The Calling in the Chalk Dust

     When I look back at myself a few years ago, I never would have thought that I would take up education units in college and think of being a teacher. In all honesty, a factor why I didn’t think of being a teacher is because of what other people are saying about the profession. All I hear about is how low the salary is, how they are looked down by other professions, and other things. And because of those things I heard when I was young, I never thought about it until I have experienced teaching kids. When I was tutoring kids in an agency (HHB - Halfway Home for the Boys) handled by SLU (Saint Louis University), I realized that those people did not choose to be a teacher because of the salary but because of the vocation and mission given to them. Despite all of the negative things that other people said about the profession, still, there are people who pursued the profession because of their passion for teaching. I admire those teachers that are passionate about teaching and inspiring their students to be a great person when they grow up. That the teachers are the stepping stones of who we are today. They supported, inspired, and gave knowledge to their students whole-heartedly.

    Upon reflecting on why I enrolled to this course is because for me, teaching is a vocation. Because of the experience I had with tutoring the kids, I realized how magical it is to be a teacher. How magical it is to be an inspiration to the children you are helping/teaching. How magical it is to support your students with their dreams – on who they want to be in the future. Teaching may not be my first profession that I chose, but I am glad that God made me realize how amazing this profession is.

    

    In our online class last February 07, 2026, we had an activity prior to that which was asking students what qualities they like about their teacher. Upon talking about it in class, the most qualities they want in a teacher is being patient, being kind, being clear in teaching, and lastly, being enthusiastic. When we were discussing those qualities, our professor asked us to reflect on those personal qualities in a teacher if we have it among ourselves. And when thinking about it, there are some qualities that I have and don’t have. I will start with the qualities that I have, which are: being enthusiastic and clear in teaching. People would say that whenever I am talking in front of my class they understand me clearly and very well. And they could see the enthusiasm in my actions whenever I explained something in front of the class. On the other hand, the qualities that I don’t have yet are: being patient and being kind. I openly admit that I don’t like dealing with people who don't want to listen to me. Knowing myself very well, I will just ignore and move on to people who are listening to me. But, my professor in all of my CIT classes said that there will be students who will not pay attention and not appreciate what you are doing. When they said that, I had a reflection on what to do when that will happen in my class in the future. So, upon thinking and reflecting what I will do to improve that quality to me is to be more understanding with the people around me. That it is possible that they are not listening is because they have other problems and hardships they are dealing with. If that is the case, I will talk to them in private and ask why and how I can be a help to them if they do have a problem.