¶ … puff of white chalky smoke assaulted my lungs, I erupted in simultaneous laughter and explosive coughing. I guiltily glanced at my mom, who was seated behind her desk grading papers. Her familiar red pen in hand, she simply shook her head at me and barely suppressed her smile. I was only eight; what did she expect? "Just erase the board," she said before returning to her work. My mother always came home happy from work, if not a little tired and frazzled. A lifelong elementary school teacher, my mother's inspiration introduced me to the joys of teaching. Since the days when I would help my mom in her classroom after school by decorating or cleaning up, I have been both uplifted and let down by dozens of public school educators. Some teachers obviously love what they do. Like my mom, they bring with them not a sullen look of exasperation to a roomful of kids, but just ooze delight at being able to work with young children...

I will be one of those teachers: not only have I had mentors to help model my approach, I have also delved into all the academic, volunteer, and professional teaching opportunities available to me as a young adult.
As an aspiring educator, the tables are beginning to turn. Gazing back on my personal experiences as a student and as a teacher helps me to understand why I so strongly desire to be an early childhood educator. Three solid reasons stand out for me. First, I have a knack, a talent, a special predilection towards teaching. Perhaps because I know what works and what doesn't through observation and experience, I can impart what I have gleaned to young people. I have witnessed the unnecessary and unfortunate neglect of children with special needs, children whose first language is not English, and children who are simply too shy to sit in front of a classroom…