Taylor Liebing

Tim Fiegen
11/30/16
EDFN 338
Why I Want to be a Teacher
I have wanted to be a teacher since I was really young. I think it all goes back to when
my sister, Samantha, was born. She was born about four weeks premature, and always seemed to
be a little bit behind her peers. After years and years of my family trying to figure out why she
was falling further and further behind her peers, she was diagnosed at the age of seven with
Neurofibromatosis Type 1(NF1). With this disorder, it is also quite common for children to have
learning disorders. I have been very protective of her and taken care of her during school breaks.
Doing this and seeing the struggles that she goes through during school and at home, I came to
appreciate all that the teachers do to help her and her classmates succeed in school. As I got older
I realized that I wanted to do the same exact thing. I wanted to help students and their parents be
comfortable with school and to succeed.
Once I made the decision to be a teacher, I would often observe my sisters and my own
teachers to see how they interact with their students and whether this job would be something
that I would want to spend the rest of my life doing. I have also spent the past year and a half
working as a Direct Support Professional(DSP) first in Brookings at Advance and then in
Madison at ECCO/Valiant Living. Working as a DSP has proved difficult at times, but
ultimately, I would not trade my experiences for anything. It makes me understand how to
handle some situations that I might face as a teacher. There were times when the rhetoric about
teacher pay, or how hard teaching is would get to me. When I was looking at applying to

colleges, I wavered and thought about going to medical school for genetics, or going to Lake
Area Technical Institute to become an Occupational Assistant, but something always brought me
back to teaching. I was something that I had been so passionate about for years and I knew that
that was what I truly wanted to do with my life. I still get those feelings that teaching is going to
be hard, but all I have to do when those feelings show up is think about the large impact that
teachers have had in my personal life and I remember that it is probably one of the most
rewarding jobs I could have and that I will be doing something to help society.
Teaching is going to be difficult, and I am going to have to work extremely hard to
become a teacher and to continue my education to be a great teacher, but I would not have it any
other way. When I think about what type of teacher I want to be I think that my philosophy
would be that of a humanist. I would encourage the students to build their own ideas about the
world while providing a nurturing and open environment for the students to learn in. In a special
education classroom, I would, most likely, have more freedom to set up the classroom as I see
fit. The classrooms that I have seen be the most successful are classrooms that have different
areas for learning. I would follow this example and a portion of the classroom be for reading, a
part for computers, a part for specialized one-on-one therapies, and a part for group work that
would be setup in small groups for the students to work together. I think that providing this type
of teaching will help me keep the class calm and will provide for a better learning environment.
Connecting with students is one of the most important parts of being a teacher. I have observed
some really great teachers that maintain the class attention while also having the students be
open enough to express their feelings. For me, as a teacher I will strive to always be confident,
patient, and understanding towards the students. I will encourage every student to try their best in
order to succeed.

Teaching students with disabilities has always been a passion of mine and I will strive to
be the best teacher that I can be. If I can improve the life of just one student and their family, I
will be happy knowing that I have made a positive impact on the world and that I have succeeded
in teaching a student something they previously did not know. Teachers can make such a large
and positive influence on the world and I hope that I get a chance to do just that.