What are you passionate about??

For some reason, this question always gives me a sense of anxiety.  It makes me look within myself to really think: "Tori, what ARE you passionate about?"  It is not a question that you ask yourself every day, but live out every day without even thinking about it.

I will always remember when I decided that I wanted to become an elementary school teacher.  I was sitting in my first lecture of Educational Studies 111, Educational Foundations, as a freshman attending University of Oregon.  I enrolled as a psychology major but took this course for general education credits.  The professor would frequently give us case studies about students he had worked with and we would critically think about how we could help give these children the best education possible.  These included heart-breaking stories about children living in poverty, abusive parents, behavioral disorders, etc.  This was when I decided that if I could help children receive a fantastic education within their first years of life, I could potentially help make a positive difference in their lives.

So I guess when thinking back on the question "What are you passionate about?", my question is answered.  I am passionate about providing a quality education for every single student when they enter my classroom.  This means students ranging from the lowest to highest SES's, every race, gender, and sexual orientation.  In order to put my words into action, it is imperative that I not only view my students as students, but also as people.  Some of the children that enter my classroom may have experiences that I could not even fathom.  It is my job to ensure that my classroom is a safe space where they are not only learning the curriculum, but also how to grow as people who are open to diversity and feel that they can be themselves in this expansive world.

If I had to narrow this passion to one specific aspect of research, I think that it would entail the importance of character education within the classroom.  Too often, teachers feel that it is their job to simply teach the subjects and receive high test scores and forget that students are growing as people right in front of their eyes.  No other adult spends 7 consecutive hours with these children on a daily basis, and the potential for enhancing these children's characters and behaviors is astounding.  I would love to do research regarding how character education can influence that classroom community and surrounding school environment.