Moving forward in Idaho, there will be plenty of opportunities to work in my small town or any of the plenty neighboring towns. One thing that I saw in town next door to mine was a high school. My mother even sent me some information about job listings there. I’ve always thought, but not too seriously, about working in a high school. Since I have been schooling for so long, it’s not hard for me to think about what I would do if I were a teacher or a coach. I love history and I love rugby and football so I could see myself doing either one if I really needed to when I move to Idaho.
As a teacher or coach, it wouldn’t be too hard for me to make sure that I encourage Positive Youth Development into my work with the high school students to make sure that they are engaged with their schoolwork. Engagement in school leads to “development of youth who invest their time and energy to achieve positive and valued academic and life goals,” (Finley, 2020, Positive Youth Development, slide 34). I’ve had countless day-dream lectures that I would give while I was sitting in a class, bored and wondering how I would do it better. I’ve stood and wondered if my coaches were really explaining something as clear as they thought they could and what I would show to make things easiest to understand.
Over the years and (still) to my surprise, some people think history is a boring subject. History is one of the most important subjects and that’s why it’s important to me that I keep students engaged. I saw a meme recently that said something like “English and History teachers were always the realist ones, it’s the Math and Science teachers who were cops.” My point being, I agree, history teachers should be promoting a fun and relaxed environment to make everyday interesting and not just some long story to tell. I’d keep every lecture visually and audibly aided with plenty of interaction. This coupled with an open door policy and being available for students would help foster a place where education is valued and engaged.
I never wanted to be a teacher when I was younger but during high school, all it took was one excellent teacher to make me realize that education can be fun, funny, and rewarding, that not all teachers are bossy and suck the fun out of everything. Teaching is really the only field that I would be okay with going into that involves the youth and I think this way because I understand how important the role of a teacher is in the shaping of a generation.
Positive Psychology in a Nutshell 