Becoming a good teacher involves a lot of knowledge, skills, and wisdom. Most of all, becoming a great teacher needs a lot of patience.
As the famous saying goes, patience is a virtue and being a teacher, one must be very patient in dealing with all sorts of students, from those who are intelligent to those who could not easily catch up, to those who are kind and to those who are rude, and to those who are attentive in class and to those who barely listen to the teacher talking in front of the whole group of students.
There are loads of reasons of becoming a teacher but on a personal note, my own reason would be very simple. Teaching is my passion.
I love teaching, and teaching gives me the sense of fulfillment even without the money or the salary involved. Being able to see the transformation of a simple young kid with only having a knowledge of playing with his or her peers into an awesome intelligent kid who already knows the basic understanding in life because of your simple act of teaching him those knowledge and skills is, for me, the greatest reason why I chose to become a teacher.
To be an effective teacher, I must possess the different characteristics to be one. Based on Robert E. Glenn (2001), there are fifteen chief characteristics of becoming an effective teacher. To name a few, a teacher must be enthusiastic, effective communicator, and a successful classroom manager.
Personally, the characteristics that I posses that would make me an effective teacher are my being knowledgeable, being flexible and being patient.
Firstly, I am knowledgeable in my field of learning. Of course, it is very significant that a teacher teaches the facts and not the opposite. The students usually rely on what the teacher says and they usually regard it as a very important information and source. Thus, a teacher must be factual and knowledgeable.
Next characteristic that I have is my being flexible. Flexibility is vital because this will help you gain the trust and confidence of the students. Being flexible defines that as a teacher, you will jive or go with the flow into the needs of the students as well as to their form of language and style. In this way, you will be able to understand and comprehend, and if possible, fit into their current style and trends for as long as these will not conflict the values and dignity of being a teacher.
Above all, the characteristic that I personally posses that would help me in becoming an effective teacher is having a very long patience.
Patience is essential in dealing with all walks of life, may it be young or old, rich or poor, student or teacher alike. Sometimes or most of the time, the ideas and the action of others do not align with our own ideas and principles. However, this does not mean that we have to always push our own ideas or our own thoughts. Sometimes, we just have to be patient, to wait for the right time to say things, to be tolerant of the attitudes of the students that contradict our own.
Therefore, no matter what profession one may undertake, having the characteristic of patience is a plus point and will bring you a long way into your profession, into your life in general.
Staying at pace in the current field of education, a teacher must be open-minded to the new techniques and advances in the field. I must not be afraid to explore fresh ideas. Instead, I can attend seminars related to the course. There are seminars that are offered to upgrade teachers in the styles of teaching and other topics.
Another way to stay current is by upgrading my self in the course of enrolling in a master’s or doctor’s degree. The ideas that I could gain in this manner is a great help in keeping myself abreast with the past and current methods of teaching. In addition, obtaining a master’s or doctor’s degree added another level to my name and to my profession.
Maintaining the passion for teaching is not that easy as counting one, two, and three. Keeping that fire going entails a positive attitude.
First and foremost, I have to love teaching. To keep the passion, I must think of the positive outcomes that teaching has molded me, which is a better person filled with determination to help children to become better persons themselves. Even though there are many difficulties along the way, I must focus on my purpose and the wonderful things of teaching, and learn from the negative ones.
My educational philosophy is to teach with passion. Because in teaching with passion, the fruits of your labor will surely follow along the way. These fruits come in a variety of forms. These will benefit your personality as a teacher, and most of all, your personality as a person. It will also benefit the students and their families that you have helped through your knowledge and wisdom. Most of all, this will benefit the society, the country and the whole world for you have lend a hand to a simple child in becoming a responsible, educated and lovable person who will be of great contribution to the people surrounding him, to the lives of others, to the country he is living in, to the world where he rightfully belongs.
This is my life. This is my reflection about my life. My passion is teaching. Teaching is my passion.
Reference
Glen, R. (2001). Teaching for Excellence. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr387.shtml
