Aadil Malik October 2009 Reflection: Shadowing Mr.

Olseski The reason I chose the career of Education to study is because I want to teach students knowledge. I want to teach the knowledge in subjects such as history. I dont want to just teach the topic. I want students to learn from me, because I want to be the person who adds to a students previous and hidden knowledge. I was inspired by my teachers, like Mr. Olseski, to become one, and I want my students to be inspired by me and their past teachers to become a teacher also. I believe knowledge is the foundation of life, and I want to be the person who builds this foundation. My shadowing experience with Mr. Olseski has allowed me to strengthen my decision of pursuing a career in the field of Education. My shadowing experience with Mr. Olseski has made me realize how passionate some teachers are about their jobs. Every single day, Mr. O is changing the lives of his students by teaching them things they knew nothing or little about. At the same time, he is teaching them how to behave, how to grow up, how to become young adults. The reason I chose Mr. O in the first place is because he is my inspiration. He is someone Ive looked up to since middle school. Seeing him again in a classroom setting was an experience I will never forget. It was interesting to sit back from a different perspective in a classroom. As a student, I only see the teacher as teaching me and my peers, but as I shadowed Mr. O, I was able to shift my perspective and see him teach his students. Through this unique lens, I saw how each student reacted to every single word he said, and how the nature of the classroom evolved depending on the culture of each class. It was especially fascinating to see how students placed in more challenging classes were much more talkative while working than those in lower-level classes.

Witnessing these differentiations of students made me reaffirm my gratitude of where I am at this point in time academically. Throughout the entire school day, I followed Mr. Olseski to see exactly how he interacted with both students and teachers. Although the schedule of his day may often be redundant with teaching the same material to all classes, it still is a challenge to reach each student and teach them what they need to know. This challenge is what inspires me to become a teacher. I want to challenge myself to communicate effectively with every student and allow them to recognize and work to their fullest potential. Mr. Olseski recognizes the potential in his students, and I want to as well. My experience shadowing Mr. Olseski has made me realize how beneficial a career in Education can be. Every day, Mr. O is changing the lives of his students for the better by teaching them knowledge and opening their doors for the future. This experience will help me make my decision in the future when I decide with career I intend to pursue by going to college.