Chapter 2

Every time I read out of this text book I'm surprised at how much I love this book. Usually I hate reading out of text book, but this one is so informational and explains almost exactly what I will be going through to become a teacher and what I will go through once I'm a teacher. I just can't not read it because I know that by reading and understanding what they are talking about in this book it's going to help me out so much as I progress through my major. The first thing I found interesting was that on pg. 35 in the table 2.1 it showed that the percentage of male teachers has actually declined from 1971-2001. I was actually surprised by that, I would have thought that there would be more male teachers now then in the past. I was also thrown off because i read that private school teachers might actually make less than public school teachers, although they may get more benefits. But growing up I always thought that if you taught at a private school then you were the cream of the crop, best of the best so you got paid more. I liked it how they broke down teaching areas into sections like "Art Teachers" and "Music Teachers" because it gave you specifically what those teachers jobs are and how they may work with students. But it was sad to read even though I knew this happens, that sometimes when school need to cut back for budgeting it is usually those classes that get cut. Those classes are just as important as math and science, they give kids more options as to what they like, what they want to do when the grow up and just makes them a more well rounded person. The more I read about becoming a teacher the more I can't wait, before I decided to go into elementary education I was going to school for psychology. I have always just had this feeling of wanting to help people whether it be through teaching them or just listening to their problems. So i feel like becoming a teacher I get the best of both worlds, I get to teach students and feel like I'm making a difference in their lives academically, but then I also get to have a personal relationship with those kids and help them when they need it whether it be advice on something or if they just need someone to talk to. Going into teaching is the best thing for me because I get to use all of my skills in teaching and listening.