Do I Have What It Takes to Be an Educator?

I can't even begin to stress how much dedication it takes to study how to teach a child the art of reading. And that is only one of the many aspects of childhood education that, at one point of my college career, I wasn't able to (mainly because I didn't want to) provide my undivided attention to.

Because the demand for elementary school teachers is so high, when I made the decision to enter the Early Childhood Education program at Georgia Gwinnett College, I was only thinking about the idea that I knew I'd have a job by the time I graduated. It was certainly the wrong thing to do for all of the wrong reasons, but, through the time I spent in the program, I was able to find what I like - or better said, what I don't like.

The description provided for what exactly the Early Childhood Education program is at GGC states that "through a combination of academic and field-based learning, the program encourages the development of caring, competent and collaborative teachers who are committed to helping all students reach their highest potential" (GGC School of Education). While this is true, it didn't prepare me for, let alone inform me of the fact that I'd be taking fifteen to sixteen credit hours (five courses) as well as interning in different classrooms with different teachers and students of different ages.

It was difficult for me to spend the majority of my time with educators and students/future educators who had all of the drive in the world to offer elementary school students knowledge and a place to call home for eight hours a day, five days out of the week, when I didn't. I did feel excited when I was interning with first and third graders, but that quickly died down when I came to realize the bags underneath my eyes and the amount of stress eating that I was doing.

I met many admirable people, but I also met people that I wasn't quite able to get along with. Because of that, the time spent in the Early Childhood Education program somehow taught me about accepting those who I didn't always meet eye to eye with. I learned to agree to disagree and hear the many different sides of any story.

I also found that my favorite grade school classes and core classes in college, as well as those that I found myself learning to teach, were English classes. Although it was difficult to teach a six-year-old how to read and write, it was rewarding to read a student's short story about a time they ate ice-cream. Those moments of excitement and pride made me realize and brought me back to my personal love for words.

Through the program, I was able to understand that a major shouldn't be associated with a dollar sign, rather a passion. And although I loved reading short stories about little moments that meant so much to children, I had figured out that the English program could offer a career that I'd be proud to call mine - a career that I know I'll one day be able to say that I achieved through passion, not a dollar sign.

Sources:

Georgia Gwinnett College. “Degrees and Programs.” Georgia Gwinnett College, 5 Oct. 2018, www.ggc.edu/academics/schools/school-of-education/degrees-and-programs/.