Belief Statement

If one were to research the definition of the word education, one would find many different definitions. According to an online dictionary, one definition of education stated that it is "an instructive or enlightening experience" (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language). This definition of education is the basis of what teaching should be about. Education is one of the most important aspects in every person's life, whether they know it or not. One by-product of public school education is that it teaches individuals that life is entirely a learning process. Teachers must be able to equip their students with the skills needed to one day teach themselves and to also recognize that great joy and power come with knowledge and intellect. Most people generally dislike the learning process because it requires hard work and discomfort; this is why compassionate and exciting teachers are so imperative to the success of our future generations. The above statement described "life" as being one long learning process. This supports the idea that every child has the ability to learn. However, our idea of what a learned student looks like is somewhat skewed by our societies’ expectations. Every human being has different talents that he or she is able to contribute to our society. For example, a child that is not successful in reading and language arts could be brilliant in art and engineering. That same student could be so gifted by fourth grade, that he could be able to disassemble a lawn mower, inspect it, and put it back together. Standardized testing would compute him to be unintelligent; however, most ordinary adults would not be able to complete tasks that he is able to complete. This instance is an example of how learning is in every spectrum of our lives. An exceptional teacher would take this student and challenge him to be great in all school subjects as well as creative and technical subjects. Teachers do not often realize how much power that they truly possess. Teachers have the unique ability to influence an individual’s motivation toward learning. I personally want to become a teacher because I feel that if I change a student's perspective toward learning, I will ultimately influence their attitude toward life as well. Because life is a learning process, teachers can either shape or break an individual’s future. If one can positively influence a child's attitude toward learning, that child will most likely be more successful when they reach adulthood. A teacher’s inherent power over his or her students is very influential. This is why it is so important that teachers be exceptional. My idea of what an exceptional teacher looks like includes the following characteristics: compassionate, merciful, honest, humble, and inspiring. These unique characteristics will not only make exceptional teachers, these characteristics will also produce exceptional learners. Children that feel cared for and smart at a young age will foster the confidence it takes to succeed in future tasks. An unknown author quotes, "A good example has twice the value of good advice"; if one desires to be a truly exceptional teacher, one will make this quote his or her creed. In conclusion, my hope for the youth whom I will someday be teaching is to understand that learning is a never-ending process that is powerful and exciting. I hope that they learn through my example how to positively influence others. I hope that they learn to believe in their great and unique characteristics and that they become confidently aware that they will always have the opportunity to succeed. For these hopes to transform into realities, it will take all of my energy to be an exceptional teacher. This is what I plan to do.