I was inspired to become involved in the education profession because I have had teachers in the past who seemed to care about me and my education while I have also had teachers who do not care as much. I feel that every student deserves a teacher who cares about both their academics and their outside life. My past teachers helped push me to want to be a teacher to ensure that every student has a way of learning that is comfortable for them. I plan on creating different ways for students with different capabilities to learn in my classroom, so everyone can find a style that is easier for them. I plan on studying elementary education and special education in the state of New Jersey. I would like to continue my education in New Jersey either at Seton Hall University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Monmouth University, or The College of New Jersey. Going to any of these schools to further my education would be amazing. All of these colleges have good teaching programs and good reputations, so attending any of these colleges or universities would be a dream come true. It took me some time to realize that being a teacher is what I wanted to do. I had dreamed of becoming a teacher when I was little, but growing up led me to believe otherwise. In my sophomore year of high school, I discovered how much I wanted to be a teacher because of my teachers at the time. I had gotten good at helping others understand the curriculum and it made me feel helpful and fulfilled. So at that point, I realized that becoming a teacher would be a great idea for me since I loved helping people and I had already been coaching younger kids for so many years prior. Being a cheer coach also helped me discover my passion for teaching because watching a group of young girls listen to what I had to say so they could understand made me feel so much joy and love. Then in my junior year of high school, I started working with the special education program in my high school. These kids made me feel so joyous and talking to the teachers who got to work with these students made me so hopeful within the world because they are such kind-hearted people. This program made me realize that becoming a special education teacher would help me love my job even more. I enjoy working with these students and watching them develop skills they did not know they had and watching them learn new things just makes me so happy. So I have been inspired by other educators around me to become an educator for both general education and special education students. As well as I can see myself contributing to the education of students in the future by making sure kids know how they learn and what they need to do to be able to succeed.

As a high school senior, I have had many different teachers with many different teaching styles. The majority of my teachers throughout my high school career have impacted my life in so many ways. A special education teacher who helped me shape my life and my future was a teacher named Ms. Wong. Granted she was not my teacher she helped me shape my future lifestyle. Ms. Wong has inspired me to fulfill my dream of becoming a special education teacher. She has inspired me because she has shown so much growth in her students throughout one year of being with these students. It helped me realize how rewarding working with the special education students can be. They are all so different and she adapts to all of them to help accommodate to teach all her students what they need to but in a way that allows them. She has even created sports that integrate special educational athletes with general educational students to work together and become one team. Unified basketball it is called. I have been a part of this program for two years now. I love it, there is no better feeling than watching these children thrive in an environment that they love and want to be in. Ms. Wong has created this program to make it so large in our school which pushed me to want to join more social clubs and sports. Now, in my senior year of high school, I have been a part of Unified Soccer, unified basketball, and unified track. Ms. Wong is more than just a teacher and a coach to me, she is also a friend I look to for support and tough questions. Any questions, I know I can rely on her to help me with a reasonable solution and she will always support me, both on and off the court. Since I met Ms. Wong, I have gained so much confidence in myself for being able to do things that I had once been scared to do. Even making hard choices I know I can now make myself because even if it was not the best choice, I know that she will always be able to support me and help me boost others' confidence in joining these sports while making friends. Ms. Wong has truly changed my outlook on life by helping me gain the confidence to not be scared to step out of my comfort zone because something looks new or scary. Ms. Wong is the kind of teacher I hope everyone will have at least once in their lifetime because she is amazing and left an ever-lasting impact on not just me, but tons of other students.

I believe that teaching students is incredibly important. Having the ability to teach others is a gift that not many people have the patience for or the willpower to do. The purpose of education is to help students grow and develop. Teaching is not only about teaching the curriculum to students and making sure they have the ability to grow as a person. My cultural background influences my teaching approach because I know what it feels like to be different and to stand out. I have been picked on by my teachers because of the way I dress or answer questions. So, as a teacher, I know that calling on students because of their background and pointing them out is not fair. In my past 12 years of being in classrooms, I have had many teachers who have used many different ways of teaching. I feel that being a teacher who allows the students to have fun as a reward has been the most rewarding. It makes the students feel that they have something to work for besides another letter grade. It is also easier to be able to feel relaxed in a classroom that does not put as much pressure on students to feel as they need to be the best. I will use this in my classroom by helping the students talk about what they want for themselves and how they are going to work to achieve that goal. There is no better feeling than watching a student achieve a goal that they set because they care about the outcome. So helping them set realistic goals for themselves will help their learning environment so they do not feel forced to do things that they are completely against and feel as if their opinions matter. I aim to have a lasting impact on my students. I want my students to be able to end the year by learning something about themselves and they will have a forever remembrance of my class. I want them to remember what it takes for them to get things accomplished and how it feels to try new things, talk to new people, and leave their comfort zones every so often. I want my students to also learn that it is okay to make mistakes and that no one is perfect. I want to be able to learn something new every year that I teach. I want my students to be able to teach me something. I want to adapt my teaching ways to different types of students who learn differently than others. I think that being able to walk into every school year with an open mind will help me adapt to the diversity of my students with the way everyone needs help and struggles with different learning ways. So, overall I think that all students should have a teacher they can go to for help with anything. I want to be the teacher who helps students branch out or gives them the push they need to become better as a person and a better student.

To me, becoming a special education teacher is about helping students reach their full potential and helping them make their way into the world. I feel that being a part of this profession is important to me because I strongly believe that every child deserves an opportunity to learn and become their own person. I want to help give all these students support in everything that they do. Professor Harold Bloom's quote, "I have learned that the purpose of teaching is to bring the student to his or her sense of his or her own presence," shows how important being self-aware is. Being self-aware gives students the power to know their strengths and weaknesses in the world. To become a special education teacher I want to help these students develop their own sense of awareness. I want them to be able to know their passions and what they like. I want them to find their own strengths and weaknesses for them to be able to stand out in the world and be able to succeed with what they put their mind to. I want to help my students find what they love by going through different options and bringing them other places to explore their interests. I want these students to feel comfortable expressing themselves and being able to make mistakes and not feel bad and be able to correct them. I just really want my students to be able to reach their full potential and realize the world around them and connect to small things that they love. I want them to fully have an understanding that there are things that are meaningful to them and things that they love are important. I feel so strongly about becoming a special education teacher because it can be so hard to find the right people to work with these students and who feel so passionately about it. I feel that I would be a perfect fit to work with these students who do not get all the help they need and who need extra attention which is hard to find. Working with the special education programs can be very difficult due to their disabilities but I feel that being able to adapt and have the patience and care strongly about working with them would make me feel so fulfilled. I love working one-on-one and helping these students find what they love and feel as if they belong, so pursuing it as a job is just a dream to me.