Motivation

1. Why are you here? I am here to learn, to feel, to grow (mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally), and to teach. I believe that every experience that I have while I am alive contributes to some sort of learning, feeling or growing. I think that it is very important to know why you are here, because if you don't know why you are here, how do you know what to do? What goals would you have? Even if I wasn't going to school for Education, I would still believe that I am here to teach. I feel this is one of the most important reasons I am here.
2. What motivates you? I am motivated when I am going against the grain. When I believe something is right for me and I need to do it, I am very motivated to accomplish it, especially when there are people around me saying "You don't need to do that," or "That is a terrible idea". I come from a very opinionated family, and if I set a goal for myself that isn't what they would chose to do, they will definitely let me know how they feel. For some reason, this pushes me to do it and drives me to accomplish it. I think it is because I know that I am doing it for me, and only me, and that way I can feel a higher, more personal, sense of accomplishment.
3. Why do you succeed? I succeed because I am driven. If I lose my sense of drive and begin to push it farther back on my priority list, I don't get it done. If I do get it done, it's not my best effort. I don't need everything going my way in order for me to succeed. If things get rough, I just try all that much harder. I am a very driven person when I want to be, and when I chose which goals I want to succeed in, they more often than not get accomplished, all because of my drive.
4. Why do you fail? I fail because I am not driven and I lose focus. If I get distracted, I chose between ignoring that distraction or giving my undivided attention to it, and when I chose the second one, I fail. I see failing as not achieving a goal you set for yourself. Sometimes, I'm just not capable of succeeding at things. I wanted to be a Dental Hygienist at a point in my college career, and I was so driven, maybe more driven than I had ever been in any other class. I took my prerequisites: chemistry, communications, sociology, and microbiology, and earned a C+ in everything except microbiology: my first F. I tried so hard and failed, because the goal I had set for myself was at least a B- in every class. I took microbiology again and got a C+. This time, I succeeded (in my eyes) because my goal was to not fail again. I decided that Dental Hygiene wasn't for me after all, and teaching was much more rewarding in the long run.
5. How do you need to change your motivations and mindset for this class in order to become a great teacher? In order to become a great teacher, I need to set realistic goals for myself. I need to understand that, for this class, I am learning how to become a great teacher. I need to focus on learning in order for my studnets to benefit from my teaching. If I don't focus on learning in this class, I will have missed out on a huge part of how to be a great teacher.