Kimberly Brown

Intro to Teaching
Dr. Cid
20 October, 2015
Called to Teach Paper
[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are. -Jim
Henson. Although as teachers, we should want our students to learn, I think that it is vital to
present our best selves to these children. The way we treat these students can effect them for the
better or worse. There are so many reasons why I have chosen this as my future profession. Even
though I was never the best student growing up, I have always had a passion for children and
teaching others. I think that the people children are surrounded by when they are young help
develop them into unique individuals. I feel that God has called me to teach through past
experiences, influential people, as well as reflection time with Him and others.
I was never on the search for friends in elementary school. I was definitely a shy one, but
as a kid, making friends came naturally to me. I was never one of those kids who got bullied or
left out, in fact I was probably one of the kids who didn't pay much attention to those who got
left out. Popularity was on the top of my list of priorities as a child. This all changed once eighth
grade hit. My best friend and I struggled with bullying from eighth grade through eleventh. This
was where I began to look at the so called weird kids and absolutely love them. Because of
this, I began teaching second graders at my church every Sunday morning and fell in love. While
serving at church I came across Psalm 127 verses 3 and 4, Children are a heritage from the
Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in
ones youth. This verse helped me realize just how special the Lord sees all of His children. I
fell in love with the mischievous ones, the loners, the weirdos, and the innocent. They all became
special to me. I began to see them the way that the Lord sees us. Some of us may rebel more than
others, but we are all his children and are all special in so many different ways. Through this
epiphany, I became aware that I needed to take this passion and put it into a career. Aside from
learning, all children need that one person that is going to love on them and recognize just how
valuable they truly are.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be able to attend a Christian private school
my entire life. Kindergarten through twelfth grade I have never had issues with any teachers.
There are obviously some teachers i enjoyed more than others, but I never had many issues with
anyone in particular. There are two teachers that stuck out to me the most throughout my
academic experience. My fifth grade teacher Mrs. Ryburn is one of the few teachers I am still in
contact with today. Her love for God, her students, and teaching was so apparent everyday in
class. She never favored her students and although she was a strict teacher, I feel like she she
displayed grace toward her students when she saw them struggling, or making simple mistakes.
She never failed to reach out to her students if they sought her guidance. The second teacher that
influenced me to want to be a teacher is my english teacher from high school. Mr. Littlefield had
a quirky, yet God-honoring ora about him. As strangely as he presented himself, you could never
second guess his passion for Jesus and English. Matthew 28:19 is a verse that says, Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. This verse reminds me that as Christians it is our job to reach out to others
and share who God is. These teachers did this for me. Although I grew up in a Christian home, I
was constantly reminded of who God is through those teachers. I would like to be able reflect
Gods love through my teaching just as Mrs. Ryburn and Mr. Littlefield did for me. Being
surrounded by incredible and passionate teachers such as these were so impactful on helping me
choose this as my career path.
Similar to most, I had jumped from career to career as a child. The one that kept popping
up was teacher, but naturally, in eleventh grade after taking a psychology course, I fell in love
with the subject. I had decided that psychology would be involved in my future and later
declared it as my major. After thinking through this decision, I realized that I had never asked
God for guidance regarding my future. Im not the best at listening to what God has to say to me,
but I knew how much this decision would impact my future and needed to lift it up to him and
keep my ears wide open. Psalm 34:4 states, I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he
delivered me from all my fears. Although I began to become fearful overthinking my future, I
remembered to call on the Lord and ask him to guide me. After much prayer, reflection, and
counseling, I came to the conclusion that this was the major I should be pursuing and decided to

incorporate psychology into my future by adding it as my minor. I now know that this is where
God wants me and have no doubts that this is what I should be doing with my life.
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me is one of my
favorite verses. I truly believe that although we are all flawed as human beings, we can do all
with the help of our Lord as long as we call on Him. While I feel I have been called to teach, this
does not mean that I am in any way perfect. I, like any human have my strengths and
weaknesses. One of my strengths, as mentioned above, is my passion for children. I do not think
that there has been one child that I have met that I dont fall in love with. All children are
different and unique in their own way, but thats what draws me in the most. Another strength
that can help me with this career path would be that I am creative. I have always been the person
to choose art over math. I think that my creativity will come in handy with teaching, because it
will help me come up with new and innovative ways to teach my students. The last strength that
will equip me with better teaching skills would be my patience. Especially when it comes to
children, I have a surplus amount of patience. I will sit down for hours and work with a child
until they understand something.
I have my strengths, but I also have my weaknesses. Being organized has never come
naturally to me. Organization is something that is of the utmost importance when it comes to
leading a classroom. I have been aware that organization is an area where I need much
improvement in. Another weakness that I need to work on would be being able to speaking
public. Although, I dont have too much of a problem speaking to children, we all have doubts
before giving a presentation, or in this case, teaching a lesson in front of a classroom. This is
something that I have seen much improvement in over the years. Lastly, although I may have a
lot of patience with children who are struggling academically, I do not sit well with those who
are disrespectful. This is something that only God can help me with. I love children whether or
not they rebel, but I strongly dislike having to be the mean teacher, while at the same time do
not enjoy being disrespected. I think this is a weakness where I need to find a way to discipline
students, while at the same time not be too hard on them. Matthew 19:26 is a very powerful
passage to keep in mind. It states, But Jesus beheld them, and said to them, With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible. This passage reminds me that although we may

not be perfect, we cant seek guidance solely through man. Man will fail us from time to time,
whereas God will never leave our side as long as we continue to put our faith in Him.
I may be flawed, but I know that this is where God is taking me and that he has a reason
for all of this. Only God knows where exactly he is going to lead me and I plan on continuing to
pursue this path toward teaching and remain faithful to his will for my life. I am so excited to
spend time with children who are eager to learn as well as find themselves as individuals.
Matthew 5:14-16, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does
anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who
are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. I think that as a Christian, aside from teaching,
my mission is to be a light to these children whom the Lord is going to bring into my life.