As a teacher you not only teach the curriculum, but you teach students skills that

determine their future. Being a teacher is so much more than lesson plans. Teaching
students how to communicate effectively, the correct social behaviors, and how to be a
productive member of society. This is most effective by showing students the wide
variety of options they have to present their education. Allowing students to not only use
technology, but other forms of expression that they feel most comfortable with.

As I continue my education, the biggest takeaway I've had from my K-12

experience is that most teachers are very close minded. It's always been one extreme
or the other, full-on technology-based learning or strictly pen and paper. Don't get me
wrong, both are extremely beneficial and we need to utilize all the resources we now
have in the 21st century and that includes way more than technology.

Having students be able to critically problem-solve using technology with also

infusing the ¨pen and paper¨ method makes great middle ground. Students being able
to use their knowledge past the state-mandated tests, in real world situations, is easily
achievable. Developing critical problem solvers in the classroom while also stimulating
students' brains to think in a different way than they may have before.

When using performance-based learning, and having a student use knowledge

they've learned in different subjects and connecting them while also creating questions
that I myself may not have even thought of is when you know you've really done it.
When students have such a deep understanding to connect subjects and create a
legitimate question or hypothesis is when that student fully understands their curriculum
based learning.

I've also learned that there is so much more than just those two. Allowing
students to creatively think and demonstrate their learning in ways they feel they're most
comfortable benefits them more than hindering their creative thoughts. Permitting
students to open mindedly present the knowledge they've inherited throughout the unit
in ways they feel most comfortable allows them to also be more confident in themselves
and their learning.

A teacher of mine in the past who embodied all of this and more was my third
grade science teacher. Using technology and hands-on activities to provoke our
education more thoroughly, she inspired me to be a teacher. Mrs.Moore Is the type of
teacher I wish to be one day. She not only connected with our brains and class but she
connected with us as individuals.
 Having the power to shape a student's life outside the classroom is the reason I
wish to become a teacher. Crafting a unique individual that will let out a fully educated
and hopefully high-yielding life.