On Thursday, our writing circle group talked a lot about how our families were a major influence in our decision to become teachers. We shared some information about grandparents, parents, siblings, etc. and the different paths that they chose in education, whether it be college or right to finding a job. I mentioned that my grandfathers went to college but my grandmothers did not. Also, my mom had only gone for an associates degree since she was beginning a family and did not plan on working for awhile. While my siblings and I grew up, she had a home daycare so that she could be with us all day and not have to send us to a daycare. As I reflected on each of these situations, I realized that all of these family members had something to do with my decision to become a teacher. I decided that I would now look into this information further to see how it had an impact on my reasons to become a teacher and to seek further education.
I think a part of the reason that my grandmothers did not go to college had more to do with the times and that it was more common for women not to go to college. My grandma on my mom's side had always told me since I was little that I should go to college and to do what I love since she did not have that opportunity. She said that she would have loved to go to college but her father would not pay for her to go since he did not think that it was necessary for her to go, as a woman. Instead, she got her beauty license and worked as a hairstylist, which would not have been her first choice of careers if she were able to attend college. I think that this has definitely played an important factor in my decision to attend college since I really appreciated that fact that my family supported me in attending college, unlike her father. My mom also seems to regret that she did not go for a bachelor's which was also a reason for me to get one because I saw that I may have also had these feelings of regret if I had not. Lastly, I think that a major influence on my decision to become a teacher came from my entire family's support of my career. When I switched my major from nursing freshman year of college to education, I was worried what my family might say. However, I was surprised and very happy to find that everyone was very supportive of me and thought that it was a better fit for me.
My uncle on my dad's side also has influenced my decision to become a teacher. He lives in Virginia and is a middle school history teacher. Although I will not be teaching history, I will teach middle school grades, so I have always been able to talk to him about his experiences. Talking with him about his class was always very interesting to me and made me happy to see how much he enjoyed being a teacher. I have received a great deal of advice from him over the past few years since I have made the decision to become a teacher. He has great ideas that I plan to incorporate into my classroom. My grandma told me that he wins awards almost every year since he is such a great teacher and the children love him. He has learned many fun ways to teach his classes, such as using animations and videos into his PowerPoints that the children love, which resulted in them getting more out of his class. His students' grades also reflect his hard work and encouragement of his class. If my grandma had not told me about these awards, I am sure he never would have, since this is not what matters to him....what matters to him is that his students are enjoying his class and having a good time. As I reflected on the conversations that I have had with my uncle, I realized that a great deal of my attitudes towards teaching come from everything that I have learned from him. He is a major role model for me as a teacher and I am lucky to have learned so much from him.
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