Motivation in the Classroom

There were many times in my educational career where, as part of an assignment, I was told I had to perform, or give a presentation. There one that stands out the most to me, was when I was in my last year of college, finishing up my undergrad, and I had to teach a lesson, with a couple classmates, and we had to go ALL OUT. Speaking in front of my peers still, to this day, makes me so unbelievably nervous. YES, I want to be a teacher. YES, I know I have to talk in front of students day in and day out at my desired career, but it is SO different. This lesson that I had to perform was unlike anything I’ve ever done before, and it was SO MUCH FUN. We had to lead lesson plan, and it had to be active. My peers were mainly who motivated me to do my best while working on this project. The lesson was safari themed, and we had to be enthusiastic and we had to be able to teach the lesson. It was fun, and I was still nervous. What go me into it, and inspired me, was that someday, I would be able to teach a lesson just like this, and my students could be just as excited as I was. Its remarkable being able to think about what you can do for you students in the future, and knowing that what you’re training for is to better you and make sure you give your students the education that they deserve. 

There have been many times in my educational career where I’ve felt deflated, and asked myself what I was doing. Am I doing the right thing? Am I going to be good enough? There was this one time during a class and I had to analyze a passage from a text, and present it to the class. My professor, during the question time after my presentation, attacked me (well, I felt like I was being attacked), and I failed. I remember walking out of class humiliated, and I never wanted to go back. I needed to pass this class in order to get my degree. No question. So, two days later, I went back, and I talked to my professor, and she gave me another chance. It was rough. I worked so hard, and it wasn’t good enough, and when something like that happens, you begin to question yourself, and your ability to do what you thought you were good at. After that, I was able to pick myself up, and realize that I’ve come too far to stop. There are always going to be setbacks, and there will always be times that you question yourself, but it’s always worth it to keep going. 

As a teacher, I hope to motivate my students to do the best they can, and that they can do anything they put their mind too. I never want them to feel like they can’t achieve anything. I will makes sure they know that mistakes are OK and that everyone makes them. I want them to never give up on their dreams. Dreams keep them going, and no matter what, even if their dreams change, they'll make it if they keep trying. If you want to make your dreams happen, they'll happen if you keep motivating yourself, and allow others to help you along the way.