Being a Teacher

“A leader is not necessarily a person who holds some formal position of leadership or who is perceived as a leader by others. Rather, a leader is one who is able to affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community, and society. All people, in other words, are potential leaders.” -A.W. and H.S. Astin.

I believe I have truly come to my fullest potential as a leader through my confidence formed and experiences gained at Louisiana State University. It is through my knowledge gained while studying elementary grades education that I feel I have become such a positive influence on others.

Though teachers are often considered leaders by many people, I feel it is their ability to affect such a positive change on others that truly makes them the leaders they are. Through teaching, I believe I am able to positively affect change for the betterment of others – especially young children.

In the classroom, I am there to act as their guide through acquiring knowledge. I am not only their mentor or leader in the classroom, but also, I am their advocate in the community. As a teacher, I must realize that young children do not necessarily have a voice in their own education, and it is my responsibility to be their voice. For example, in continuing to study and further understand the development of young children, I am aware of their need to be continuously engaged in the lesson at hand. When students are engaged in a lesson it means that their creativity is about to swing into action, and when creativity is involved I believe that higher order thinking can take place.

Ultimately, I want to be a teacher in order to affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community, and society. More specifically, I hope to become a teacher that will affect positive change for the betterment of young children. I want to use my knowledge gained both in and outside of the classroom to positively change the way society feels about the education of young children.