I have been asked many times throughout my preservice teaching career why I decided to teach English language arts. "Why not one of the sciences?" others would often inquire. "That's the stuff that's really important." My answer as to why I decided to teach what I am now teaching is simple and probably very similar to the answer most other teachers will give when asked the same question regarding their reasoning behind choosing to teach their subject area: this is the topic that has left the longest impact on me. English language arts and literature have been friends of mine since my own middle school experience and as I have grown, developed, and learned, this subject area has never left me feeling disappointed or uninterested. Doing well in the subject area as a student is not the only reason that led to my fascination with the subject and my eventual decision to pursue the subject area further (I performed exceptionally well in other subject areas as well like history, biology, and chemistry). My true reason for deciding to teach English is far more deeply-rooted in my past. I have been an avid reader since I was ten years old. The notion of being able to take a personal passion of mine (reading and literature) and then having the chance to both expand upon it and share it with others was incredibly intriguing. Mark Twain once stated (and oh how fitting it is for an aspiring English teacher/literature fanatic to live by the words of a beloved writer) that "the secret to success in life is to make your vocation your vacation." Teaching English has allowed me to do just that. I could have chosen to teach another subject area, but had I decided to do so, I know that I could never truly be as content as I would be teaching (and learning) about a subject area I love dearly.
From the time I was in high school, and later, in college, English literature and language arts opened up doors for me that no other content area would have been able to do, save perhaps, philosophy, which, if one delves more deeply in to the subject area, one would find that literature, philosophy, and the humanities are undeniably, intrinsically linked. I, unlike many of my fellow students, looked forward to reading assignments, written reflections, essay tasks, and close readings. Questions I would have never been able to even consider prior to my study of the subject area began injecting themselves in to every single aspect of my life. In simplified terms, English allowed me to not only see the world through a new perspective, but it also allowed me to consider multiple perspectives from both the past and the present, compare and contrast these perspectives, and then evaluate the bearing these perspectives have on my own life, society, and existence itself. If my reasoning behind choosing to teach this subject area is not yet clear, consider the following statement from famous American writer, lecturer, and philosopher Joseph Campbell: "Follow your bliss." I am certainly doing that.
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