be certified to teach secondary level English, I decided I needed to make it happen.