How VTFT Has Influenced Me

This year in Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow is an experience that I will never forget.

From the first moment I heard about this class during LEO last year, I knew it sounded special

and like a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. VTFT has been such a big part of my life this

past year. I have grown in so many unimaginable ways and made lifelong friends and

connections with my classmates. Not including the memories I made and the lessons I learned.

This class has opened my eyes to so many new perspectives and viewpoints that would have

otherwise gone unnoticed by me. Education in general is such a broad topic to talk about. There

is much more that meets the eye when it comes to the field of education. Even after spending a

whole school year learning about it, I feel that I have barely skimmed the surface. Before joining

this class, I already had an interest in teaching and education overall, especially teaching in

younger grades. I strongly believe that children develop the most while they are young and in a

school setting. Education has such a strong influence and impact on young developing children

and school is the stepping stone for that.

My knowledge about myself as a teacher has greatly expanded throughout this school

year. When I first learned about our internship plans at the beginning of the year, I was a little

scared and nervous. However, as I got to know myself better throughout the year, I began to feel

more comfortable being in an elementary school classroom setting. Before internship, Mrs. F

covered basic information with us about what to expect. She also gave us our internship folder

and a basic rundown of our future assignments. Along with answering any questions we had. I

was also very anxious about meeting a new teacher and new class of students. I was nervous I

wouldn’t connect well with the students or my teacher. However, after the first few days of

observations I was able to get a feel for things which helped me a lot. I was able to understand
myself more and I used what VTFT had previously taught me to help me during my time at

internship.

From my VTFT experiences, I have been able to broaden my knowledge and horizons in

the teaching world. I have been influenced not only but the class and curriculum itself, but also

by my fellow classmates. I have learned and grown so much this past year and that is largely due

to me being in VTFT! As of writing this essay, I am still unsure if teaching is truly for me;

however, that doesn’t take away from everything I’ve learned my junior year. That is that the

field of education is a tricky one. This class has influenced me to take more time appreciating all

the work and dedication that teachers must show on a daily-basis. Teaching is a very taxing, yet

rewarding career path. There is a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into being a “good”

teacher. But having the motivation from your students definitely makes it just that much easier.