The dream of being a teacher came to my mind when I was just six years old as I see my mother teaching kids at my home. I was fascinated on how students learn through speaking, reading, writing and listening. My mother was my kindergarten teacher, every time I’m done with my work, I teach my other classmate too. However, my classmate always end up crying because I become impatient when he/she cannot read the words in the book that we are reading. Later, no one wants to learn with me at all. 🙂 This dream of being a teacher last until I finish my primary years. However, when I enter high school, becoming a teacher turns to becoming a lawyer and then to computer science as I enter university. May be you will ask, what cause the change of mind? For a very simple reason: I don’t want to be a teacher because my mother and my sister is already teacher. Silly, right?
My journey as a teacher started three months after my college graduation when my mother send my resume to one of the TESDA school in my province while I was working in Manila. At first, I have the apprehension of not taking the job but due to my parents convincing power I took the job. My work last for two years with good memories, but then I decided to come to Thailand to work as a teacher. It is in this place that the real challenge of teaching caught my nerves. I had the chance to teach learners from different walks of life and ages (as young as 1 year old, primary, secondary, university and adult learners). I thought teaching was easy and it’s the same as I have taught back in my province. However, it’s the complete opposite. I feel bad every time my students never understand the lesson or they are so noisy about other things and not paying attention at all. These scenarios made me think on why that happened, how it happened and what am I going to do next time we have a class. Thanks to my co-teachers who have shared their ideas and practices that I carry out the duties and responsibilities of a teacher.
My real training ground for teaching is in Sukhothai (northern part of Thailand). I was lucky to have a mentor. She opens my mind on how to teach foreign students in a way that she can relate and understand their learning backgrounds. She became my critique that sometimes I feel bad and hurt of her criticisms. We have arguments about what I believe is correct and not for her. We have discussions on what best works and what doesn’t in the class. However, at the end of the day I know that both of us are just thinking about how our students would learn better. We also help each other on what lesson to teach, how to teach it and even in preparing lab experiments. As time goes on, we get along well as I learn to accept her criticism with a good heart. By the time she retires I was on my own feet. I grow in the profession that I’ve chosen. I told myself that this is my calling and that runs into my blood. I’ve been running away being a teacher but I ended up as a teacher. My training with my mentor taught me to become wise and sensitive to everything that happens in the class. However, I cannot say that I am the best teacher. I will leave that to my student. Besides, I know that I need to continue to grow in my profession that’s why I took PTC amidst the conflict of time with my work and study. At this point in time, I am a learner and at the same time a teacher. As a learner I want to learn all about teaching not just from my practice but also from theory. In PTC, I am a student; I feel the pressure and the challenge of being one. But by the time, I log out, I am a teacher.
The readings in module 1 remind me about the significance of taking time to reflect on what we are doing. We need to reflect before, during and after doing things. It seems like reflection is a traffic light. Red means stop. We need to stop for a while and think what’s going on. Yellow means slow down. We need to slow down, to deliberately think of why things happen and how did it happen. Green means go. Apply what we think is best as the result of our thorough analysis of reasons and basis why that certain action works best. And this will go on and on as we continue in our teaching journey. The reason why I did reflection, it’s because of what and how I feel before, during and after teaching. Example, in preparing one lesson it will take me hours to create a lesson plan, handout, presentation and worksheet but when it’s learning time sometimes my students struggle in understanding the lesson and it reflects in the result of their assessment (either oral or written). This made me ask myself, why did it happen? After all the time and effort I put in the lesson, still my teaching wasn’t successful. Where did I go wrong? What should I do, so that next time this scenario will not happen again? What should I do to make things happen the way I want my class to be? Sometimes I have to ask feedback from the class, what makes the lesson difficult, if you are a teacher how would you make it easy? As what Mezirow stated, “learning is not a direct result of the experience, it happens because the individual takes charge of their critical reflection and explicitly plans and carries out steps to learn from it.” In this case, my awareness of the situation in the class, by determining the fact that I need to act on this matter and carry out the planned course of action next time I meet the class are indications that I did not end up charging bad things to experience but rather use that experience to come up for better ideas on how to teach better. The result of this course of action will again be used for the next planning of my new lesson.
Its funny to say that I become aware of reflective practice just only last year when I started my PTC. That it needs to be integrated in our planning and teaching though unknowingly I’ve been doing it all along. In my years of service, I learnt that interacting with my colleague about what happens in our own class become a part of my reflection. As we share ideas and techniques of what works in my co-teachers’ class and why did it work while it didn’t in the other class. This brainstorming activity help me decide on what teaching technique would I use to a specific type of class for each day. I may find lots of alternatives to the day to day problem of teaching but it needs conscious thinking and wisdom to choose the most appropriate alternative to the situation that I am in. Likewise, I take time to have a personal talk to a student that I believe needs to have a direction on what he/she is learning. In doing so, I find ways on how I can incorporate his/her learning behavior in my teaching so he/she can be engaged in learning. The behavior of the student and their performance in the assessment of, as and for learning are also bases on why we need to reflect. Although I did not use a reflection model but I guess I’m on the right path of becoming a reflective teacher. Now that I am aware of the models I guess it is high time that I will use it in my reflection. I find Atkins and Murphy model as my guide in doing this since it gives vivid path of analyzing and resolving situations.
In conclusion, I may have the tacit knowledge about reflective practices but this time it become clear to me on how possible and useful it is to take time for a while to reflect on what’s happening in my teaching so I can move forward with great confidence and competence in my teaching career. So, if I want my students to be thoughtful about their work so they can become happy, independent learners and in control of their learning the first to start is —- me.
Marieta Dichoso 
