Our Voices, our Schools - may 2010
Kara Soulas is an education major at the University of Oregon. What lead you to your decision to become an education major?
It's funny. I really don't have an elaborate reason for wanting to be a teacher. It's just something I've wanted to do for literally as long as I can remember. I was just fortunate enough to have teachers (both good and bad) who reinforced my passion and excitement about entering this profession.
In the next two or three years you plan to join the teaching profession. What are you biggest hopes and fears?
My biggest hope for the profession is that it will evolve along with the world. We are in a time where kids have an unprecedented access to information, so teaching kids to be mentally nimble, and ensuring that they are able to process problems logically with all of the available tools available to them seems to be the best way to equip them. I think coming short of that would be my biggest fear.
Almost 40% of new teachers leave within their first five years of teaching. What is one thing the state or local districts could do to keep good teachers in the classroom?
As a future teacher, I want to feel like I am making a difference and it is hard to that when you are forced to to teach to a test. The best teachers are the most likely to make an impact and I think a way to keep good teachers in the classroom would be creating more comprehensive holistic curriculum.
