How I chose my field of study

My chosen major is elementary education. I chose my field of study when I was in seventh grade. I had always planned to go into the education field but was unsure if that was what was really for me. When I was younger I would use old math and reading books from previous grades and “teach” my younger sister what I was learning. I had a pretend classroom and I would make up assignments and tests and grade her. I chose to go into education because my seventh-grade math teacher always made her class so that the students were excited to come in and learn. Prior to her class, I had teachers who were excited to teach us, but it felt as if the class atmosphere lacked something.

I want my classroom to be as inviting as my teachers’ classroom was for me. I want my students to look forward to coming to school every day and learn something new. As I went through high school I saw how students would ask teachers for help and some of them would in a way push them off and I knew then that that was the type of teacher I did not want to be. I want to be able to inspire my students not only to want to be the greatest student they can be but to also achieve their goals. If it had not been for my seventh-grade math teacher I do not know if I would be pursuing this career choice, so I want to pass that on to future students.

As elementary education majors double major, I chose Liberal Studies as the second of the two because of the opportunities the major offers. It gives leeway for the student to organize classes based on their other major such as education. Being a double major with Liberal Studies also gives me the opportunity to minor in psychology which is something I feel will help in my career in education.

How I plan to use my degree from UIS

I plan to obtain a bachelor’s degree from UIS, and I plan to use it to get a job at a local elementary grade school here in Springfield. I want to stay in Springfield because the local schools need teachers who are excited to come to work and enjoy educating the students. I plan to use my degree to educate students in first or second grade and make their education the best it can be. I want to show them there is more to a school than just memorizing and forgetting. There is always a reason the student learns material and I want to show them why.

Obtaining a degree from UIS allows me to not only stay in Springfield while going to school but it also shows my future employer that I am dedicated to staying in Springfield and do not plan to relocate. My main goal of having a bachelor’s in education is to inspire my future students to go into education as well.

Rewards for being an educator won’t come in big paychecks but it would come from seeing happy faces when students catch onto a new topic or when they receive their test back and get a high grade. Therefore I would want to inspire my students to take this same path because of the rewards that come with the job.