Becoming a teacher is a challenging task, unlike many have assumed.

It is an arduous voyage
that requires a lot of guidance and personal growth. Education is one of the most meaningful
careers because it lays the foundation for generations of students to grow and be ready to enter
society as capable individuals; like faamous American historian Henry B. Adams said: "A
teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. (Henry B. Adams, n.d.). To
be an educator, one must have adequate knowledge, a passion for learning and spreading that
knowledge, good ethics, and more. In this report, I would like to address an essential skill that
any capable teacher should have, self-improvement.

THE CONTEXT

One of the most crucial moments that happened in my teaching career was when I entered my
internship. It was the first time I interacted with children in a professional setting. Before this, I
only have theoretical lessons and minimal practice with my classmates. I had yet to gain any
prior experience. However, due to inexperience and anxiety, I have not been able to perform at
my best and made quite a few mistakes in my teaching sessions. For instance, I could not control
the classroom sufficiently and almost let the students become too loud and disturb the class.
Alternatively, my teaching methods and expressions needed to be simpler and more appropriate
for students of that age group, so sometimes they needed help to memorize or even understand
what they learned. Fortunately, these issues got pointed out by my peers and my mentor. I
recognized many shortcomings in that teaching session. I understood that overcoming them was
not easy, but I was more than willing to learn from and fix the mistakes because one cannot
succeed without trials and tribulations.

Firstly, I made a list that addressed all the problems I encountered during my teaching time, such
as my lesson plans, attitude, and classroom presentation. Next, I searched for advice from the
more experienced teachers during my internship by observing them during class or asking
questions. Since I was timid, I had trouble conversing with others, but I knew I had to overcome
it to become a better teacher. Sometimes, if the answers I get are unsatisfactory, I look for other
materials like textbooks or lectures. This process required time and effort since I had to filter a
lot of information. After that, I applied the research results to those previously mentioned
mistakes. Even after that, I had to adjust my new findings to ensure they fit seamlessly into the
well-established part. That was not the end since I still had to practice, mostly on my own, to
ensure I won't make the same mistakes again and gain more confidence in my stance, delivery,
and more. I also have to adapt the newly discovered materials for new teaching sessions. In the
end, my performance in class has become visibly improve. While all the help from my peers and
mentors was precious, I consider self-development to play the most vital role in this process.

THE THEME

Self-development has long been an essential topic within the realm of education. But first, what
is self-improvement? According to Cambridge Dictionary, it's "the process in which a person
grows or changes and becomes more advanced through their own efforts" (Cambridge
Dictionary, n.d.). It is crucial for teachers to improve themselves actively, which would help
ameliorate the classroom individually and the school as a whole, which ultimately enhances the
student's learning experience.

SELF-DEVELOPMENT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/self-development