Teaching is something that I can’t imagine myself not doing. I decided after I went to career day and saw how much of a difference that I could make as a teacher that I wanted to become one.

People always ask me the same questions whenever they hear that I want to become a math teacher for Middle School. Why Middle School? Why would you want to become a teacher? Do you know you won’t get paid that much? Why math? Of course, I already know all this. Yes, I know that teachers don’t get paid that much money and yes I know that Middle School for many people is a hard grade to teach. I also know that math causes others to grimace.

However, I don’t want to become a teacher because of the pay grade, the summer vacations, or the snow days. There are many reasons as to why I want to become a teacher and specifically teach Math in Middle School. Here are the top five reasons as to why I want to become a teacher.

1. Getting To Work With Young Adolescents

I know for a fact that there is no way that I would want to work with adults rather than young adolescents. I’ve always loved working with kids of all ages. In fact, my family would complain saying that I always sit at the kids' table with my younger nephew, nieces, or second cousins rather than sit at the adult table.

Students in Middle School and in Elementary School have always liked interacting with me and I always find students in those age groups much more interesting to talk to than adults. Their answers are always insightful to certain questions and they see the world from a different perspective than adults.

2. Inspiring Students To Be Motivated To Learn

When I was in school, I use to hate certain subjects. I wasn’t that into reading and I used to think math was a boring subject. It wasn’t until fifth grade that I found a teacher that introduced me to all different types of books to read that I started to love reading, and it wasn’t until eighth and ninth grade that I found a teacher who helped inspire me to love math.

I want to help inspire my students to love learning the same way that my teachers helped inspire me. I used to hate school until I found teachers who helped make class more engaging. I also want to help my students find their interest in a subject that they may not have enjoyed in the past due to the teaching styles of their previous teachers. I also want to help students love to explore and learn about the world around them.

3.Making A Difference In Students' Lives

I have had teachers in the past really affect my attitude or outlook on life. There was one teacher I had in my elementary school who really cared about her students and helped make a difference in all of her student’s lives. I want to be the same type of teacher who helps make a difference and be there for my students, especially if they are in middle school and are going through an awkward phase in their lives.

You see, most people think that Middle School is the worst age group because this is the age in which students struggle the most. Most students are going through an awkward transition in their lives and they need an adult or mentor who can help them navigate through this phase in their life. Therefore, I want to teach Middle school since I know that these students are under the most stress and are struggling with the transition in this phase and I want to help these students in the best way that I can.

4. Having The Opportunity To Learn From Students

Often the misconception of teaching is that teachers are simply there to teach students what they know about the world. However, teaching is so much more than this. Teachers not only share their knowledge to students, but they exchange knowledge with students or learn from their students in the classroom. Teachers learn about their students’ interests, what learning methods work best for their students, how to accommodate for students, and they learn more about the subject they teach to students.

Some students will know certain things about a subject that the teacher may not know. Therefore, I want to personally learn more about my students and things about the experiences my students have in their age group in order to help teach my students better in the classroom.

5. Being Able To Teach Subjects That I love Learning

I want to become a teacher to teach the subject that I personally love. I love math and language arts! Many people don’t understand why I love math or reading. When I was in high school and eighth grade, I found out that I loved doing long complicated equations because I had always loved puzzles and, math equations are like solving puzzles.

I’ve also always loved reading since I was in fifth grade. Every time I read, I feel as though I’m taken to another world where I can connect more emotionally to characters than I can when watching TV. Therefore, to be able to teach the two subjects that are my favorites is one of the biggest motivations that I have for becoming a teacher!

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There are so many people that I have encountered that believe that I’m crazy for wanting to become a teacher, specifically for Middle School. I know that teaching may come with a lot of challenges, but I know that I can overcome these challenges. I mean, come on, is there really any job that doesn’t come with its own difficult challenges? Everyone wants to become a teacher for different reasons, but whatever reason that you want to become a teacher, you should never let anyone stop you from pursuing your goals.