Career Choices and Purpose in Education

My career choices and advancements have been an ongoing battle of difficult choices and sacrifices. I have changed my mind several times. I have let my peers’ influence me based on what they wanted me to do with my life. I have searched for ways to advance my career for the sake of earning money and not for the sake of helping others. Self-transparency is how I have been able to recognize truth in my educational purposes. It has taken me a long time to understand my purpose and to come to terms with that purpose, but I believe that I finally understand that my purpose is about others; specifically, it is about helping the minds of the youth in educational spaces.

I come from a family background of education and ever since I can remember, I have run from it. As a little girl, I watched both my parents climb up the career latter. It always seemed as though they loved their jobs. My mother retired as a special education teacher and went on to work for the state as a Pre-Kindergarten monitor. My father retired as a public school principal. Their jobs seemed to be fulfilling, rewarding (financially and mentally), but still, I did not find this line of work attractive. I did not want to be a teacher because my own teachers did not want to be teachers (not all but several). They did not seem happy to come to work and throughout grade school, I said to myself, Man, I never want to do this. I should be doing something else. Something I will not get tired of.

However, as I grew older my passion for helping others succeed came to fruition. My educational experiences have shaped the purpose of my career goals. As a professional learner, I have learned to use my talents and skills in and outside of the workplace in order to advance my career. I have learned to make difficult but necessary changes in my career. I have learned to make personal connections with people who inspire me to stay in my chosen career, and I have used my educational experiences to make a difference in others lives. This reflection paper will discuss the journey of my purpose, the application of my education in other spaces, and the career advances I would like to make in the next two years.

Professional Purpose and Career Goals

My passion for secondary education is a new found passion. During my master’s program in English, my goal was to become an English professor. My reason for pursuing this career was centered in the prestigious part of becoming a professor. The conversations that surrounded me were informative of only one claim to this career: “It is better than being just a high school teacher.” For a long time, this statement was the driving force for what I thought success should look like. I wanted to become part of this profession for all the wrong reasons: money, a little honor and prestige, and respect. I devalued secondary teachers and anyone who settled for such a profession. I hate the thought of working with kids with behavior problems and ignorant to the issues around them.

After finishing my Masters degree, I searched for jobs at the postsecondary level and editing jobs. Particularly, I avoided all jobs that involved me teaching high school students. I was considering taking a job in Nashville, Tennessee when my parents recommended that I try my luck as a creative writing instructor at a local school in my hometown, I rejected the idea immediately. My parents continued to contend that it would be worthwhile to come home for a year or two to save a little money. Eventually, I took their advice and started my career as an English teacher. The transition of becoming an English teacher for a post-secondary public school instead of pursuing a career in academia and working for a university has been the most taxing experience of my purpose as a professional and has greatly altered my goals as a professional learner.

My first year of teaching was at a rural and poverty-stricken area. My students were very poor and had little reason to try in school. They were not interested in core subjects because they concluded that these things would not help them put food on the table for their siblings. It was difficult to provide instruction for students who were burdened with things other than school. I did not know how to approach the problems they were having. Major issues arrived during my time here: race relations, racial insensitivities, lack of self-appreciation, etc. I wanted to do more about the issues that occurred right at home.

My interest in race relations and multiculturalism practices in educational spaces arose after my first experience with public school education. My career goals have become centered on these ideas. Too often, our students go into the workplace with a limited idea of the operation of the world and its people. Being from a very southern part of the United States, I am all too familiar with the type of attitudes students may have about another person’s race or culture. Several students have confessed that their perspectives on other races start right at home and these perspectives tend to be very negative. I want to be able to improve curriculum so that our students are fearful of appreciating and understanding other people. Fear of the other proves to be a deadly disease in this country, still. One way educators can defeat this is by changing the narratives. Our curriculum should include authors of color and different nations. When we avoid adding these authenticities in our curriculum, we silence the future voices of our students.