Reasons for Becoming a Teacher

May 02, 2012 by Michelle Manno

Every teacher devotes his or her life to education for reasons as individual to them as any other
part of their identity. Still, it usually isn’t the money, and it isn’t the three-month summer vacation.
Reasons for becoming a teacher are deeper than that, and while they are personal, they are
almost all united by the desire to impact peoples’ lives. There is a demand for great teachers in
this country, and a person is called to become a teacher in response to that need. So, what’s
calling you? Why do you want to teach?

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To Improve the Quality of Education

The demand for great teachers is a tangible pressing need. While our country has come a long
way in education reform, we still have a long way to go. There are schools across America that are
still in high need because of budgetary concerns and low teacher retention, and students still
continue to drop out at alarming rates. One reason to become a teacher is to impact the education
system. If you recognize the need to improve the quality of education in this country, then you may
become a teacher to affect change. There is a lot of work to be done, but it is the collective effort
of thousands of dedicated teachers that will make the most difference.

School administrators and government officials have an impact at the legislative level, but it is
teachers who have a direct effect on students in the classroom --- that is, after all, where learning
takes place. You won’t be able to improve the quality of education for every student in America,
but you will be able to for your students. Helping just one student is worth it, but over a long and
productive career, you have the chance to help thousands of students.

Essentially, becoming a teacher lets you take part in shaping the next generation.

To Give Back to Your Community

One of the reasons for becoming a teacher is to contribute to your community in a meaningful
way. Teaching is one of the most direct ways to make an impact, and if you are driven by the
desire to help those around you, being a teacher is an invaluable contribution.

Perhaps you grew up in a high-needs area and are personally connected to the struggle of
students who come from low-income families and go to schools with little funding; this sort of
perspective allows you to recognize how much of a difference a devoted teacher can make.
Maybe an amazing teacher changed your life when you were younger, and you want to share that
with a new generation of students. Many people cite a favorite teacher as a source of inspiration in
their decision to pursue a career in education.

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To Change the Lives of Students

Teachers do more than teach, and their impact extends far beyond the classroom. As a teacher,
you are more than just an educator: you are a mentor, a confidant and a friend. One of the most
common reasons to become a teacher is to make a difference in the lives of as many students as
you can. Taylor Mali, a renowned poet, education advocate and former teacher, describes this
impact in his spoken word poem, “What Teachers Make External link .” He says, “I make kids work
harder than they ever thought they could, I make a C+ feel like a congressional medal of honor, I
make an A- feel like a slap in the face ... I make parents see their children for who they are and
what they can be ... I make a difference.”

Teachers have the potential to interact with students at all stages of development and from all
walks of life. A great teacher wants to help students along this path and to play a part in shaping
the person they will ultimately become. If you want to help a child struggling with low self-esteem
and problems at home, then become a teacher to encourage them and help them realize their
potential. Becoming a teacher lets you impart life lessons that they will never forget and puts you
in a position to influence their decisions, behaviors, strengths, weaknesses and imaginations.
Essentially, becoming a teacher lets you take part in shaping the next generation.
WHY I CHOSE TO BE A
TEACHER

Madhu Wal

I chose to be a teacher because teaching is not just a profession, it is a mission. Children, who are like clay
are moulded and shaped by the hands of a teacher. Pandit J.L. Nehru said, “The destiny of a nation is shaped
in her classrooms.” No career, no work can be more rewarding than that of a teacher who is occupied in
building the personality of a student in order to equip him to face the challenges of a competitive world in
the throes of transition and change.

The love and affection, the respect that students shower on a teacher who is able to inspire them by example
in all spheres far surpasses the joy that wealth can bestow. What great satisfaction it gives to see your
students acquire new dimensions to their personality, gaining confidence and poise and all a result of your
inspiration, of your instruction. As has been rightly said: an average teacher tells, a good teacher explains, an
excellent teacher demonstrates and an outstanding teacher inspires.

I chose teaching because being with children is like being endowed with perpetual youth. The love, laughter,
mischief, creativity and imagination of children are like an eternal fountain of joy and vitality.

Monotony never sets into this profession as each child is God's special creation to be nurtured. Each child is
an individual who needs to be dealt in a way which is never the same. Each day unfolds a new learning
experience for the teacher. So there's no juncture in a teacher's life that he can claim he's reached his zenith.
I realised that through teaching I would be able to fulfill my soul's craving to make a contribution in shaping
the world of tomorrow. I chose the profession because of the passionate conviction that in it lies my special
destiny. Today after nearly four decades in this profession, each day I can wake up with a song in my heart,
each day I can walk with a lighter step, each day I can be elevated to the higher levels of awareness because
each day brings with it a set of new challenges and new situations to be tackled. Each day becomes a
harbinger of a new dawn of hopes and expectations, of possibilities unanticipated, of experiences untold, of
dimensions manifold.
Teaching offers maximum scope for creativity to flourish. Innovation and experimentation, exploring
unchartered territories by way of teaching methodologies give to one a great sense of power which is almost
intoxicating.

What sweeter fruit can there be?

What greater beauty the eye can see?
Herein lies the astounding territory
Of the human brain's unexplored mystery
All laid vast for me to create
Newer vistas and horizons to appreciate
To mould new shapes, new visions, new dreams
To sail on forever on limitless streams.

The writer is vice principal of DPS STS School Dhaka.