I am currently reading the book Teach Like A Pirate written by Dave Burgess. At the beginning of the book it talks
about PASSION: content passion, professional passion and personal passion. There are three questions that are
posed around theses; what are you passionate about in teaching, what are you
passionate about within your profession and what are you personally passionate
about.
I am passionate about teaching math. I always struggled in math as a student
and never really ever grasped the concepts. I was always frustrated and spent most of my time in
tears. My teachers would work with
me but would always explain the concepts in the exact same way, which would
increase my level of frustration.
They tried and were doing what they thought was right for me at the
time. In the end it resulted me in
hating math and never wanting to have anything to do with it. In my first year of education at
Brandon University my math methods professor Sandy Margetts ignited the passion
of teaching math for me. She
taught us way to teach math in which kids could understand. She focused on different methods and
ways to teach with manipulatives.
She made math FUN. I
finally understood it. It all made
sense and from that point on I KNEW that I could make a difference in helping
students that struggled understand.
Also, because I had struggled so much with math myself I never wanted
another student to feel the way that I did… at least the students that I
taught. Not every student
will be a mathematician, however, they all have the capabilities of learning
the concepts, and it just needs to be taught in a way that they understand.
The reason that I choose this profession is to make a
difference in the lives of kids. I want students to be able to learn and to
love learning. I want them to have
confidence of who they are and I want them to be ale to stand up for themselves
and what they believe in. I have
always been a fairly quiet person and really only vocalize my opinion when it
is something I truly believe in. Sometimes
this gets me into trouble because when it involves one of my students I can
become very opinionated. I want my
students to have that passion. I
want them to be able to feel strongly about something and to be able to use
their voice. I choose this
profession because I want to ensure that every child who passes through my
class or the school in which I teach to know that they are cared for. I want them to never feel that they are
alone, that they always have someone encouraging them and cheering them
on. I want them to know that they
will always have someone on their side.
I chose this profession because I love learning and I want to be able to
ignite this passion in my students.
I want them to read and to explore. I want to help them find their passions and to become
excited with them when they do. I
choose this profession because I am a kid at heart and I can truly get to the
level of my students. I love
having fun, being silly and laughing with them. They share so many neat things with me everyday. I learn something everyday from my
students. Every student that I
have taught has taught me something, has touched my heart, has helped in
shaping the teacher that I am.
My students created at the beginning of this past year. They came up with their signs on their own.
I love animals, any sort but most of all I love dogs. My students know this of me. Every morning they will come in and ask
me about my dog Oden. They will
tell me stories about their animals.
I am passionate about music.
Music creates who I am. I
love creating, listening and feeling music. Music is a part of my everyday and this becomes part of my
classroom. Music creates mood…
music creates JOY! I have a love
for learning. I love reading about
various things. I will seldom pick
up a fiction book but I love non-fiction.
I love learning about ways in which kids learn. I love learning how to play a new
instrument. I love learning why
rainbows form in the sky and why certain clouds make rain and other don’t. I love learning about why people think
things and how the brain works.
Most of all I love learning ways in which I can help people; mostly kids
be successful in their lives. I
love technology. I love how it is
changing the world and how it is making learning accessible to everyone. I often think that if technology was
integrated into my learning I might have been far more interested in
school. I love that I am able to
connect with people all around the world who all have the same passion as
me. Even though this
profession is one that entails being “out there” I love quiet time. I love sitting in the park and watching
people walk by. My serenity is
going to the mountains and to the water. The mountains are far from me but when I am there I am
at peace.
I love teaching; I love being able to make a difference in a
child’s life. I love that they
know that they can count on me for anything.
“Your passion will also help you become absolutely
relentless in the pursuit of excellence.
With a focus on professional passion, teaching is no longer about
relying the content standard…it’s about transforming lives. It’s about killing apathy. It’s about helping the next generation
fulfill their potential and become successful human beings. It’s not longer about memorizing facts;
it’s about inspiring greatness.” (Burgess, 2012)