The reasons why I want to become a teacher.

1. Why I Want to be a Teacher
College of Education and Sports Studies
Submitted to the faculty of Urbana University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Bachelor of Science in Education
Department of Teacher Education
By
Matthew Wilt
Urbana University
Urbana, Ohio
2013

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Throughout my entire life, I have been affected by education in some way, shape, or
form, beginning in preschool and progressing into grade school where I truly discovered my
career path of teaching. I started preschool at the age of three at It’s A Rainbow World CDC in
West Liberty Ohio. It is here that I had my first set of teachers who began my educational career.
Not only did I gain close relationships with them, but my mother also expanded her relationships
with them and now works there.
My mother has always been a role model for me to model and guide my life after. Even
prior to my formal educational beginning at It’s A Rainbow World CDC, she has been working
with me, teaching me how to read and write. She has always taught me life lessons and the
proper way to do everything, shaping me into the person I am today. Throughout my life she has
been there when I needed help, whether it was with school or sports. No matter the issue, she
was there to pick me up and put me back on my feet just as she does with her children she
teaches. Currently she works at It’s A Rainbow World CDC as previously mentioned, teaching
young children how to write and count, the letters of the alphabet, proper manners, and much
much more. With my mother working at It’s A Rainbow World CDC, I had many opportunities
to interact with the young children as I grew older. This introduced me into the world of
education. As I grew older, and worked more with the young children, I learned how much
enjoyment my mother received from working there. So, seeing her love and dedication for her
career, I was inspired by her to become a teacher and help guide children on their path to
success. She always taught me to be kind and caring for everyone around, and to always lend a
helping hand to those in need; quality characteristics of a teacher. With her inspiration and
guidance, I will continue her dream and now my dream of teaching.

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As I grew older and entered grade school, I had my first formal education teachers. As I
reflect on the values my teachers held, my kindergarten teacher showed qualities of a master
teacher. Before school had started that year, she had visited me at my house and had already
begun the getting to know you process. This meant a great deal to me. As I prepare to become a
teacher, this is something that I will bring to my classroom to create a community where children
feel safe and comfortable to learn and have fun.
Progressing onto first grade, I met another teacher to model myself after. She made
learning fun and enjoyable. As that year went on, my class and I learned so much from her.
When it was time to leave first grade and move on, no one wanted to leave. Her classroom was
so inviting and exciting. When it came time for school, I was always ready to go and ready to
learn something new. This continued when I entered fourth grade. My teacher in fourth grade
taught my class and me many lessons that we still use today. He had a great impact on my
education, and on shaping me into the person I am today. His class was the first extremely
challenging class that I had had in my educational career. He pushed us every day to give our
absolute best and to never give up. Every day he would read to us exciting books and teach us
about the world around us. He had problems of the week which made us think outside the box
and forced us to be creative. Our class even had its own government of which I was the Grand-
Poobah, or president, with different legislature and policies that we created. As I reflect on my
experience in his class, I see how much fun and excitement I had about learning something new
every day. This is something that I would like to bring to my classroom when I become a teacher
because learning should be exciting and filled with enjoyment of learning something new every
day.

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As I began fifth grade and entered middle school, I had multiple teachers throughout the
day who all taught different subjects and brought many different aspects to teaching. It was here
that I began writing papers and having to focus on homework, which set the foundation for the
future. It was also during this time that I had my first football coach, Coach Rose, who still
stands by my side to this very day. Throughout my football career, he has always been there for
me, whether it was helping me with an injury during a game or advocating for me to my future
coaches. Having him in my life has changed my life, and has been a huge inspiration and
influence to me and my life decisions. After a few years in middle school, I was in seventh grade
where I met another inspiring teacher and coach. During the summer at the start of my seventh
grade football season, I met my new football coaches, of which one was on his way to becoming
a teacher, Coach Kauffman. The other, Coach Oakes, worked with children at Adriel. Over the
course of my seventh grade football season, I grew to know these two coaches and became best
friends with them. With both of them being new coaches, my team and I did not know quite
what to expect. As the year went on, the coaches became one of us in a sense. They got to know
all of us on a personal level by eating lunch and dinner with us, hanging out with us on
weekends, and including all of us in everything they did. Even throughout the offseason they
stayed in touch with us, and would watch us play other sports such as basketball, track, and
baseball. However, this experience did not stop here.
My eighth grade football season brought even more fun and lessons that I still cherish to
this day. Coach Kauffman had become a seventh grade English teacher at my middle school,
which down the road was extremely helpful. Throughout the season, Coach Oakes would
practice with us, as he had football equipment from playing semi-pro football. This was always
fun getting to practice with him; trying to tackle him and getting tackled by him. He would also

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bring one of his children who he was working with to practice so he could interact with us. That
was a great experience to the children he brought, because they got to know us and become
friends with us. As we got into the heart of our football season, our team needed some “pick-me-
ups,” so Coach Kauffman and Coach Oakes began to motivate us by giving us homework
assignments and papers to write that were about why we play football, who we play for, and
what it means to us. They read these and always made sure that the reasons we wrote down were
the reasons we were playing. This helped us tremendously because it made us think about why
we were playing and what motivated us deep inside. It gave us a sense of goals to accomplish
and to not let who we play for down. This concept can be applied directly in the classroom as
well, which Coach Kauffman did and I will do in my classroom. Coach Kauffman not only
taught me lessons on the field, but also off the field.
During my eighth grade year, I was a teaching assistant to Coach Kauffman for the entire
year, every day of the week. It was throughout this time that I began to realize that I truly did
want to be teacher and coach. As I aided in Coach Kauffman’s classroom, I began to feel some
of the responsibilities of a teacher and some of the power as well. Every day I sat at his desk and
observed him teach his classroom constantly engaging the students and making them feel
welcomed. Coach Kauffman became a role model for me because we shared a lot of the same
interests. He always made me feel accepted and comfortable. And if I ever needed anything, he
was their just as a parent would be. This was very important to me and reflecting back on it, were
qualities that every teacher should have with their students. As the year went on, he coached my
basketball team. Even though we did not win very many games, it was one of the most enjoyable
sports seasons I have ever had. Coach Kauffman continued to be a part of my everyday life until

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he moved to North Carolina my sophomore year. However, the lessons he taught me will be with
me forever.
Coach Oakes however, still to this day continues to be in my everyday life. As I entered
high school, he moved up with us and coached us throughout our high school career. Throughout
my high school career, Coach Oakes was always there for me not only as a coach but as a
person. He helped my through many of life’s difficulties and assisted my in shaping my life
making me the person I am today. He always came to my other sporting events and supported
me, and was always there with me in the hospital if I got hurt playing football. This meant a
great deal to me and will be something I cherish forever, and something that I will take and apply
to my teaching and coaching career. Throughout my high school career, I also had football and
track coaches all of whom have been a large, positive influence on my life. They taught me many
life lessons that I would not have learned anywhere else, and of which I will continue to use in
my life and teach to my children and my students. Moreover, I had one teacher who would
influence my life much more than I had expected.
During my sophomore year in high school, my Algebra 2B teacher, Mrs. Skidmore, had a
great impact on my life. It was in this class that I officially decided that I wanted to be a teacher.
Because of her, I specifically want to be a high school math teacher. Her class was one of my
favorite classes in high school because she made the class and math extremely enjoyable. The
way she taught her class and presented the material are ways that I will never forget and ways
that I will model my teaching after.
During my junior year in high school, I entered the teaching assistant program at my high
school where I aided a seventh grade math teacher in teaching his class. This was a wonderful
experience because he allowed me to teach the class on multiple occasions, which enforced my

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decision of becoming a math teacher. I also had the opportunity to work with some of the
students one on one, plan lessons, design and decorate a bulletin board, grade papers, and carry
out many other jobs of the professional educator. All of these opportunities have opened my eyes
to the field of education and strengthened my decision to become a teacher.
Throughout my life, my educational experiences have influenced me to become a high
school math teacher and coach. All of the people who have helped my along my path, such as my
loving mother, Coach Rose, Coach Kauffman, and Coach Oakes, Mrs. Skidmore, and my many
coaches and teachers throughout my life, have all inspired me to become a high school math
teacher. They have shown me the joy and fulfillment of what being a teacher is all about.