| I believe the primary purpose of education is to prepare students for life, not just to help them find jobs. Education should be child focused with emphasis on the development of the whole child. It should assist students in becoming good world citizens with good academic and problem solving skills, who respect and appreciate diversity, and who respect and appreciate the greater environment.
All of us have a mission to accomplish in life, a mission that includes both personal and professional objectives. Accordingly, the students need to develop skills to pursue new interests both personally and professionally as they develop over their lifetime. My education gave me good academic and problem-solving skills. These have helped me voluntarily change careers from a computer professional to a wholesale electricity trader, and from a wholesale electricity trader to an elementary school teacher. I would hope to guide my students to acquire this same ability to learn, assuring them the option to pursue career choices as their interests change throughout their life.
Academic and problem-solving skills can also be used to solve the challenges that students will face tomorrow. Our world is changing at such a fast pace; the knowledge that is true today may not be true tomorrow. Education needs to provide students with the analytical skills to solve the problems of the future, not just the problems they meet in their elementary school classrooms.
The curriculum should include basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics, as well as computer skills and media technology in order to develop these good academic and problem-solving skills in students. Other disciplines needed to develop a well-rounded student include art, music, social studies, physical education, character development, home economics and horticulture. Since each person has a unique mission in life, students should be allowed to spend more time studying topics that interest them; ideally this will lead to their greater interest in, and understanding of, the broader curriculum.
Recognizing education’s role of developing good world citizens, I will help students to develop the ability to work independently as well as with others. As a teacher, I will use cooperative learning in my classroom to accomplish this. This approach teaches students how to work together in small teams, and how to value and appreciate diversity by working with others. Students develop their own self-esteem and social skills by helping others in subjects where they excel. In addition, they will learn to respect others and appreciate diversity through cooperative learning by receiving help from others in areas that they need to develop. By using cooperative learning, students will realize that the end products are often better if a team develops them, then if one individual produces them.
Besides learning from each other, students can learn from their environment. As a teacher, I will use an integrated curriculum where many of the classes will be held outdoors. These classes will help students appreciate the environment and learn from the environment. Understanding that everything is connected on this planet, students come to realize that environmental problems that affect one of us, affect all of us. This reality becomes more critical with each passing year, and as a teacher I need to help my students understand this.
To assist students in accomplishing their life’s mission, a teacher’s primary role is to inspire children to realize their full potential. As a teacher, I will guide and support students as they identify different areas of life that they want to explore. I will create a challenging and supportive environment, engaging them in learning. I will challenge my students by facilitating their learning process, after determining their appropriate academic levels.
I will create a supportive environment in the classroom that is sensitive to students’ culture and home environment. Students need a nurturing, caring and supportive environment in which to learn, an environment that meets the basic individualized needs of each child. I will constantly work towards building a classroom environment where every student’s input is valued, where there is a constant awareness of different learning styles, and where the emphasis is consistently focused on the positive. Each child should feel valued in the classroom and more confident about his or her ability to learn every day. This role involves establishing caring relationships with my students. A teacher should also make the learning process as rewarding as possible for students, and be a good example for them.
During my ten weeks at a school in Thailand earlier this year, the importance of the teacher as a role model was emphasized. I saw that good role models had a very powerful impact on the students. As a teacher I will lead through example, demonstrating to the students through my actions how to respect myself, respect others, work well with others, value diversity, and appreciate the environment.
Students will learn respect for themselves, others and the environment because I will model these characteristics for them. They will learn respect for others because I will show them, their parents and the other faculty and staff the same respect through my words and actions. Students will learn respect for the environment as they see me pick up trash on the school grounds, turn off unneeded classroom lights, or recycle plastic containers. Finally, I will model self-respect for them by taking good care of myself. I will arrive to school energized because I will be healthy and well rested.
As a teacher, I will assist my students in developing good academic, problem-solving and social skills, preparing them for life. I will create a nurturing and supportive environment for them in which to learn, so they can develop the skills needed to work with others and to solve problems. I will be a successful teacher if I help them progress further on their life’s path, and become better world citizens.
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