What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

I was asked from the time I could talk “What do you want to be when you grow up.” My answers were always changing depending upon whatever new fad or hero I was into at that time…Nascar, Teenage Ninja Turtle, GI Joe, Fireman, Cowboy, Football player…it wasn’t somethin I seriously thought about at the time, except football, as to what I could make a living at doing or what would make me happy in the future…it was all about what made me happy at that moment…but then I started getting older and the question wasn’t as easily answered as it was before. I catch myself and still do caych myself wondering “What will I be…”my mind still races and continues to jump from one career to another. I have been blessed to see some of my childhood dreams come true but I am not where I want to be by a long shot…but I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I want to have a career that will touch other peoples lives. I want to make a difference in another person’s life…so I am on a path to be a teacher/coach with hopes and asspirations of becoming an NFL player and eventually a coach…it is a dream at this point, but dreams ar eonly a figmant of our imagination that we can bring into reality with hardwork and dedication. What was I thinking? Many teachers seem to ask me that question…followed by…”you are crazy…” What I am thinking is that I know that we need good teachers in this life, and I don’t only mean a knowlageble teacher, but a compassionate one as well. There are several reasons I want to teach/coach…the students themselves, the holidays and summer breaks, and family being at the top. The first reason I want to be a teacher/coach is for the students. Students are the most important thing about teaching. They should be the main reason a person teaches. I had a few good teachers and some really great teachers, those are the teachers whose class you cant wait to go to, the teachers who make eduaction fun and tangible, those are the teachers who make your spirit strong and help yoi tp believe you can even when ypou feel like you cant…but then you have ‘THOSE’ teachers. The teachers who really don’t want to be in education. They snarl and growl about everything, they insult you at evry turn, and make you wonder if you really have a chance at anything…those are teachers that can break your spirit and break you down. I want to be a maker, not a breaker. I want to bring compassin into my room, I want every student to know that they can do ‘IT’ whatever ‘IT’ is. I want my students to know that they all have the same chances regardless of shape, size, race, or IQ. I want my students to know that they can achieve any goal that they set out for themselves through possitive reinforcement. I know that there are ‘THOSE’ students, as my mom and some of her colleagues, all teachers at Leon ISD, term the students who, no matter what a teacher does refuse to be possitive themselves…my mom, Angelia Flores, says that you keep trying…and you take aspirin every once in a while…but you keep trying because when you give up on them…they tend to give up on themselves…and that you never know what baggage that student has brought to school with them…she says that we might be the only possitive influence that student gets in their life… Which brings me to the next reason I want to be a teacher/coach. Family…I cant be that student family but I can be there for them.,,,but that isnt actually what I meant by family…what I mean is that as a teaher I will get more quality time with my family. Teachers get all school holidays off as well as summer break…I know that a teachers salary, which is an annual salary broken into twelve months, which a teacher get monthy…and that the teacher does get a check in the summer but it isnt ‘extra’ pay, it is actullay part of the teachers salary…but I do want those summer breaks and I would enjoy getting a check in the summers when on a break. As a coach I know that more time will be required of me, but I will still get more time off than some other jobs may offer. I for one loved that my mom was off when we were off…we could always do things together, btu my dada was left out sometimes because he still had to work. I don’t want my kids to miss out on their dad not being there because I am at work. I want to teach so that I can be there with them as much as I can. As fro the salary…well, I know from my moms expreience and her friends, that teacher s are underpaid. There is not enough inexpensive insurance benefits, and not enough personal days…but I believe I can manage. My mom and dad have managed well and I never wanted f or a thing and have more than most. And I believe that I can do that for my son/daughter. I life the fact that although the USA is under financial pressure and I constantly hear about the bickerinf between the Democrats/Republicans…we are still in America and we are still free to choose. If I felt that teaching was not enough for me…financially…then I would just go back to school…we have a wonderful thing called the internet now and my mom says a teacxher can get their bachelors through Sam Houston online courses…I feel that I wont change my mond though. I can bring compassion into a classroom and field, I can motivate, and am not easily frustrated…but most importantly I xna be there for the students. I will give them my all…and those are a few reasons I want to be a teacher…besides…I will need something to do after the NFL!