Nicholas Kron

Period 11-12

20 September 2019

Portfolio Entry Assignment

Over the past years, I have always wanted to do many jobs. A botanist, a writer, a

chemist, and the list grows for everything I found mildly interesting. However, the one thing that

has always stuck with me is becoming a teacher; becoming someone who could make a

difference in those who will lead the world, not those who already do. My first step was to

discover what I wanted to teach and to whom.

After a long talk with myself and mulling it over in my head for days, I decided that I

wanted to teach math or science in a secondary school setting. Next I took multiple personality

tests and discovered (not surprisingly) that I am an introvert and I’m someone who doesn’t like

the spotlight but still wants to help out as much as possible (3.2.1). But I still wanted to see what

it’s like in a teacher’s life, so I went to a teacher I knew well and sat down to ask her questions

on what it’s like being a teacher, what she likes and dislikes about the profession, and how much

impact it has on her personal life and health. Regardless of everything she said that she disliked,

what was negatively impacting her, etcetera, she still told me “Don’t focus on the negatives.”

(3.2.2).

One teacher was definitely not enough to decide if I really want to become a teacher. So,

I sat with multiple peers and a panel of teachers to ask many questions about their lives as

teachers and how they know what to do in situations. A question I asked was “What is the most

memorable part of being a teacher?” It was the only unanimous answer in the panel, in which
they said that there was never a certain moment that was the best or most memorable; every

moment with the students and seeing a student finally “get it” is a better payoff than all the

world’s money (3.2.3). The last place I went to was the Olentangy Administration Office to talk

to the superintendent, an Olentangy School Board Member, and the President of the Olentangy

Teacher Association (3.2.4). After these visits, I knew that I would definitely want to become a

teacher so I too could have the same experiences as the teachers that love their jobs. But I still

needed to look at one last thing: legality and requirements.

The first thing I looked at was positions in education, and it was surprising to me as to

how many there were (3.2.5). I still settled as being a teacher and didn’t want to move up any

time soon. But the other thing I looked at was required licensure. For the field I’m going into, I

need a bachelor’s in the subject I would like to teach, as well as a state-mandated teacher’s

license (3.2.6). Next was to study proper teacher conduct, and I read articles based upon teachers

that were fired or were forced to resign based upon misconduct in the workplace and outside

(lying on resume, relationships with students, etc.)(3.2.7). After learning all these things, and

discovering that this is what I really want, it was time to create a plan for myself.

In my flowchart I created, I state everything I have done and things I will work towards

in the future. Everything the last paragraphs were included, as well as my college acceptance to

Bowling Green State University, my plans while I’m there, and where I’m going afterwards. For

my plans while I’m there, I plan to major in mathematical education and possibly minor in

chemistry. I plan on getting my degree in mathematics and my teaching license within

four-to-five years of graduating high school. After I graduate from college, I plan on moving to

the West coast to earn a job in secondary education.