“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but
rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.” – Kahlil Gibran.
This lit up my consciousness about the genuine role of the teachers and that is “to make a difference and touch the lives of our students.” Educators should serve as an instrument to help the students achieve their goals in life as well as aim to serve for their best interests and not merely focus in enriching their intellectual capacity. Since the students spend most of their time inside the school, the teachers are in the right position to guide and lead the students to a road where they can find their real purpose in life. However, it is saddening to know that there are some teachers whose concern only is to feed all the knowledge to their students cognitively and they forgot that learning does not only confines with what the students will know intellectually what should really matter is how the students will apply those learnings.
From these understandings, I recalled my eight years of teaching in the private schools; I had come to realize that I ‘am also a victim of my own dogmas in teaching. I was then so idealistic with my profession. I wanted to see myself to my students; I wanted them to be my reflection of who I was when I am still studying. Since I was a fresh graduate that time, I literally practiced the principles of idealism. I became a perfectionist in all aspects of learning. And I got easily annoyed if anyone from them did not comply with my expectations. However, some of my students liked the way I handled them, but of course some of them had their voices inside their mind that about to roar because of so many requirements and rules I demanded from them. I even gave failed or low grades when my student did not meet my level. But at the end of the day, I also had these reflections and questions in my mind; “Am I really an effective teacher in this approach?” or “Am I their biggest disappointment in their studies?”
In fact, everything was changed when I transferred to public school last 2013. I had met different faces of students with different attitudes towards their studies. The stress I had experienced teaching the worst of the worst started to destroy me. I came to the point that I wanted to quit. But I always remind myself that experience is the best teacher. Thus, I struggled a lot overcoming this culture shock I had from private to public school. And these taught me to change my ideologies that teaching is all about the learners and not all about us, the teachers.
From this, I started to break the wall that separated me from my students. I began to be more realistic rather than idealistic. I started to look at the bigger view of teaching. So, I turned to the principles of realism as my guide in teaching my students. I found that the feelings and desires of the students should not be overlooked. Here, we should serve as a guide and a demonstrator. An educator has the responsibility to introduce to the students that the real world exists. They should be prepared for what lies ahead in their life. And this is the real purpose of education, to prepare the practical man of the world.
Consequently, accepting the reality in teaching that creates frustrations and disappointments on our part will help us to be more realistic in the real scenario of education. Yes, it is indeed normal for us to expect more to our students, but there are some elements that we need to consider that we usually ignore because we are sometimes egoistic. However, as we learned from our own mistakes, we can now penetrate the student’s realm and start to understand their attitude towards their studies. We become more appreciative of the little achievements they have and we become more considerate. In these ways, we are starting to build a connection with them, a connection that will bridge the difference between us and them. This relationship will offer a win-win solution for both teachers and students.
Tthere is no perfect teacher in the world of education. It is up to us, as teachers, on how we can be an effective teacher to our students. Even though we knew so many theories and principles in teaching, still we need to choose what will be the most appropriate principle to apply, considering the different factors such as the kind of students, school, curriculum, and the most importantly the attitude of the teacher. Also, educators must be aware of the real definition of education and the genuine purpose of learning so as they will not lose their way as they mold the future of the learners. As Albert Einstein said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”
By: Catherine L. Jongco| Master Teacher I | Bataan National High School | Balanga, Bataan
