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Week 2 Reflection: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

When I look at examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, I think that I resonate
more with intrinsic motivations. Looking at the examples that were given, such as wanting to
make a difference in someone's life, really are the type of motivations I have toward teaching.
I’ve had a lot of passion for teaching others since I was little. When I think about teaching, I
think about how excited children get to learn. I am looking to teach more of the younger
grades, and it excites me to be able to teach them about empathy, as well as how to use their
words to describe how they’re feeling. As well as using their words in situations where big
emotions might arise. Being able to be a part of their lives and make a change in them is such
an amazing honor.

When teaching, there are also a lot of challenges. Some children learn at different
paces. Some are more visual learners, while others thrive with just instructions. Being able to
handle the students that learn differently than others can be a challenge. It can be
overwhelming to do multiple teaching styles with one group of students. I have an aunt and she
was a teacher for 10 years. Her first teaching job was in Auburn actually! Her and I have had a
lot of discussions about teaching recently, one of them was about adapting to everyone's
learning pace. She was able to give me examples, such as, whether or not everyone is a visual
learner, always providing an example for them to follow and look at while giving instructions. A
lot of teachers will set time limits when it comes to classwork. As a child, whenever there was a
timer, I would freak myself out, and I wouldn’t be able to do my best, because I was worried
over what the timer was at. I feel like letting everyone work at their own pace is best, asking
them periodically who is done and who isn’t, and having a fun activity for them to do when they
are done what is assigned. Getting creative with your teaching style is how you figure out what
your teaching style is. “Being creative is important in teaching, for the students are the
audience” (Beasley & Haulmark, 2021, para,11). Like this says, treating teaching almost like it's
a performance, and you want the audience to engage in what you are doing. I think being
creative in the classroom is one of the most important things you can do as a teacher to young
students. Getting creative with the way they are learning will help them engage and get more
excited about learning new things.

While there are many benefits when it comes to teaching, the best one in my opinion is
knowing that I will be shaping who they are. As they grow up, I will play a big role in how they
understand and how they learn things. Teaching students to be able to express themselves and
who they are as their own induvial persons. Watching them grow into who they are is such a
fulfilling feeling for a teacher. I’ve had a lot of teachers growing up, that you can tell have a
passion for the work that they do. The smiles on their faces when they would teach us
something new and we would understand. It was also rewarding as a student; to see just how
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excited some teachers would be about teaching. I feel like as I gain more experience with
teaching, the more excited I will be to see what my students can accomplish. Especially as I
want to work with the younger grades, being able to watch them go through the rest of school,
will be an amazing experience. “Teachers yearn to see the burning desire to learn and love to
see the excitement of discovery, that's why teachers teach” (Beasley & Haulmark, 2021, para,
13). When I was doing a lot of babysitting, there was a group of 4 that I would babysit during
the weekdays, after school. They were all in elementary school, and so their homework was
really easy for me to help them with. We would sit at the table, and I would help them out with
what they were learning. Helping them learn was such a fulfilling experience; they had such a
passion for wanting to understand what they were learning. Being able to part of their
understanding was such an amazing experience. It makes me look forward to what I will be able
to teach in a classroom.

While I continue to learn more about what teaching entails as a job, I do find myself
slightly overwhelmed with the idea of managing such a large group of students, and if I will be
able to handle it effectively and to my best ability. According to Chapter One, teachers have
shared similarities with people in the entertainment industry, being creative, and having the
audience captivated. Using the same method with teaching, I believe that having lessons with
creativity and enthuasim, will make learning more meaningful as well as engaging for students.
Knowing what motivates me to become a teacher, my primary motivation and goal, comes
from a desire to help others, and make a positive difference in students' lives. Growing up in a
rough household, going to school became the only stability I had in my life. I had many
teachers, that made teaching enjoyable and they made an environment that I looked forward
to being a part of everyday. Those experiences heavily influence the type of teacher I want to
become. I want to provide the same sense of support, encouragement, and stability that my
teachers gave me.

As my motivations change, the more I gain experience, I think the reasons I go into
teaching, and my goal with teaching, will always be the same. The passion that I have, and
always have had, for wanting to be a teacher, I don't think will go away. Intrinsic motivations
are the motivations I resonate with as I investigate what makes me want to be a teacher. When
I look at extrinsic motivations, such as pay, the benefits that come with being a teacher, the
time off you get, those are obviously important to think about when picking a career. Those
motivations have never really been a big deal to me. With motivation development, those
things will definitely matter more to me when I start teaching. But they won't out way the
Intrinsic motivations that keep me wanting to teach. “The reward teachers receive is a feeling,
and feelings are more special and memorable than gold and silver plaques hung stoically on a
wall proclaiming an individual's success” (Beasley & Haulmark. 2021, para, 8). When I read
that, I immediately agreed with it. Knowing that I helped a group of students blossom into who
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they are, is worth every ounce of stress that will come with the job. The feelings of
accomplishment, and being proud of my students, are feelings that I’m sure plaques could
never replicate. I feel like, if you have a passion for wanting to teach, and you want to make a
difference, you will be an amazing teacher.