Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi everyone!
I'm a sophomore in college going for my degree in Elementary Education and I'm also an assistant preschool teacher four days a week at a local childcare center. I'm doing a speech in one of my courses where I'll be stressing the importance of the teaching profession. Now, I know why I think teaching is important (perhaps THE most important profession) and I know why I'm pursuing it, but I was just wondering why other teachers or aspiring teachers think teaching is important. What drove you to pursue teaching? What do you personally feel the rewards of teaching are? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

I think I have always appreciated the fact that young children are so straightforward. They do not put on pretenses-what you see is what you get. I majored in early childhood education and have always enjoyed working with children to especially help them begin to enjoy reading. Although the beginning of any school year has its challanges, it is always so rewarding to see the children progress as learners and as people too. Helping children become successful has always made me feel like I have been successful in my career. After thirty years of teaching, I have written a guide for other early grade teachers called, Brand New Teacher and it has been published by Vested Publishing. Good luck to you. Carol Keeney