There are several meanings of education that I have researched -

·         According to an online article by Jeffs & Smith (1999), education is the intention to foster learning, a concern for the environment and certain values.

·         In a book by Ernest C. Moore, he states that there is no subject which so much merits study or which will yield larger return in point of opportunities or service to him who makes himself an authority in it than this subject of education.

·         A quote from Albert Einstein where he states, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”

In my opinion, the quote from Albert Einstein is not only inspiration but shows that we as teachers need to etch learning into our students’ long term memory, make it unforgettable so that our students will remember not for a single moment but for a lifetime.

When I reflect on my past five years of substitute teaching, there are many incidents, events and ongoing situations that sealed my faith of becoming a teacher and defined what education is to me.

To me education is –

·         A first grader by the name of TL who stopped me in the school’s hallway one morning to say, “Go”.   Not understanding, I said, “Go where”, and he said, “The rhyming word”.  I said many rhyming words such as pro, fro, throw, mow and slow.  As I watched TL walk off with his breakfast tray I was thinking, I did my job that day in that ELL class as my student had remembered something about word rhyming.

·         A little girl by the name of AM was having a difficult time in Kindergarten because her home was filled with relatives after the “Katrina Disaster”, was extremely disruptive and in looking for attention would crawl around on hands and knees and refuses to do her school work.   I must admit, I had bent the rules a little in trying to protect her from more hurt.  Now, I see AM in 3^rd grade and she has made a complete 360º in her behavior and attitude towards school.  Every now and then I would see her in the hallway and tell her how proud I am of her and to keep up the good work.

·         When I work in the library to see how the students would be excited to run in to search for and borrow books.  As for when there is a Book Fair, how the students would make excuses to be in the library to sneak peek at the books for sale.  This tells me that reading has become fun and is now an important part of our education system. 

          Students are unique individuals who need security, care, and a stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially.  My desire as a teacher is to help students meet their fullest capabilities by providing an environment that is safe, supportive, and incites the sharing of thoughts and ideas.