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MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I strongly believe that when one becomes or takes the part of educator, you
never stop being a teacher. Ten years down the road that fourteen or fifteen
year old student that once called your Sir in the class still calls you Sir in the
grocery, in the street or wherever your parts may one day cross again.
Education is aimed in my view at making you a different person. You change
in knowledge of certain areas, you foster new relationships with peers; it
prepares you to face an ever changing world.
As an educator I see my role as guiding a student from one point to another.
This process should not be me telling the student this is what you have to do
and this is the expected outcome. Instead my role is to guide through learnt
techniques and allow the student to discover on their own.
In its broadest sense, learning can be defined as a process of progressive
change from ignorance to knowledge, from inability to competence, and from
indifference to understanding (Fincher 1994)
As a teacher I enjoy advising, mentoring and assisting my students in the
class, sometimes at the staff room door and on those occasions they see
may see me at the cafeteria but we dont have a class for the day and
cannot resist asking a question. I recall in one of my first POA classes I had a
male student that was slow in comprehending, one day he told me sir, I
kinda different so you have to explain things different for me. He added to
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that situation where you teach multiple classes in one class. Of course I had
to intensify my explanations so that it included real life situations he could
relate to. I must say that at the end of those periods I usually felt mentally
fatigued, but I was worth it seeing him sit and try to do questions even
submitting an attempt at the SBA for guidance. I was only able to relate to
him because I built a teacher student relationship. Knowing about my
students learning styles, likes and dislikes, hubbies and interest allowed me
to provide genuine opportunity for authentic learning experience. In his case
I used his interest in opening a garage one day to explain parts of the
lessons being taught.
At my current school I would say that the student population is diverse as it
relates to learning ability. To reach this wide diversity of children in my
classroom I have to make the classroom environment fun but with control,
ensure the lessons grab their attention and gradually increase content that is
delivered. I believe all students learn and comprehend in different ways.
Some require more practical exposure others like to take notes and read
them over and over others like to listen to the teacher explain a topic and
grasp the key points they identify. Because of these differences my
instructional strategies will vary base on the group of students before me. I
may have to blend several strategies to meet the group and where
necessary utilize a particular approach for individual mentoring. Bearing this
in mind the curriculum design is very important, it must encompass these

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varied learning styles so that I can reach all those intended to be touched by
my classroom delivery.
As a teacher I must choose the appropriate assessment method. The method
chosen must be appropriate for the lesson being taught and assess what was
taught and not what should have been taught. Assessments are important as
it sometimes used as a decision maker by all interested parties. As a teacher
it allows me to see where my students are in a topic so I can decide I review
a lesson plan to see if I did not deliver a topic effectively and should revisit
the topic. It can be used by the student to identify weak areas to focus more
revision and parents at times use this to determine if additional help in the
form of lessons may be needed. The amount of assessments given is also
important, at times as a teacher we may give to little or too much not
allowing the student time to recover from a previous assessment. At report
days I have been asked by parents how much test were given during the
term and the type. They try to decide from this if I gave their child sufficient
opportunity to get the best possible grade.
The ability to hold your students in meaningful task that is developmentally
appropriate is the first step in effectively managing a classroom. The main
reason for class disturbances are boredom and frustration. By developing
each lesson and assignment to students individual strengths and needs,
linking the material to students lives and bringing purpose to the work, the
need for enforcing discipline is minimized at times almost eliminated.

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Students learn in a positive atmosphere and at times their peers can create a
negative environment. It is my role to be the positive reinforcement, letting
them know it is okay to be wrong thats what the learning process entails. We
learn from our mistakes. I publicly recognize strengths and contributions
within the classroom. This approach makes the classroom a safe zone that
allows students to voice opinions at times wrong ones and a time right/
brilliant ones.

I try to present my students with the belief that, because we are a


unit/community of learners we should not participate in activities that can
distract ourselves or our classmates form learning. This concept is supported
by positive reinforcements and conversations with my classes and allowing
them to participate in arriving at a solution should a problem exist.

Truly, teaching a man to fish can feed his for a lifetime. So to can awakening
the love of learning within students, this will inspire them to continue the
lifelong pursuit of knowledge and wisdom even after they have completed
the formal education process. My philosophy as a teacher is grounded on this
belief, as a student my A Level Accounting teacher did this for me. I will
endeavor to continue doing my part to awaken this in all my students.
Comment

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Continue to inspire your students.all the best

Ms. Lystra Stephens-James


Business Curriculum Instructor
School of Education
The University of the West Indies,
St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.

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