Thread: What made you go into teaching?

My mother was a teacher, and her mother was a teacher. It made sense that I follow in their footsteps. They both loved their professions and were wonderful role models for me. I have never regretted my decision to teach children.

I loved kids as a kid, so it was always a dream to teach one day. I used to play "teacher" a lot. As I got older and realized that a stable job is essential in this economy, becoming a teacher seemed like a no-brainer.

My mom had to leave me home during the summer with an older brother. He was 6 years my senior and it was not a good situation. I went into teaching mainly so I could have the same days/summer off as my children so I would not have to leave them. I have come to love teaching and am glad I chose the right path.

When I was young, I actually dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, but I liked and enjoyed doing simple activity sheets for my younger cousins. The desire to work in the academe as a teacher came when I was in high school. I was inspired by my great teachers who were so dedicated in molding the minds and hearts of the younger group. I thought that teaching was a very rewarding experience.

I watched so many of my friends struggle in school and I saw a ton of teachers step up and help them. I knew right then that is what I would do when I grew up. I love teaching - every night I am thankful that I can do something that I love.

I struggled in school, struggled at home too. I had one teacher and a guidance counselor that stepped in to help me. I wanted to pay that back to other kids. I love teaching too. I do complain about the school "politics" from time to time but I love teaching.

I don't really know. I guess it's because I love sports, and school was a great place to get to play and be around high school sports. I enjoy the teaching, too, but I probably wouldn't have gone into it just for the academics.

I love the chance to use my creativity and to make kids feel like learning is "fun". I appreciate that teaching is generally a respected job with lots of openings and opportunities, and I like the traditional weekday, daytime work week (even though it often ends up being more than that, it's better than the hours at some retail job).

I was tutoring other students and loved to see the look on their faces when things clicked. I live for that, although it's harder to see in a classroom environment as opposed to one-on-one tutoring.