Making a Difference by Kayla

Making a Difference by Kayla - February 2019 Scholarship Essay

Simply stated, my career goal is to become a high school math teacher. However, to me it is much more than that. I didn’t always have this dream. At first I thought I wanted to be an accountant, then an architect, then an engineer, and so on. However, when I finally discovered who I wanted to be, and who I was meant to be, people weren’t very supportive. They were more supportive of my previous dreams, but nothing is going to stop me from achieving my goals and aspirations. I am intended to graduate from St. Louis Community College (STLCC) and Pacific High School in May 2019. Then, I’m going to Webster University to complete my Bachelor’s in Mathematics of Secondary Education and my Bachelor’s in Mathematics. From there, I’m also going to get my Master’s in Mathematics while I start my first years of teaching. It won’t be easy, but with hard work and determination I know I can do it.
I want to change lives. I want to give hope to the hopeless and teach the youth of America that they can do whatever they set their minds to. I don’t just want to dump dead knowledge into students’ heads, but I want to provide them with living knowledge. I want to give them the tools they need to face the world that awaits them. I want them to learn how to learn, not just what to learn. I want to live a life in service to my students. It will require a life of dedication and sacrifice, but I’m willing to put in the time and effort. These students deserve that kind of dedication; it is the only way we will see a change in our education system and the world.
I have loved school for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I would even go home and play school. I would teach my little sister with some of the extra worksheets I had, creating attendance sheets, grade books, and even lunch choices. Every aspect of school was enjoyable to me, both from the student and teacher perspectives. In some of my higher level classes I would even go around and help classmates while the teacher was busy assisting other students. There was nothing more fulfilling to me. I enjoy helping people, and I enjoy math; what better way to live my life than as a math teacher or even professor? Just recently, I’ve even acquired a job at STLCC as a math tutor; again, I love it!
I want to be the example for my students while also providing them the resources and tools they need. I want to share what I know while constantly learning from them too. A life well lived is one where I am forever in service to those around me, especially those that I teach. I know it’s going to take time, effort, and many sleepless nights, but it will be worth it. I want to give a child hope: helping them find a reason to get up out of bed in the morning and get to school on time. I want children to be excited about learning anything, not just specifically math. I just know that if I can help them discover who they are and what matters to them, then their education will be so much more impactful. That’s my goal as an educator, to inspire students to learn and become the best version of themselves they can be, through the acquisition of knowledge and experience.
I want to help in the never ending, continual process of educational reform to make education more enjoyable, personable, and meaningful to students. I don’t want to be a passive teacher doing the same thing year after year; I never want to get stuck in a rut like that. There are always ways of improving yourself as an educator. I want to constantly be adding resources to my tool belt, constantly reforming myself. I want to make meaningful contributions to the field of math and education. I think all students deserve the best that we can offer them. After all, they are subjected to almost eight hours of schooling for thirteen years, imagine how much they could grow and learn if they were actively involved and passionate about their education.
My goals are, of course, to complete my degrees: a Bachelor’s in Mathematics of Secondary Education and a Master’s in Mathematics. However, my goals as an educator are not as tangible. To me, the process is more important than the certificate or degree. After all, if it wasn’t for the process, the years of school and experience, I wouldn’t have that degree at all. My most important career goals and objectives concern the impact I have on my future students. I want to influence a child so much that they will come back one day to visit my classroom. I want to know that I made a difference in their lives, not so I can receive praise or honor, but so that I know that I did it, that I accomplished my goal. I want to make a difference in the lives of students; I want them to reach their full potential as an individual, a learner, and a constructor of knowledge themselves.