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.