WESTERN MULTIDISCIPLINARY CAMPUS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
DEL3-G1-2014
BLOG ENTRY # 1
I.
Write a
personal statement trying to express what is at the heart of your life as a
future teacher. Consider the following
questions: Why do I want to become a teacher? What do I stand for as a student
teacher? What do I want my legacy as a
teacher to be? What can I do to keep track of myself, to “remember” my own
heart? When did you first realize that you wanted to be a teacher? What were
the circumstances of this realization? How close are you to those feelings
today?
II.
Palmer
writes: “ My ability to connect with my students and to connect them with the
subject, depends less on the methods I use than on the degree to which I know
and trust my selfhood—and I am willing to make it available and vulnerable in
the service of learning” (p.10). What does it mean to rely on your selfhood
rather than methods?
III.
Reflect on
your earliest encounters with teaching. If
you are drawn to teaching, when did you first feel drawn to it? What was it
that drew you? What within you was evoked by teaching—its values, its methods,
the way it names and frames reality? What does the nature of teaching reveal
about who you are? If you aren’t, share a story about one of your favorite
teachers. What do you recall most
vividly about that teacher? What was his / her relation to the subject taught?
What was the ethos of his/ her classroom?
Jane Tompkins discovered that her goal as a
teacher had been to put on “performance,” thus distancing herself from students
and subject (pp.28-29). Do you identify
with her self-criticism? If so, do you share Tompkins’s diagnosis of fear as
the driving force behind this distancing? In what ways other than “performance”
do teachers set themselves apart?
Why do I want to become a teacher?
I
want to become a teacher because I like to transmit the knowledge that I have
to other people. It is not only to transmit knowledge; it’s to enjoy what I do
at school. I like what I do while I’m teaching; therefore, I think that the
most important thing is that I teach from my heart because I enjoy teaching. I
feel motivated for teaching not because of the money. If the money were my
motivation, I would be only one more teacher. I want that the students remember
me when some years have gone, and they can say that they learnt something from
me even though if it were just a little bit. But I feel good when students
learnt new things and I could contribute to those things that they learn.
What do I stand for as a student teacher?
As
I said, I want that the students learn new things from me. I want that Ss can
go in the right way of their lives; furthermore, I want to be the one that
guides to the Ss in the right way. I mean that they can succeed in their lives.
I said that because when we are teaching the Ss are our responsibilities, and
we have to know what their needs are. For giving them a good education, I
think that when we are teaching them; we become their second parents.
What do I want my legacy as a teacher to be?
I
want that Ss remember me as a good teacher, and that I could contribute to the
knowledge that they acquired when I taught them. I feel happy if Ss learnt one
new word every day because that’s what a good teacher has to do all the time.
Teaching is our philosophy, and also we as teachers learnt every time from the
Ss too. The human beings never stop learning new things every day.
What can I do to keep track of myself, to “remember”
my own heart?
I
have to work hard every time when I am teaching. I mean that I have to pay special
attention to the identity and integrity that I have with the Ss because
identity and integrity are the main parts of being a good teacher.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a
teacher?
Being
honest, I did not like the idea of being a teacher. I decided to study this
major because I wanted to learn more English and speak as a native person does
(thing that I haven’t improve yet), but when I took the English Didactics 1
everything changed because I really enjoyed giving the first class. It was a
wonderful experience for me because all the children were paying special
attention to me in the class. So, I realized that I wanted to be a teacher when
I started the second year of my major.
What were the circumstances of this realization?
The
circumstances were that I did not want to become a teacher, but when I put in
practice what a teacher does I realized that it was not very bad as I thought
before. It was a good experience because I learnt that I have not to judge
things if I haven’t put into practice yet.
How close are you to those feelings today?
Now,
I think differently because 3 years ago I said that I did not want to be a
teacher. As I said before, that feeling has changed a lot. Now, that feeling is
stronger because I teach from my heart. I mean that is a good experience that
other people learn new things from me. That’s what motivates me for becoming a
teacher.
II. Palmer writes:
“ My ability to connect with my students and to connect them with the subject,
depends less on the methods I use than on the degree to which I know and trust
my selfhood—and I am willing to make it available and vulnerable in the service
of learning” (p.10). What does it mean to rely on your selfhood rather than
methods?
I
understand this question that we have to trust in ourselves for giving the
class than the methods. It is true that the techniques help us a lot every day
in class, but first we have to know who we are. I mean that we know our
identity, and we have to have such as a connection between the Ss and the
subject for giving excellent classes. Another important thing is that we
have to create our environment in the classroom so that the Ss can feel
comfortable. Creating a good environment depends a lot from the teacher. I know
that we can have the best techniques for applying every class our class could
be good; however, if we have a good personality our class could be wonderful.
All the different kinds of methods are pretty useful for us, for we have to be
aware that not all the methods will work with all the Ss.
III Reflect on your earliest encounters with
teaching. If you are drawn to teaching, when did you first feel drawn to
it? What was it that drew you? What within you was evoked by teaching—its
values, its methods, the way it names and frames reality? What does the nature
of teaching reveal about who you are? If you aren’t, share a story about one of
your favorite teachers. What do you recall most vividly about that
teacher? What was his / her relation to the subject taught? What was the ethos
of his/ her classroom?
When did you first feel drawn to it?
I
felt drawn to teaching 2 years ago when I took English Didactics I. I had to
deal with children. It was a good experience because I could teach them
different kinds of topics. I remember that I was nervous the first class, but
when I started the class, I got in the mood.
What
was it that drew you?
It
drew me the Ss because they put me attention all the time and we could have a
ball in the classroom, and also I liked the idea that they learnt different
kinds of topics.
What
within you was evoked by teaching—its values, its methods, the way it names and
frames reality?
I
did not feel evoke by teaching because I thought that the role of a teacher was
not interesting. But now I think differently because I have developed the role
that a teacher does. Actually, I feel drawn for a style of teaching that a
teacher has in the university. I would like to have that style because he is
not only wise but also humble.
What
does the nature of teaching reveal about who you are?
The
nature of teaching revels who am I because when I am teaching, I do not only do
put in practice my skills for teaching but also my personality.
Jane
Tompkins discovered that her goal as a teacher had been to put on
“performance,” thus distancing herself from students and subject
(pp.28-29). Do you identify with her self-criticism? If so, do you
share Tompkins’s diagnosis of fear as the driving force behind this distancing?
In what ways other than “performance” do teachers set themselves apart?
Do
you identify with her self-criticism?
I
do not identify with her because she thinks only in herself. She concentrates
on showing how smart she is, knowledgeable she is, and how well she is prepared
for the class. She worries about what her Ss would think about herself. That’s
why I do not identify with her.
Do
you share Tompkins’s diagnosis of fear as the driving force behind this
distancing?
I
do not share Tompkins’s diagnosis of fear because I do not have the same ideal
that she has by teaching. It is true that a teacher must be
prepared for every class, and has so much knowledge about what she is teaching.
But first, she has to be aware that she has to share the things that she knows
with their Ss.
In
what ways other than “performance” do teachers set themselves apart?
It
could be when they don’t have a good relationship with their partners because
they think that they have more knowledge. For example, a teacher told us in
class that he had five mates at work, but one of them told him that she did not
want to work with the other 3 anymore because they had graduated from
profesorado in English and they 2 know more than them because they are licenciados
in English already. So the teacher told him that he was not in agreement with
him because they could be profesores, but they have different skills. The
teacher told us that actually that man is not his friend anymore because of
that comment.
I agree with you on teaching not being just a matter of delivering lessons. I think that Palmer makes reference to the fact that the job of a teacher demands not only his intellectual abilities but also the qualities and characteristics that have influence in the way he is. When teachers come to the classroom they are not only dispensers of knowledge but also they are persons that bring their emotions and unique personalities that set the atmosphere in the classroom. This also permits to set the kind of rapport that the teacher will have with the students. It is important to mention that what the teacher shows is what his students will reflect back. Students are able to perceive the teacher’s attitudes towards them. If the teacher is not in the mood for teaching, the students won’t have interesting in learning. A teacher can have an extensive knowledge in methods and approaches that help him to teach, but if he doesn’t have the capacity to establish a helpful relationship with his students, the learning process won’t take place because students won’t feel safe in a threatening environment. The ability that the teacher has for building a sense of community among his students is an important factor that contributes to the learning process. Teaching is very complex because it not only consists of transmitting academic knowledge but to teach with heart and with passion. Teachers are the ones that weave the connection between his students and the subject (page 11). Certainly, we, teachers need to make use of the different methods and techniques that are available for teaching, but we may add our own style to our lessons. We, teachers feel more at ease when we add our selfhood to our classes. Teachers have to trust in what they are capable to do with their own touch in the classroom.
ResponderEliminar¨A good teacher is someone who not only teaches with mind but also with heart¨
Oscar I´m in agreement in some points, but I completely disagree in some others. For example I consider that teaching is like a native gift, not all the people are willing to teach a group of people, and going straight to the point, not all the people can do it. Because no matter if you possess a huge amount of knowledge, but if you haven´t born for been a teacher, only if you make a really big effort, you can get it; nevertheless you won´t be able just because you have read thousands of books. Because as Palmer says : ¨I have taught thousands of students , attended may seminaries on teaching, watched others teach, read about teaching, and reflected on my own experience. My stockpile of methods is substantial. But when I walk into a new class, it is as if I´m starting over ¨ (Chapter one, page 10). No mather the experience, no matter the knowledge, you will start from zero when beginning teaching a new group.
ResponderEliminarIf we are on our way we must look after of our teaching heart because we must be motivated for never stop doing what we want, that is supposed to be teaching. Palmer says that ¨The things that I teach are things that I care about¨ that means that the teacher must feel the necessity of teaching, if so the students will reflect what their teacher is.
In other point I disagree with you when you said ¨It is not because I want to earn money¨ or something like that, We are supposed to study for getting our goles done, and one of this goles is to earn money doing what we want, but if you say that you don´t care about money? So, would you work for free? No right. Good actitudes, passion will move you to find your way in teaching.
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ResponderEliminarWell, I think that teachings is not just a simple passion in life; actually it is a life style that will determine if you are really good at teaching or not. A good teacher is not that one who gives good lessons and classes to their students; a good teacher is that one who plants a seed of curiossity on their students ; you can notice this if your students start to go deeper and deeper in every single lesson that you give.Teaching is not just giving a good performance to the student, you have to analyze what are you doing ,which are your strengths and finally , you have to analize if teaching is what you want to do because this is not a simple job ; it actually is a service to people. Oscar some of your points are good and I shere them too. Teaching is a life style that will make you feel complete in life." the best teacher is not the one that gives a great perfomance;actually the best teacher is the one who makes their students to develop and create a deeper interest on what they are studying.
ResponderEliminarI am in agreement with you.I have been working some months in a private school, and I understand that teachers roll is not just to deliver knowledge.Since I have been working there, I have undestood that teacher's roll include to get interesting about values too. I also enjoy the sensation I have when my students learn something new in my classes; when I started to teach in that private school, I realize that if I want my students get interesting in class, I have to get interesting on bringing them a good sensation when I enter in the classroom. I think that was Palmers' thought; therefore, I do not agree when you say that you use your personality in teaching because I think when you teach,you have to change some attitudes from your personality. A good example is Jane Tompkins' thought. She does not have a good perception of herself, so she had to change that from her personality.
ResponderEliminar