Chapter 1: Do I Want to Be a Teacher?

Section 1.1: What Is It Like to Be a Teacher?

I, like Amy, have always enjoyed kids and I have helped out in many children
programs and have even go into classrooms and taught lessons to elementary students
when I was in high school. I have not really thought about job security when I have
thought about being a teacher. I would enjoy having summers off because I plan on
having children of my own and that time would be nice to spend together. I do desire to
work with children and is part of the reason I am considering teaching. I do also want to
contribute to society. No I do not really care for a particular subject matter and that is not
the reason I want to teach. I would hope that teaching does help me to grow personally
as I progress in life. Intrinsic rewards fall into two categories: emotional and
psychological, and personal and intellectual. Extrinsic rewards are another form of
rewards that attract people to teaching. Challenges in teaching include finding a job,
working conditions, complexities of classrooms, classrooms are multidimensional,
classroom events occur quickly and often simultaneously, classroom events often
require immediate actions, classrooms are also unpredictable, classrooms are public,
and the multiple roles of teachers.

Section 1.2: The Teaching Profession; Describe the essential characteristics of

professionalism, and explain how they relate to teaching.

Teachers are definitely professionals and I think that people should see that they
are working to create a better society and they are not just working for money. A
professional is defined as a specialized body of knowledge, autonomy, emphasis on
decision making and election, and ethical standards of conduct. Some people believe
that teachers are not professionals because they lack rigorous training and lack
autonomy. Technology is becoming essential to education in our country because of
how much technology these children are being exposed to.

Section 1.3: Diversity: The Changing Face of American Classrooms

Your classroom will be diverse and be prepared for students who speak a
primary language other than English. Your children will also be diverse in how they learn
and some will also have learning problems. They will also be different in how their
personalities are. In rural schools the student-teacher ratios are the lowest compared to
urban and suburban schools. Poverty is also an issue in rural districts. Teaching in
suburban schools usually have smaller class sizes and greater access to resources,
such as science labs and technology. Suburban schools are also more culturally
diverse. Most of the highest-achieving school districts in our county are found in
suburban areas. You will have a good chance of getting a job in an urban school. Eighty
percent of students in urban schools are members of cultural minorities. Never have a
negative stereotype because it can be dangerous in general but also in education.

Section 1.4: Reform in Teacher Education: Explain how the current reform movement
in education is changing the teaching profession.

Some of the more prominent of these reforms include: standards, test-based

accountability, and choice. Some state level reforms include: raising standards for
admission into teacher training programs, requiring teachers to take more rigorous
courses, expanding teacher preparation programs from four to five years, requiring
experienced teachers to take more rigorous professional-development courses, and
requiring higher standards for licensure, including teacher competency tests. The
comprehensive teacher testing tests are called: Praxis 1, Praxis 2, and the Praxis 3.