The kind of a teacher I strive to be.

This essay aims to cover my personal teaching philosophy. I will address the following elements . Firstly my goals and purpose as a teacher. Secondly my views when it comes to the process of teaching and learning. Thirdly the roles of the learner and the teacher in the teaching and learning situation. The context in which optimal learning can take place. Lastly my personal values as a teacher.

I believe that learners are the future of each and every nation. Every learner has the potential to bring something unique and special to the world. In order for the potential to be realised the learner neeeds to be assisted in life to reach that potential. One of the people who have a great impact in a child`s life is a teacher, because children spend most of their time with teachers. So teaching is an important and honourable occupation that demand commitment, care and  discipline. Each and every teacher should have a purpose and goals that she would like to achieve.

The first and most important goal I have as a teacher is to bring change in each and every learner`s life.  I want to improve the quality of education for everyone. I will like to work in schools that need talented and commited teachers. In schools that need change the most. By working in this kind of schools , I will be able to bring change and make a difference. As a teacher my goal is to educate learners. I want to impart information to learners and work with them to ensure that they understand not only the concepts but practical applications as well. I want to develop teaching strategies that motivate and inspire learners to learn.

One of my goals is to inspire the learners in all aspects of their lives. I want to be their role model so that I can encourage them to strive for greatness. To teach the learners through experience and commitment how to realise their full potential to become the best they can be. I want to motivate my learners to work hard, so that they can live a better life than the one they are living. To make them believe that everything is possible. The only thing they need to do is to set goals for themselves. They need to have big dreams,through hard work and determination they will turn their dreams into reality.Learning is a goal for me as a teacher because in the teaching profession you deal with different people at different times. Teaching is one of the professions that takes you out of your comfort zone and opens your eyes to many things you may have never been exposed to before. Learning will also broaden my perspective about different things in life.

My purpose as a teacher is to help learners to learn by communicating wuth them and making sure that the lesson is understood by all learner. As a teacher I must get the learners excited about learning, support and guide them. My purpose is also to instruct learners in ethical behavior, discourage lying, cheating, stealing and bullying.

The processes of learning and teaching must be those processes that are beneficial to the learners, as they are the ones that are being taught.The teacher must use a range of teaching strategies to effectively meet the needs of individual learners. Different learning strategies should be used, such as self-directed learning, co-operative learning, role playing, behavioural rehearsal, peer education and parental involvement. This will help the teacher as she will  be able to view the strength and weakneeses of the learners. The learners will also be able to display their strength as the strategies are different.

The role of a teacher is passing on the content of a given subject to the learners and the learners role is learning and understanding the content of the subject. The role of a teacher is to build strong relationships with the learners. Teachers must be approachable so that learners feel comfortable talking to them about their academic progress, peer-to-peer relationships and classroom needs. The role of the learners is to voice out their concerns. If they do not understand the teacher, they sould say so. It is very important that the teacher plays his/her roles and the learners play their roles so that effective learning can take place.

As a teacher I must make sure that my classroom is fully furnitured and it is always clean. So that the learners are all sitting down during lessons, in a clean place. I will make sure that my classroom has posters and pictures that relate to what we are learning about. the posters and pictures must be neatly pasted on the wall. It is essential for a foundation phase classroom to  have posters and pictures because foundation phase learners use visual or pictures to learn.

In life one of my important values is making a difference in a persons life. Being remembered for all the good things I have done is very important to me. Education is also important as it is the most powerful wepon we can use to change the world. In order to be the best I can be, I need to be commited to what I am doing, so commitment is my value. Approachability is an important value to have as a teacher because it makes the learners to be more open to you. Care is one of my values because as a foundation phase teacher I need to care about my learners so that they can feel safe and loved when they are with you.

Teaching is the best profession for me, because I get to deal with children and I love them. They are the most innocent living beings that rely on us to bring them up in the best way ever. As a teacher I am willing to do that and even more.

References

Grasha, A.F. (1996). Teaching With Style: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Learning by Understanding Teaching and Learning Styles.Alliance Publishers. Pittsburgh.

Elmaifi, F. (2014). The Goal OF Teaching-An Experienced Teacher`s Viewpoint. http://edtechreview.in/news/906-the-goal-of-teaching-a-teacher.com

Seldin, P.(1993). Successful Use of  Teaching Portfolios. Anker. Bolton

Brookfield, S. (2006). The Skillful Teacher. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.