Kimberly Brown

Intro to Teaching

Dr. Cid

20 October, 2015

Called to Teach Paper

“[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.” -Jim

Henson. Although as teachers, we should want our students to learn, I think that it is vital to

present our best selves to these children. The way we treat these students can effect them for the

better or worse. There are so many reasons why I have chosen this as my future profession. Even

though I was never the best student growing up, I have always had a passion for children and

teaching others. I think that the people children are surrounded by when they are young help de-

velop them into unique individuals. I feel that God has called me to teach through past experi-

ences, influential people, as well as reflection time with Him and others.

I was never on the search for friends in elementary school. I was definitely a shy one, but

as a kid, making friends came naturally to me. I was never one of those kids who got bullied or

left out, in fact I was probably one of the kids who didn't pay much attention to those who got

left out. Popularity was on the top of my list of priorities as a child. This all changed once eighth

grade hit. My best friend and I struggled with bullying from eighth grade through eleventh. This

was where I began to look at the so called “weird kids” and absolutely love them. Because of

this, I began teaching second graders at my church every Sunday morning and fell in love. While

serving at church I came across Psalm 127 verses 3 and 4, “Children are a heritage from the

Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in

one’s youth.” This verse helped me realize just how special the Lord sees all of His children. I

fell in love with the mischievous ones, the loners, the weirdos, and the innocent. They all became

special to me. I began to see them the way that the Lord sees us. Some of us may rebel more than

others, but we are all his children and are all special in so many different ways. Through this

epiphany, I became aware that I needed to take this passion and put it into a career. Aside from

learning, all children need that one person that is going to love on them and recognize just how

valuable they truly are.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be able to attend a Christian private school

my entire life. Kindergarten through twelfth grade I have never had issues with any teachers.

There are obviously some teachers i enjoyed more than others, but I never had many issues with

anyone in particular. There are two teachers that stuck out to me the most throughout my aca-

demic experience. My fifth grade teacher Mrs. Ryburn is one of the few teachers I am still in

contact with today. Her love for God, her students, and teaching was so apparent everyday in

class. She never favored her students and although she was a strict teacher, I feel like she she dis-

played grace toward her students when she saw them struggling, or making simple mistakes. She

never failed to reach out to her students if they sought her guidance. The second teacher that in-

fluenced me to want to be a teacher is my english teacher from high school. Mr. Littlefield had a

quirky, yet God-honoring ora about him. As strangely as he presented himself, you could never

second guess his passion for Jesus and English. Matthew 28:19 is a verse that says, “Go therefore

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of

the Holy Spirit…”. This verse reminds me that as Christians it is our job to reach out to others

and share who God is. These teachers did this for me. Although I grew up in a Christian home, I

was constantly reminded of who God is through those teachers. I would like to be able reflect

God’s love through my teaching just as Mrs. Ryburn and Mr. Littlefield did for me. Being sur-

rounded by incredible and passionate teachers such as these were so impactful on helping me

choose this as my career path.

Similar to most, I had jumped from career to career as a child. The one that kept popping

up was “teacher”, but naturally, in eleventh grade after taking a psychology course, I fell in love

with the subject. I had decided that psychology would be involved in my future and later de-

clared it as my major. After thinking through this decision, I realized that I had never asked God

for guidance regarding my future. I’m not the best at listening to what God has to say to me, but I

knew how much this decision would impact my future and needed to lift it up to him and keep

my ears wide open. Psalm 34:4 states, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered

me from all my fears.” Although I began to become fearful overthinking my future, I remem-

bered to call on the Lord and ask him to guide me. After much prayer, reflection, and counsel-

ing, I came to the conclusion that this was the major I should be pursuing and decided to incor-

porate psychology into my future by adding it as my minor. I now know that this is where God

wants me and have no doubts that this is what I should be doing with my life.

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is one of my fa-

vorite verses. I truly believe that although we are all flawed as human beings, we can do all with

the help of our Lord as long as we call on Him. While I feel I have been called to teach, this does

not mean that I am in any way perfect. I, like any human have my strengths and weaknesses. One

of my strengths, as mentioned above, is my passion for children. I do not think that there has

been one child that I have met that I don’t fall in love with. All children are different and unique

in their own way, but that’s what draws me in the most. Another strength that can help me with

this career path would be that I am creative. I have always been the person to choose art over

math. I think that my creativity will come in handy with teaching, because it will help me come

up with new and innovative ways to teach my students. The last strength that will equip me with

better teaching skills would be my patience. Especially when it comes to children, I have a sur-

plus amount of patience. I will sit down for hours and work with a child until they understand

something.

I have my strengths, but I also have my weaknesses. Being organized has never come

naturally to me. Organization is something that is of the utmost importance when it comes to

leading a classroom. I have been aware that organization is an area where I need much improve-

ment in. Another weakness that I need to work on would be being able to speaking public. Al-

though, I don’t have too much of a problem speaking to children, we all have doubts before giv-

ing a presentation, or in this case, teaching a lesson in front of a classroom. This is something

that I have seen much improvement in over the years. Lastly, although I may have a lot of pa-

tience with children who are struggling academically, I do not sit well with those who are disre-

spectful. This is something that only God can help me with. I love children whether or not they

rebel, but I strongly dislike having to be the “mean teacher”, while at the same time do not enjoy

being disrespected. I think this is a weakness where I need to find a way to discipline students,

while at the same time not be too hard on them. Matthew 19:26 is a very powerful passage to

keep in mind. It states, “But Jesus beheld them, and said to them, With men this is impossible;

but with God all things are possible.” This passage reminds me that although we may not be per-

fect, we can’t seek guidance solely through man. Man will fail us from time to time, whereas

God will never leave our side as long as we continue to put our faith in Him.

I may be flawed, but I know that this is where God is taking me and that he has a reason

for all of this. Only God knows where exactly he is going to lead me and I plan on continuing to

pursue this path toward teaching and remain faithful to his will for my life. I am so excited to

spend time with children who are eager to learn as well as find themselves as individuals.

Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does

anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who

are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good

works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” I think that as a Christian, aside from teaching,

my mission is to be a light to these children whom the Lord is going to bring into my life.