MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 23 November 2018 - Journal Entry #15 My 10 Reasons for Teaching 1. It’s a way of changing the world (for the better). ☺ As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” 2. Education results in critical thinking which lead us towards becoming a more openminded and pro-active society. 3. Witnessing and being part of someone’s growth towards becoming a better version of themselves makes it all worth it. 4. It helps the future generation realize their role and capacity to make and leave the world a better place than how they entered it. 5. Seeing light bulb expressions and eureka moments from the students is priceless. ☺ 6. It offers endless opportunities for personal and professional growth. 7. You’re never alone, both in your highs and lows. 8. #WalangPasok on holidays and stormy days. :P 9. It pushes you to become a better you, as a teacher and as a person. 10. Everyone can learn. Sometimes, we just have to give them more opportunities to do so. ☺
What does good teaching mean to me? What I’ve learned and experienced thus far as an Eduk student and current student teacher leads mo to believe that “good teaching” means you’re constantly working on growing and improving as a teacher – both in theory and in practice. You’re loaded in content of the subject you’re teaching and in theories for classroom management and strategies, but you also work on their application and adjust towards the unique set of needs and abilities of your students. Good teaching means you prepare for your lessons in the best way you can, but you also take time to really reflect on in it afterward. Doing so will make you realize your strengths and points for improvement, so you can develop an action plan on how you can and will do better for your next class. But what is all this effort of improving to be the best teacher you can be for anyway? Ultimately, I’d like to believe that it’s all aimed towards helping the students realize their potentials and instilling in them a love for learning.
What does effective learning mean to me? I think effective learning begins where students start to apply or relate the concept they learned to other topics – even ones that seem to be “far” or different from the discipline (i.e. health issues in social studies) It’s when they start asking more questions as a result of curiosity and their mind working, wanting to learn more about the topic and its relevance. Hopefully, it progresses to a stage where students develop a deeper desire for learning combined with finding out ways to apply what they learned to make a positive difference in the long run. In order for a classroom to achieve “effective learning,” it’s important then to consider the different learning needs and abilities of each student so our pedagogy would be as inclusive as possible.
Do I have a particular teaching style or approach? If so, how would I describe it? Honestly, as of now I’m not quite sure of the particular style I have yet. As a novice (student) teacher, I’m still figuring it out. And I know it’ll keep on changing too as I’d like to always improve my teaching style. What I’m aiming for, ideally, is a dialogical and constructivist approach. Dialogical approach, if I remember it correctly, basically involves dialogue between and among students as the main source of learning. In this case, everyone is seen as equal and are given equal opportunities to speak and be heard. All insights, points, arguments and rebuttals are objectively critiqued based on their validity. This way learning comes from the students and their peers. Unfortunately, this approach also has its weaknesses, the most obvious of which would be the time constraint. Since it’s somewhat derived form the Socratic method, it takes a while for students to arrive at the point or realization the teacher is leading them to. Still, I’d like to be able to do this in my class one day, perhaps as an introductory activity? I think it’s a good approach to use for topics that are multifaceted and open to different interpretations. And as a social studies teacher, I think this approach also gives students the opportunity to develop communicating their points objectively and diplomatically and at the same time being open but also critical in listening to perspectives that differ from theirs.
What makes me unique as a teacher? I guess if there’s something that makes me “unique” as a teacher, it would be my collective undergraduate experience. I entered the University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus back in 2013 under the BS Economics program of the UP School of Economics. I stayed there for three years, garnering a total of 20 units of Economics subjects, along with a variety of other introductory courses such as in Social Work, Film, and Family Life and Child Development. This is in addition to my membership in a university-wide academic-political organization, the UP Economics Towards Consciousness. My time spent in the organization as a member, and eventually, Vice President of its Publicity Committee honed my skills in graphic design and information dissemination. These were vital for creating publicity materials for consciousness raising activities (such as discussion groups and educational discussions) as well as infographics and other campaign materials for our advocacies. I can say that this truly helped me, especially in making my PowerPoint presentations more appealing in class. Another characteristic that I think makes me “unique” as a teacher would be my passion for music. I’ve always believed and awed by the effect music has on people. It allows one to process their feelings and maybe even communicate them in ways that simply saying so can’t. In one way or another, music connects us. The time I spent as a pseudo-member of the UP Music Circle allowed me to explore and learn more about how music can be used to connect people. It inspired me to find ways to incorporate music into my lessons. For example: in invoking how people at a certain time within a certain context might have felt, I could use Bamboo’s “Tatsulok” to contextualize how some groups might feel about extra-judicial killings; I could also use Yano’s “SM” to get the class to talk about how contractual workers must feel. The UP Music Cirlce, with members being composed of music-enthusiasts from different colleges and different walks of life, also exposed me to a variety of personalities and abilities as
well as diverse opinions and many issues. I believe this will help me inside the classroom in dealing with students’ various views and getting them to be more open-minded and critical of views different from theirs, as well as in dealing with parents who, for sure, will also come from different backgrounds. The last, but certainly not the least, quality that I think makes me unique would be my experience (and ongoing battle) with depression. The worst and lowest point I’ve experienced thus far – in academics and in other aspects of my life – I would attribute to my struggle with depression, especially during the first semester of my third year in college. Despite knowing that I needed to work on my deliverables to meet my deadlines, I didn’t have enough energy to do so; I didn’t see the point. And because I wasn’t able to do what I had to do, despite knowing that I needed to do it, I felt incompetent and my already low self-esteem plummeted even lower. Fast forward to when I was able to finally seek help and tell my family, I then arrived at the decision to shift from the School of Economics to the College of Education to pursue a degree in B Secondary Education (Major in Social Studies, Minor in Health Education). Since then, my grades have become better. I became a consistent College/University Scholar save for one semester (1st Semester of AY 2017-2018) when I had the worst relapse since I was diagnosed. I mentioned this because my battle with depression is an important part of what made me who I am today. Similar to how I attribute my lowest points to my depression, my highest points are also results of me overcoming these low points – with the help of my family, friends, and teachers. I guess what I’m trying to say is: my experience with it gives me the unique capability to put myself in the shoes of my future students who could possibly be going through the same waves and emotions as I did. In other words, it helps me become more empathic to my students’ situations, good or bad. Moreover, it encourages me to develop a more positive attitude that I aim to share with my students. It took a while for me to realize, but I found that all of my experiences truly did happen for a reason. The bad eventually led to the good. And even in the bad times, I always had hope to hold on too. I found meaning in them and was able to rationalize that what happened was necessary in order for me to grow. I was also able to appreciate the good times, and the people who were always there for me, even more because of it. ☺ P.S. Sorry if this journal entry was too long. But it’s nice to reflect and be reminded of these things (despite writing about them vaguely.)
What do I expect from my students? What can my students expect from me? What do I do to continue to improve? To be completely honest, I think I should prepare myself by expecting that my future students would be at a developmental stage where they’re more assertive and explarotive when it comes to challenging authority. Their worlds might still be limited to their daily routines and personal experiences – which isn’t to say that they’re incapable of seeing and understanding the “real” situation of our society today. It’s just that, they’re “still kids” if we think about it. So I can’t expect them to instantly know and understand what I’m talking about, despite knowing they’re smart. I can’t fully expect them to be always be sensitive and/or considerate despite believing that they’re good kids. One thing I’ll never stop expecting, hoping
for and believing in, though, is that all students have the capacity to learn and grow for the better. That’s where I come in as their teacher. I promise to always do my best in trying to bring out the best in them. I promise to always work on improving as a teacher and as a person so that I may be a role model to my students. Aside from (corny) jokes, memes, references to pop culture and music, I’ll also always do my best in making sure that there are avenues for our class to connect and apply what they’ve learned in class to their personal lives and to the current situation of our society and/or country. In order to do this, I have to keep working on my professional development by always seeking ways to learn about the content of what I’m teaching and how to actually teach it. Of course, while doing all this, I should also work in personal improvement in terms of health: taking my therapy sessions and anti-depressants more religiously for my mental and psychological health, maintaining good relationships with my family and friends inside and outside the workplace for my emotional and social health, and being more consistent and disciplined in my exercise and diet. ☺