Teaching Tommorrow: inspiring futures with Mary Field Leak

The speaker discusses their aspiration to become a teacher and the reasons behind it. They believe that teaching is about more than just imparting knowledge, but also about shaping lives and instilling confidence in students. They recount their personal struggle with dyslexia and how a special education teacher helped them overcome their challenges. Inspired by this teacher's dedication and compassion, they want to pay it forward and become a guiding light for struggling students. Their mission as a future educator is to create a nurturing environment where every student feels valued and supported to reach their full potential, both academically and emotionally. They believe in the transformative power of education and want to inspire their students to believe in themselves. Hello everyone and welcome to my podcast. Today I want to talk to you about something very important to me, why I aspire to become a teacher. Teaching isn't just about imparting knowledge, it's about shaping lives, nurturing young minds and instilling confidence in our future generations. You see, for me, teaching has become rooted in a desire to make a difference in the lives of students, not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. I believe that every child deserves to have someone they can trust, someone who believes in them, and someone to help them navigate the challenges, both in the classroom and in life. My journey towards becoming a teacher began with a personal struggle by having a learning disability. I struggled with dyslexia since I was young. As a student, I've faced numerous obstacles in my academic journey due to this learning disability. However, amidst the frustration and self-doubt, there was a ray of hope, a teacher who saw beyond my struggles and believed in my potential. I remember vividly the day Ms. Clip, my special education teacher, sat down with me and patiently helped me learn how to learn with dyslexia. She worked with me for years. She made me feel inadequate or incapable. Instead, she empowered me with my strategies to overcome my challenges and instill in me confidence that I needed to survive in school. Ms. Clip's unwavering support not only transformed my academic performance, but she also taught me profound ways to learn and how much she could impact a student's life. She wasn't just teaching me, she was shaping my future and many other students' as well. I was so inspired by Ms. Clip's dedication and compassion, I realized that was exactly what I wanted to do with my future, to become a teacher myself. I wanted to pay forward the kindness and mentorship I received to be a guiding light for students who might be struggling, just as I once did. As a future educator, my mission is clear, to create a nurturing environment where every student feels valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential. I want to help students not only excel academically, but also develop social and emotional skills they need to navigate in life, with their challenges and confidence and resilience. I loved my teachers and how well they supported and loved me, and I want to be able to do the same for my students. So why do I want to become a teacher? Because I believe in the transformative power of education, because I want to be the person who makes a difference in the lives of my students, and because I want to inspire them to believe in themselves, just like Ms. Clip did for me. Thank you for listening to my podcast. My teachers changed and formed my life for the better, and I wish to do the same for so many students. So remember, every child deserves to believe in themselves and to realize their capability and someone who never gives up on them, and that's the kind of teacher I aspire to be.