In today’s society, teaching can generally be viewed as a last resort profession for those who were unable to accomplish their life’s ambitions. A quote by Oscar Wilde perfectly depicts this image that society has regarding teachers, “Everybody who is incapable of learning, has taken to teaching.” I wholeheartedly disagree with this idea, as it is unfair to categorize all teachers as individuals who are in the profession just to earn a living. Teaching is not just a career, but an ongoing opportunity to impact the lives of many children, all while continuing to foster your own development through learning how to be the best teacher for your students. I believe, that as a future elementary educator, it is my sole responsibility to ensure that …show more content…
Going to school should not be something that children dread to do; however, with the way that public education promotes learning, this dread is not uncommon. Children have a natural sense of curiosity and are intrinsically motivated to learn about anything that interests them. The reason that children lack drive and motivation when it comes to learning in a school setting, is because education today is based on a set of required standards that precede stressful and unequitable standardized testing. After the No Child Left Behind movement was initiated, standardized testing became heavily focused on in public education. These tests claim that they are fair and equal as all students receive the same test and are taught the same material that will appear on the test. This idea is completely invalid as standardized high stakes testing is the opposite of equitable. Children receive information that is deposited by teachers in order to later withdrawal it for such tests, the same way that deposits and withdrawals are made through a bank (Freire, 1973). Firstly, the act of …show more content…
I believe that one of my main responsibilities as a future elementary educator is to provide my students with a safe and comforting environment where they are able to flourish and grow in their knowledge. In order to create such a place, it is necessary to develop a confidential and trusting relationship with students so that there is an understanding of respect in place between the students and myself. By creating such a relationship, I will be able to foster the creativity of my students while encouraging them to use the skills they have learned to further develop their span of knowledge. One quote illustrates this idea, “His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them” (Freire, 1973, p. 106). As a teacher, it will be necessary for me to create these partnering relationships with my students to ensure their growth in my class. A student should not feel as if they are below the teacher, but should feel like they are on a level playing field. In order to promote a healthy and comfortable learning environment, students and teachers must develop a mutual respect and that can be done through staying on the same leveled playing field. Providing resources and