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The word teacher can be used in many different contexts as well as for many
different types of educators. There are many different definitions of the word teacher
although a definition I like to use is; Someone who encourage understanding and
influences someone to learn through experience or by example as well as to guide
someone on how to do something and to provide knowledge to an individual (Oxford,
2014). I used to think that the word teacher merely meant someone who educated
you in something specific such as mathematics or how to swim but I have come to
understand through my own experiences that it can mean much more than that. A
teacher, especially a primary school teacher, is one of the first major role models a
child has apart from family. Not only do they educate children in literacy and
mathematics at school but they play a part in developing individuals own identities.
Teachers help children develop the building blocks for their personal values and
morals that the children will live by and develop upon throughout life. I would not be
at University now if it were not for the teachers and experiences I had in my past that
allowed me to mentally and emotionally develop into someone who is motivated and
can cope with being a teacher and dealing with children. As a pre service teacher my
aspiration for the future is to be someone that children will remember when they grow
up and look back upon as someone that started them off on their journey through
education positively as well as someone who helped shape the individual they
become. I aspire to be a teacher who not only teaches from a book or second hand
knowledge but is able to teach from experience and express the importance in
having faith and respect in each and every person. My beliefs about teaching and
learning otherwise known as my teaching philosophy are shaped from my
experiences both past and present. I have always believed that it is important for
people to learn from experience rather than being babied throughout life. People
generally learn more through facing a problem and having to deal with it themselves
rather than just hearing about a situation from a distance (Boud, Cohen, Walker,
1993).
My personal metaphor for teaching is a five set tennis match because although they
are often long and strenuous they are also rewarding at the end just like a teacher
faces struggles but gets to watch their students grow and develop. You have your
good tennis players and you have your bad tennis players and all players have on
and off days where they play better and worse. The players represent the different
groups of people involved in teaching; your boss and colleagues, the teacher and the
children that you teach. In a tennis match there are always points you win and points
you lose and in conjunction with this you have points that are quick and ones that are
not. Life is a journey and a career is only part of it, therefore the points represent the
ups and downs you would often face in the job and sometimes they are quick to
overcome and sometimes they are not. For example dealing with a student that
disrupts the class, or having to deal with a bully may be losing points but dealing with
a new international student may be a win because although difficult it is a positive
experience. Teachers will face difficulties in their own lives while having to deal with
many young children at the same time and have to find balance between home and
work life. In a tennis match it is important to find balance in order to be consistent.
Sometimes a player can double fault a serve and then the next one can be an ace
but no matter what the circumstances are, a lot of the time the outcomes are
unpredictable. Working in a school as a teacher is a journey, although childhood is a
time of immense learning and development a human being never stops learning
throughout life, and teachers are given the opportunity not only to teach the students
but to learn from them too (Lieberman, 2012). The last point of a match can either be
a win or a loss and represents the end of a teachers journey where they retire, but it
is up to the individual as to how it will affect them. Personally as a learner and
aspiring teacher I can relate this metaphor to myself. When referring to the players of
the game I had some great teachers and I had some who were not as good. I learnt
best from teachers who were interactive and who took the students ideas and wants
of learning into consideration and tailored their methods to suit the class. I can look at
the situation from both the educators and students point of view and hope to be a
teacher who uses other experiences and ideas in conjunction with my beliefs to
create lesson plans. In reference to winning and losing points I had my strong
subjects and my weak subjects at school but even when I struggled I pushed through
and although some of my struggles took time to get over, just like points in a tennis
match, I learnt how to overcome them and used those techniques to be able to
overcome future struggles more quickly. Where I am now, I picture myself as playing
a long service game. I am learning from the opponents way of hitting the ball, in
reality the knowledge I am being taught from my lecturers and tutors at University,
and playing on the defensive just to get the ball back in the court. This service game I
am playing will continue until I am in the field of teaching where finally the game will
get more exciting and I will be able to take control.
Alexandra Grycuk
S00170582
References
Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Walker, D. (1993). Using experience for learning (1st ed.).
Buckingham [England]: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open
University Press.
Bowes, J. (2004). Children, families & communities (1st ed.). South Melbourne, Vic.:
Oxford University Press.
Shamir, B., House, R., & Arthur, M. (1993). The Motivational Effects of Charismatic
Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory. Organization Science, 4(4), 577-594.
doi:10.1287/orsc.4.4.577
Zepeda, S., & Mayers, R. (2001). New Kids on the Block Schedule: Beginning
Teachers Face Challenges. The High School Journal, 84(4), 1-11.
doi:10.1353/hsj.2001.0014