Teaching is and will be my life-long career. From being a pre-service teacher back to my college days to being a teacher educator a few years later until now, I have been more and more confirmed that teaching is exactly what I want and love to do in my life. I choose to teach not because it is connected with administrative promotion or because I can earn a big reputation by being a teacher. Money and power have nothing to do with my choice. I also do not teach because I think I am good at it. Teaching is a combination of science and art. There will never be a point that a teacher can claim that he has enough knowledge and can perform the best teaching anytime. Teaching well is always a challenge to me.

The reason that I choose to teach is that I fully believe in the power of education. Education is the foundation of any improvement and advancement no matter as far as a country or an individual is concerned. Education has the power of opening up people’s minds, enriching people to make good decisions, and bettering people’s life. It is education that helps people out of ignorance and naivety. High level of human civilization can not be realized without highly advanced education. Education is important and essential to any individual and society as a whole.

The reason that I choose to teach is that I have seen and experienced how I have been changed and transformed by my teachers. They make a difference in my life, leading me to know better not only about myself but also about the world beyond me. I want to make a difference in my students’ life, though sometimes the difference is limited. I like to share my knowledge and learn together with my students. I like to see how they gain the knowledge, skills, and attitude toward more mature and informed people. I also like to see how my students are fulfilling their role and contributing to the building and development of whatever their roles call to them with their community and with the whole society.

The reason that I choose to teach is that I do not only have the passion and interest of being a teacher, I also believe in and have demonstrated my competence of being a good and well-loved teacher. Though I like to see how my students are changed and improved behaviorally, my teaching is rooted in constructivism. In my teaching I treat each student as an individual. I take my role as a helper and a facilitator, creating a caring environment for them to study in, designing challenging and quality learning experience for them to interact with, and exploring together with them for the most comprehensive understanding and the best learning outcomes. A democratic learner-centered teaching practice is always what I strive to do. There is no greater reward for a teacher than seeing his or her students construct their own knowledge and become more capable in life. I also believe that students need humanistic approach of teaching to grow and shine. Teaching students means influencing the individual student as a whole, not just cognitively but also physically, socially, and emotionally. A committed teacher is sensitive students’ world, knows their needs, and understands how important it is for students to develop a good self-concept and a higher level of self-esteem.