ED 4236 Personal Reflection

Personal Reflection

Dear Diary,

“Why do I bother?”

This insightful question that Suzie (one of my students) asked me today in Class makes me deeply reflect on why I feel so passionately drawn to teaching. Yes…even though it has been a very long and physically draining term…today being a classical example…I had an extra lesson with Year 9 History and it was also wet weather during lunch time today. As a result students were left in the classrooms during lunch and you know what that means... to top it up the classrooms were left untidy. When I asked the students to rearrange the desks and clean up the mess they made a big commotion about it…they can be so ungrateful at times…but that’s when I got to remind myself patience! So after the class cleaned up, I quickly got the students settled and working on their class activities. As a teacher, I strive to lead by example and so cleaning up with the students effectively shows them the importance of cleanliness and taking responsibility for their actions.

Teaching…is definitely a special calling that requires an array of virtues, such as sacrifice, patience, humility, perseverance, compassion and self-control. Moreover, itIt is a demanding vocation but even more fulfilling especially when done with great love and zeal. It is about inspiring students to want to learn and seek truth, knowledge, wisdom and beauty in their lives. An observation that I have made from my teaching to date is that each student is unique in the way they absorb and utilise the information they are presented with. As Hattie states in his Educational Research, Distinguishing Expert teachers from Novice and Experienced Teachers, I agree with his assertion that excellent teachers need to have an integrated teaching approach. This can be achieved by combining both new information with the student’s prior knowledge and learning experience. In this way the lesson activities will become more interactive and responsive to the needs and goals of the students.

So far, as I ponder over my short but profound experience in teaching I can recall times where I have been confronted with various challenges from students. Examples include students misbehaving, being unsettled and not taking the content of the lesson seriously. Furthermore, finding the right balance of time between my teaching profession and other pastoral, study and family commitments can at times also be taxing. However, as Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor and Spiritual Writer of the Church says “Everything is a grace!” http://www.littleflower.org/devotion/daily.asp
I have truly come to better appreciate these inspiring words of wisdom by building up my trust and reliance on the working of God’s grace in my life.

To be an effective and balanced teacher….this is what I desire to be! I have realised that I need to take time daily to self reflect and examine my actions and the overall flow of my teaching day. I believe this is essential especially for my personal and social growth and development. I trust that my strong passion to personally live out the Gospel values through my actions and speech will be a light and powerful testimony to the students I teach and also to the other teachers at the school. After reflective reading on the lecture materials I have come to better appreciate that teaching is not just about imparting knowledge but is so much deeper…its about empowering the student to expand their knowledge applications to solve problems and successfully achieve specific outcomes.

Interestingly, a scholar that I found inspiring to read and reflect upon was Vygotski. His work stressed the importance of the social context of learning and the significance of the student’s past learning on future learning. In order for my students to learn effectively I need to create an environment that facilitates ongoing class interaction and knowledge building based upon the student’s previous knowledge and experiences. Furthermore, Vygotski has heavily influenced Constructivism in terms of its belief in collaborative learning and student centeredness. Teaching is not just about imparting knowledge but I believe it is so much deeper…and that is living a virtuous life…being a true witness of truth…goodness…wisdom…in a Word; Jesus. Constructivism is a learning theory founded on the notion that each individual learner constructs his or her knowledge (http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/80337/6215m8a.htm). This reading has motivated me to focus more on understanding the needs of my student’s learning behaviours by incorporating into my teaching regular time for knowledge sharing and open class discussion.

In answer to Suzie’s question, teaching is “no bother” for me but a privilege and a service that I love to do! Even though it can be unpleasant at times, I am fulfilled knowing that students ‘are’ learning and growing from the knowledge that is shared in my classes. I feel my Vocation is to teach with great love…remaining always focused on the needs of my students. I love to teach students to see the light and provide them with an insight into to their own learning and development. When I teach my vital aim is to inspire the students to want to learn and develop their knowledge and special talents on a personal and social level. Today, teaching for me is not just about spoon feeding the students knowledge. As a teacher, I want to be open and flexible in my facilitation approach to grow and learn with the students. In turn, this will effectively promote deeper knowledge sharing, cognitive thinking and creative learning amongst the lives of my student’s today and tomorrow.