My Journey to Being a Caregiver, Essay Example

As I was growing, I had always contemplated what I would be when I will grow up. This question really bothered me during my childhood and I was only five years, I was determined to remain at home and raise young people, like what my mother did. I was determined to be the best caretaker. Nevertheless, as I grew up that dream changed, and all through my lifetime I have had several dreams concerning my future; like become a music icon, lawyer, creating a hilarity park, and writing storybooks. It was eventually when I entered high school that I recognized I had liked working with, and the idea of taking care of young children; and what I truthfully desired to do the rest of my life was to teaching mentally disabled children (Ysseldyke & Algozzine 49).

My career goal that I have slowly been putting efforts all through my four years in college is to become a special education teacher in-charge of elementary learners. I am presently signed up as a double elementary major in early childhood and elementary education, as well as psychology in college. I believe these courses will give the needed platform to achieve my career goals. I have pursued a number of pre-requisite classes, and many courses specifically tailored for elementary education. The courses are important since they will allow me to be taught by real elementary school educators that have many years’ experiences with working with kids. I believe that the educators will equip me with the necessary skills and advice to better me towards understanding what I was signing up for as an education major (Mamlin 24). The classes will enable me to articulate my skills in a manner that will be understandable to learners of tender age. In addition, I am doubling majoring in psychology in anticipation that they will help me teach the learners in a manner that they will I understand the mentality regarding special education learners. The classes will slowly shape my skills and knowledge. I believe that the psychology classes will offer me adequate context on not only the challenges and disorders a number of children all through the globe are experiencing now; however, too on the way learners, as well as their parents tend to perceive and handle mentally disabled children in the society. The different courses will help me learn how effectively handle particular children having definite disorders that I hope will assist me better communicate ,and teach kids having mental disabilities in a manner that they will best be capable to comprehend and grab information  being imparted to them. Being an elementary education plus psychology major will assist me to radically boost my teaching capacities will allow me to have better idea of what I could most probably be experiencing in the future when I will realize my career goals , and overall prepare me in nearly every was feasible to be a great educator.

Furthermore, I have usually had the heart for kids , and for individuals that are less fortunate than the way I am, as well as face more challenges than any one individual must have to experience in a lifetime; thus, I am drawn to kids having disabilities. In the society currently, those having mental disabilities tend to be abandoned and despised, not only physically; however, mentally. I believe that becoming a special education instructor for children will allow me to educate learners, which are regularly times despised intellectually by the community. I would love to become an educator that that can offer these students with mental disorders the care and support they deserve, patience, and hope that this will allow these children to believe in themselves. This will allow them to face future challenges with hope and courage. Physically and mentally disabled kids are simply ignored as candidates for educational programs. My anticipations are that whilst educating them , I will be in a position to open up a number of prospects of higher educational programs , and ultimately boost job prospects for the mentally challenged kids; consequently that the community may no longer despise them intellectually (Mamlin 24). Providing care is also beneficial to care giver. Having known that you are touching lives of people and transforming their lives can be very emotionally fulfilling. In fact, it can improve the way one relates with other people. This mean I will not only relate well with my student, but I will develop good relationship with my family. I am happy about this.

In addition, I understand that being a caretaker is challenging both emotionally and physically. I know this role is difficult it consume a lot of time and can be bad to my health. This is why I will also prioritize on self-care. If you cannot take care of yourself, how can you take care of others? I will ensure that I eat regular nutritious meals. I will always ensure that I prepare healthy meals at home to avoid eating fast food from vending machine. Being a caretaker for children with medical problems means that I may be required to interact regularly with doctors for them. I will take this opportunity to also maintain my doctor’s time. What this means is that I will maintain regular scheduled check up with the doctor and stay on top of my wellness. According to (Mamlin 24) ensuring, a personal time is very important to maintaining good and health relationship with people you care for. For me, I will also ensure that I plan for my personal time.

As I have mentioned above, I will plan for my personal time. In order to ensure that I do not feel guilty leaving the people that I am caring for alone while am having my personal time, I will build a strong caring team. Caring team is very important. This is because as a caregiver I cannot be everywhere at all times. Sometime the number of people or children that will require my care may increase. Therefore, for me to schedule for personal time and ensure that the people who need me are cared for correctly I will build a team. My experience has taught me the importance of delegating tasks. I will be able to delegate some task to the team to help me feel some time for myself.

Since I was young, I always want to do my things in an organized way. I will also ensure that I am very organized in order to provide the care. When caring for people with medical condition, it is important to understand all the people who need the care. I will keep all the information of all those who will be under me. Some children with disability might be taking medicine on regular basis, or might require seeing doctor several times per week. I will organize such information for me to remember easily. I will set a system of doing things that I will ensure all my teammate understand. When other team member know the system it is easy for them to provide important information of the people requiring care when I am not around.

My experience has taught me that, when caring for children with disability, it is possible for someone to be attached emotionally to some person that you are caring for. This is bad because when something goes wrong about that person, it also affect you. It is told that one should understand sometime it is impossible to prevent bad thing from occurring to people we are teaching or caring for. When such things occur, people should comfort themself that they at least tried to make a difference to those peoples life. One thing to remember is that no matter the outcome there will always be another person waiting for his or her help. One needs to connect with the people receiving care, at the same time one need not to be emotionally connected. Nevertheless, sometime this is not easy. That is why I will take my psychology class to help me cope with such situation. Again talking to someone who understands such things can help. Therefore, I will also keep in touch with relevant people such as my fellow caregivers who have more experience than I do.

Finally, since the time I was a child, I have in most cases doubted what I want to be when I grow up. This primary question kept pushing me in everything I did in my life. My life experiences in the world have not only assisted me with making key decisions to become well-equipped and successful teacher for children having mental disorders, but they have shaped me to become a great teacher. I have known that one should become a caregiver because they care. The journey of becoming a good caregiver may be long, difficult, and frustrating. In addition, I know that one should not seek journey alone. It is important to accept help when it is available, seek for help when it is needed. Most importantly maintain your own self-wellness. Although the body may not be sick, being a caregiver one face unexpected and some time overlooked challenges. Remember that, caregivers also need emotional support very much. Equip yourself with necessary skills and surround yourself with the right people. I am presently working towards my career goals in my current college, and I hope that the programs at the college and my prospect experiences will offer me with the understanding, as well as education I require to attain my dream (O’Connor 108).

Works Cited

Algozzine, Bob, and Jim Ysseldyke. Effective Instruction for Students with Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Every Teacher. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, 2006. Print.

Mamlin, Nancy. Preparing Effective Special Education Teachers. New York: Guilford Press, 2012. Print.

O’Connor, Rollanda E. Teaching Word Recognition: Effective Strategies for Students with Learning Difficulties, 2014. Print.

Ysseldyke, James E, and Robert Algozzine. Effective Assessment for Students with Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Every Teacher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006. Print.