Teaching to Make a Difference by Daria

Teaching to Make a Difference by Daria - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

Often times little kids dream of being ballerinas, astronauts, or the president of the United States, only to grow up and decide that they need to choose a more practical career. My story is different in that I am still pursuing the dream job I wanted even when I was six years old.
I can’t remember a time when I wanted to be anything else but a teacher. From a young age I have always loved helping children. In preschool I remember coming home from school eager to teach my younger brother everything I had learned. Playing the role of the teacher, I pretended that he was my student and taught him things such as how to remember the order of the months, or songs that taught him how to count. Years later in elementary school I joined a tutoring program in which I would visit classrooms and help younger students with their reading and math skills. In middle school I then began to babysit, and would spend the days prior to my shift planning games and activities that would entertain the kids as they waited for their parents’ return. It had always been clear to me the career path that I would take when I was older. However throughout the years, I began to discover a different approach to teaching that I would end up taking.
I have also always been very passionate about the arts, specifically dance. I began to dance when I was five years old and have tried a variety of styles over the years ranging from hip hop, to ballroom dance. When I started high school, I was disappointed to find that my school lacked a dance team and I had remained uninvolved with any activities that were school related. It had crossed my mind to start my own team, but I had convinced myself that any efforts to establish a new club would turn out to be a bust. After some time my mom finally convinced me it was time to take action. Doubtful that I could accomplish something as big as a thriving competitive team, I started the process of creating the club with low expectations. However, after a lot of phone calls, meetings, and paperwork, the team actually started up. This experience not only opened my eyes to the severity of declining art programs but it inspired me to want to make a difference in other schools as well and prompted me to do more research. I found that although some may argue that subjects such as math, reading, and science are more practical in the long run, it is proven that art programs have many positive effects on students emotionally, and academically, aiding them with language skills, math, and reading.
My goal now is to become an elementary school teacher and teach in a way that integrates art programs back into the curriculum. In order to achieve that goal, I am currently studying elementary education at San Diego State University and plan to graduate in 2019 and then go on to get my teaching credential and master's degree. When I become a teacher I plan on finding ways to incorporate art into my class in a multitude of ways such as using music to teach a history lesson, or dance to aid with language arts. My goal in life is to use my teaching to show students and staff the importance of art so that such programs don’t continue their decline in schools. I am fortunate enough to have known what I have wanted to do with my life from a young age and to have found a career that allows me to combine my love of the arts, passion for saving such programs, and helping children.