I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I started school. I want to help and inspire my students to be the best that they can be. When I first came to college I started out as a health and exercise science teacher. I know that being healthy while you are young can have a great impact on you as an adult, and I thought that this was what I wanted to do. It was not until I was enrolled in TLC and Literacy in Today’s World that I changed my mind. It baffled me that so many people in the world cannot read. The ability to read seems like it is second nature. I never really thought about people going through life with out this ability. I never realized how important reading was until I took this class. It was then that I had a new career goal: to build literacy not only in America, but around the world. Reading opens up new doors. Being able to read allows you to explore different cultures, backgrounds, and events in history. By building literacy I will be able to make the world a more tolerant place, one child at a time. By helping my students become literate, I will in turn give them the tools that they need to become successful in the world we live in. I have recently decided to try to achieve my reading certification at Rowan. With my reading certificate I hope to open up a reading center after school hours, not only for the students in the schools, but for their parents as well. I believe that you cannot truly over come illiteracy on your own. I want to help entire communities by educating not only my students but their families as well. If students’ parents are literate, they can help to pass this on to their children. This is one of my goals as an educator, not only to inspire my class, but also to inspire the community in which I teach. I want to become a teacher because I want to help; I want to motivate my students and their families, but most of all I want to excite them about learning. I realize that illiteracy occurs all over the world and I am doing my best to help fight that .I recently made a donation to an organization that is fighting illiteracy on the Ivory Coast in Africa. I urged my family to participate in this because it really means a lot to me. I am planning on trying to get certified to visit the Ivory Coast and become one of those educators. While I cannot and will not urge anyone to participate in this, all I ask is that you watch this you tube video. It shows the daily struggles that these people endure. I know that teaching reading in this country and around the world alike will make this world a better and more tolerate place to live, and I am proud to say that I will have a part (even if it’s a small one) in making that happen.
