My name is Ashley, and I am a college sophomore studying to become a high school level English and Japanese teacher. I've known since elementary school that I wanted to be a teacher someday, and I have never wavered in that decision. Over the years what and who I wanted to teach has changed several times, but by my junior year of high school I settled in on what I wanted to teach and who I wanted to teach it too.
Throughout my life, I've had many different teachers with many different styles of teaching who have had a major impact on my life. It is because of the great teachers that I've had over the years that I have decided to become a teacher myself. I have always had a desire to help people and I feel that teaching is the best way for me to do that. What could be more influential and rewarding, if also challenging, than to teach America's next generation? During my freshman year of high school, and my second year studying Japanese, I fell in love with the language and decided that I wanted to become a high school level Japanese teacher. The more I studied the language and the culture of Japan, the more fascinated I became and the more I wanted to learn as much as I could about the subject. I find Japanese to be a fascinating subject and a practical language to learn because of the business relationship Japan and the U.S. have; however, there are not many places that offer it as a course. This is why I want to become a Japanese teacher, so that I can help start new Japanese programs in places where it is not yet offered. A year later, I decided that I wanted to teach English as well in part because of a great English teacher I had my sophomore year in high school, but also because I have always loved reading and writing. Since I first learned to read, I have devoted much time to it as I read through as many books as I could. For me, reading is a way to learn something new and also a way to escape reality for a little while. I also feel the same way about writing. For this reason, I want to teach English so that I may share my love of the subject with my future students. In addition to my love of English and Japanese, I also have a deep love of music and I have dedicated a good deal of time to it over the years through marching band, concert band, private lessons, and jazz band throughout high school and now college. I started playing the piano in elementary school and then picked up the clarinet in middle school. I also just recently learned to play the bass clarinet as well. Music is something that I have always loved and is something that I will continue to love for the rest of my life. |
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