To Make a Difference by Sarah

To Make a Difference by Sarah - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

“I want to be a teacher,” I told everyone and anyone who would listen. I would set up my dolls at cardboard box “desks” and put up my play teacher set to make my “classroom.” I would “teach” them everything I knew about reading, writing, math, science and social studies. To make the situation “real,” I would even administer tests and score report cards for my “students.” Teaching, from a very young age, enthralled me. Simply the idea of writing on the blackboard or decorating the bulletin board was enough to make me excited about my future.

Not much has changed now, as I still want to teach. Rather than evolving from obscure ideas, to more realistic ones, like changing from wanting to be a spy to an accountant, like many children do, my views on my career have been learning about the profession of teaching. Over the years, I have dug deeper into what teaching entails and the amount of work that goes along with it. Teaching to me as a six-year-old, meant decorating your classroom and lots of amazing school supplies. But, as I have learned over the years, there is a lot more to it. Teaching is the profession where everything seems to intersect: social justice issues, politics, psychology, academic subjects, and much more. You want to set your students up for a successful future. The work comes home with you, as you attempt to finish correcting papers, planning lessons, and much more.

But, in my experience, it is thrilling. It’s an amazing feeling when a student finally understands something. It’s a beautiful sight when students are engaged in a lesson or activity, when you see your students’ talents and enthusiasm shine through. Because you know that you are making a difference in their lives, that you are shaping them to be successful in the future.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”