What Do You Want To Be, When You Grow Up?

      Most kids are asked the same question numerous times during their trip through the life, and the answer received is seldom the same over the course of a few years. This evolution is because the child is growing as a person and still learning what it means to be a valuable member of society, to contribute effectively back to the society, and what it means to fill certain roles for said society. My answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up” solidified in 7th grade. My reasons have not changed, for the most part, since then, but they have grown more complex.
      My desire to teach high school stems from my goal to change the world. Throughout elementary school I had the same goal (to change the world), but the avenue I wanted to take changed as often as I changed teachers. I went from wanting to be a police officer (to help people) to wanting to be the President of the United States (who to better help people?) to wanting to be what I nebulously called “think-tank man” (spurring technological and theoretical advance for all mankind). In each of these possible careers, I weighed the pros and the cons, eventually deciding these careers were not for me. “Think-tank Man” might come up with wondrous theories and inventions, but humanity has an amazing ability to turn even the most innocuous or helpful idea into a powerful weapon of destruction, and I eventually decided I could not add to that destruction. Wanting to be the President of the United States provides a lofty goal, but numerous drawbacks which I learned, albeit slowly. The President is first and foremost, a politician who must make numerous concessions to accomplish even a small thing, and I found that I was largely unwilling to compromise on things I felt were important. And even the police officer must occasionally draw his gun to protect himself, possibly resulting, on a bad day, in deaths. So after more thought, I lighted on the job of “teacher”. The teacher is in a perfect position to effect change, even gradual, through constant interaction with people who will be tomorrow’* police officers, engineers, and even politicians.
      As I grew, I noticed more and more of my classmates getting turned off from school and continuing education, and this fact astounded me. Looking back through the clarity given by time and pre-conceived notions, I have determined my classmates were turned off not by learning, but by certain people who placed the majority of emphasis not on thinking but on doing; not on exceeding expectations, but on lowering them instead. Some people now tell me “I can’t do algebra”, for instance, and that grates on me because everybody can do math. Those same people can easily tell me how many pennies, nickels, and dimes I get back in change, but don’t realize that what they are doing is algebra in disguise. And that says to me that somewhere along the line, someone has made them believe they cannot do something they can do, which is inexcusable. It’* never just one person lowering the bar; it’* always a slew of people all in close proximity to one, malleable child.
      Looking back through my experience in the educational institution, I can clearly see which teachers had qualities which I admire and wish to duplicate, and which teachers have qualities I could easily live without adopting. In elementary school, the focus was on facts to build the basis for further education, as well as teaching the children to obey rules. In middle school, my teachers were trying to bridge the gap between learning facts and connecting ideas, with an emphasis still on learning facts (there are a lot of facts to learn). And then there was high school, where the teachers were desperately trying to impart all of the necessary knowledge to go into the world and be successful, as well as provide the basis for continued education.  From my elementary school teachers I learned the necessity of patience, which has served me well thus far in my life. From my middle school teachers I have learned the importance of having realistic expectations, but with a rose-colored tinge of optimism. And finally my high school teachers taught me to actually think for myself, and not just accept facts as the basis of knowledge (something which higher education has emphasized repeatedly).