What am I willing to do to educate all children?

 I am willing to do whatever it takes to educate all of my students. I think that in order to educate all children it is very important to first get to know them and learn their strengths. Last week we learned about how every person learns differently and this has really stuck with me. I know that when I am a teacher I will encounter many different kinds of learners and it is very important to me to be able to incorporate things into my classroom that will help each student learn. If a student doesn't understand something, then I will find another way to explain it to them or find a new activity that will help them understand. I will not give up on a student because they do not understand something right away. If a student is struggling, I will give them every resource I can to help. I am also willing to change lessons if needed. If I see that the entire class is struggling or not engaged in the lesson, then I am willing to change my original plan to best suit their needs. I also want to individually get to know my students for who they are. I want to learn their interests and personality so that I can teach them in the best way that I can. I always want to be there for my students no matter what and do whatever I need to in order to help them grow, learn, and be successful.

How Does Gender Affect the Teaching Profession?

I think that gender has played a large role in teaching today. When public schools first became mainstream, it was primarily taught by male teachers with the opportunity not given to women until years later. When normal schools were open to women, they were seen as far less prestigious than colleges or academic high schools that were mainly available to men. Women teachers were sadly hired on the basis of sexism, with women being paid significantly less than male teachers, receiving less than half of a male teacher’s salary. Women who were teachers at this time were also controlled by extremely strict rules, regulations, and expectations.

Men started to leave the profession of teaching in order to pursue "better" opportunities and more prestigious jobs. This made the number of female teachers increase as most men were leaving the profession. It seems as though during this time, teaching was seen as almost an unimportant or less significant job. As more job opportunities opened for men, teaching was pushed towards women under the impression that they are not worth the same level of recognition or respect as men.

I think that a lot of these old concepts are still somewhat rooted in teaching today. However, despite this long history of sexism that female teachers have faced in the past, women have worked very hard to overcome these stereotypes and to show that teaching is actually one of the most admirable and difficult jobs one can have. Today, the teaching profession is still dominated by women, which I think stems from the stereotype from the past that teaching is only a women’s profession, but that is simply not true. Anyone can teach, no matter who you are.