Personal Statement: A Career As An Astronaut

As a student, all throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I always had very strong opinions about what a teacher should be like. I was blessed to have some wonderful teachers in every grade level, who have now inspired me to enter the field of education and become a teacher myself. I was particularly inspired by children’s author and educator Patricia Polacco, who believes strongly that “The energy is in you. You have the power to change hearts.” I want to teach, and inspire confidence and passion in the hearts of children. Renowned Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield once said, “Becoming an astronaut...takes more than a phone call...You have to learn to think like an astronaut.” In my opinion, this advice is universal and applies particularly …show more content…
An educator must respect the principal and administrators of the school as well as his or her fellow teachers. Respecting one’s colleagues contributes to a good workplace morale, as well as allowing teachers to make close friends who each have their own wisdom to share about the field. Receiving guidance from one’s peers can be extremely helpful, particularly to new teachers. Most importantly, though, a teacher must respect her students: by treating them fairly and showing confidence in their abilities. Playing favorites or openly disliking a select few students means that “students will not be as willing to follow your rules.” (6 Key Traits of the most Successful Teachers) Treating students with consistency and fairness shows them that the teacher respects them all equally and has the same expectations for all of them. This will raise students’ confidence in themselves. Speaking from personal experience, being treated like a competent young adult with high expectations and responsibilities helped me rise to the occasion in school. My favorite teachers were my strictest ones--I knew that they only gave me low scores or scolded me at times because they knew I could do better. And because of their confidence in me, I knew I could do better, too. When teachers treat their students fairly and respectfully, it allows the students to shine and even become enthusiastic about what they’re …show more content…
Teachers must have that spark of passion that inspires them to keep learning new things--both inside and outside the subjects they teach. First, they must constantly research the subjects they teach, to ensure they are giving accurate information to their students. A few years ago, biology teachers across the world would have taught that RNA is almost entirely useless and irrelevant to any scientific studies. Now scientists are finding that RNA actually contains important information for our bodies and our health--and good science teachers are updating their teachings to reflect this, because they have been following the news in the scientific community. Lorrie Moore, in her short story You’re Ugly Too, presents the fictional character of Zoe, a history professor who devotes herself entirely to learning more about her field of study. She writes lesson plans as well as articles and even novels, and is constantly working to improve them. Zoe “reread and rewrote painstakingly...she hung onto a piece for over a year sometimes, revising at all hours…” This devotion to consistent learning is an essential quality for educators at every level to possess. Not only does an enthusiasm for lifelong learning mean that teachers will always be teaching their pupils up-to-date information, it is likely that their passion will spill over onto the students. According to legendary