This was yesterday morning. But I was wayy tooo exhausted to make an entry yesterday.
I've been teaching for a little more than a year now, and am just starting to understand what it means to be a responsible teacher.
Growing up, I've encountered many different types of teachers.
1. The unmotivated monotone ones (there were alot of these)
2. The angry ones with many rattan sticks
3. The lazy "flexible" ones
4. The crazy ones
5. The nervous ones
6. The mood-swingy ones
7. The high blood pressure ones
8. The creepy sexual predator ones
9. and etc....
Despite the numerous teachers I've had in life, there's only been 2 that I can honestly say have taught me well. (Pretty disappointing. But hey, two's better than none!) When I reflect on their impact in my life, I see that they have taught me more than what their subjects have to offer.
They taught me how to survive beyond the classroom or studio environment. They've tried me through mock real world situations in class. They saw my skills and showed me ways to use it without spoon-feeding or abusing my brain to shreds.
Being a good teacher is being imaginative for the students' sakes. It's about creating a safe environment for the students to feel open to learning. Creating a safe environment does not mean spoiling the child. It just means that you make yourself available for the child.
A good teacher must be sensitive to the child's behavior. Attentive to his or her verbal and nonverbal communicators. Listening with a kind and generous but not weak heart.
Being a teacher is about staying true to your own rules. The most affective way of teaching comes through actions. The teacher must stay strong, and must never waver to the child's weaknesses. If you do, you are giving the child an excuse to stay weak. You are not giving him or her the tools to combat their weaknesses. The tools are already in them. And your job is to guide them to those tools. As much as you have faith in your teaching strengths, you must have faith in the student's learning capabilities as well.
If anyone else have any word on teaching, please do share. I am completely open to hear suggestions and other interesting ways of teaching!
My last words on teaching (for now):
We're all constantly learning. We don't ever stop till we leave this place.
i always knew there's a true teacher in you :)
ReplyDeletedid you DRAW the comic? tahaaa. they are funny.
ReplyDeleteand sadly, i laughed at your "list of teachers" ... most were unfortunately true. even sadder still, some has different combination of these traits.
Yes! I drew the comic right after I taught. I was so angry I didn't know what else to do. So I drew silly looking comic characters of me and the student to see it from a less "serious" angle. It worked. I laughed too...(:
ReplyDeletethats some intense doodling right there...it shows how angry you really were if to invest that much into the comic!
ReplyDeletebut also shows how cute you are...awh bubbbballl