Introductions and My views on Teaching

           In a world where everyone and their mother seems to have something exciting to blog about, I can honestly admit I've never blogged. I don't really think I've ever even read another person's blog until now. I must say this idea that other people are going to be reading what I'm writing here and then having the freedom to respond to it anyway they want is a little nerve racking. I can't promise that anything that I will be posting will be viewed as "exciting" to most people, but I can promise you that I will have no problem stating my opinion about stuff that is important to me. "Stuff" is a very vague word, but cut me a little slack. I am new to this thing after all. I guess the safest thing to do is just start off with a little introduction about myself and just see where it goes.
          First off, my name is Katherine. I'm going for my Master's in Adolescent Education at Adelphi University. I have my BA in English, so you can all guess what subject I want to be teaching. I would love to find a job after I complete my degree in May, but the job market isn't looking too promising right now (but seriously, who's job market is?). A commonly asked question that I get is why I want to be a teacher in a time when there seems to be absolutely no jobs. I know what most people say: "I love children, I'm really good with kids." I personally feel that if that's the only reason why you want to become a teacher, then you should probably reconsider your career choice. Warning: bad teacher bashing will presume in next paragraph. Sorry guys, just keeping it real.
       I personally want to be a teacher because in my own life I have come across so many bad ones. Unfortunately, I've come across teachers from all different walks of life: The old burnt out teacher that hides behind her desk and doesn't even leave her seat to teach a lesson, the brand new teacher that fails miserably into trying to make you think that they know exactly what they're doing, the teacher that gets off topic so easily because its obvious that they would really rather be anywhere else but in the classroom. I'm sure some of these teachers really did love children, but what they seemed to be lacking was motivation to teach them.While these special types of individuals are somehow going to find themselves into the public school systems, I want to be different. I want to motivate my students to want to learn.
        Let's face it, not all students were taught to love reading and writing. I truly believe that regardless of the material being taught, a good teacher will be able to engage their students. I've had a teacher that taught a novel that I absolutely hated, and I was still able to learn because of her teaching style. I honestly feel that any teacher can do this, they just have to wake up and start giving a damn. I'm not saying that I want to be the best teacher in the world. I'm just saying that I want to try.