Joey Bartlett
TED 1312 – Sharp
1/19/2011
Introduction: Why do I want to teach?
If someone had told me in high school that I would be going into education at Baylor, I would have thought that was the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard. The thought of becoming a teacher was the last thing in my mind. But sometimes the plans we make take an abrupt left turn and we find ourselves following a path where we don’t know where it will end up. All through high school, I loved going to my math and science classes. When I was a kid, I would design and build things from Legos, things that would astound my parents. My father told me I would become a mechanical engineer when I grow up. Sure enough, after graduation, I went to Texas Tech and majored in mechanical engineering. While I had enjoyed the classes immensely, I wasn’t motivated enough. I flunked out and moved back home, where later I went to Texas State Technical College and graduated with an associate’s in mechanical engineering technology. During my time at TSTC, I took up a job as a tutor for the deaf students who have problems with their math homework, and even help out with their English assignments sometimes. There was one student in particular whom I’ve enjoyed working with, and caused me to realize I might enjoy teaching. All semester, that student came into the tutor lab and we sat down together and discussed the homework assignments, went over the methods used to solve various problems, and practiced on theories that the student’s teacher talked about in class. As the semester progressed, I started noticing that I have a lot more patience than most people when it comes to teaching. Practically all my friends have told me I should become a teacher, and when I told them I was going into deaf education, they, along with my family, gave me their full support. Currently I teach American Sign Language to the parents of deaf children at Viking Hills Elementary. During both experiences, at Viking Hills and at TSTC, I have enjoyed not only teaching, but seeing the student’s face when they finally understand.
I made this decision about four weeks before the semester started. I was in complete denial that I would succeed in the school of education because I was concerned about not being motivated enough. One professor at Baylor, who teaches Deaf education, gave me some advice. Before, I had felt panic and doubted myself, but after the discussion, I was suddenly at peace. It was at that time everything made sense. God made me to be a teacher for the Deaf. I have the patience for it, I’m always willing to teach something new to people, and I love to interact with the Deaf community. So after I made the decision to go into Deaf education, I started to ponder what I want to teach. The answer was quite simple. I want to teach high school math. Many Deaf students graduate from high school with the minimal amount of knowledge in mathematics, and that makes them limited to the potential they so deserve. So my goal is to give them as much as they want, so they can grow up to be engineers, architects, chemists, physicists, and whatever else they aspire to become. The mind is a powerful tool we use daily, and it’s a shame to watch it go to waste and never know what we are capable of.
Corny, I know.
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