It has taken me a while to get my head around a philosophy for Why I Want to Teach but I think I have finally pieced something together. A lot of people have contributed to this development – uni lecturers (and probably school teachers of mine), specifically Lyn Doppler from Rozelle (for the phrase – ‘life, long love of learning’) the key stakeholders in my first prac (teachers, partner, Principal and even some of the children), and more importantly, my parents and wife (for the values they instil in me), my sister (who is an incredibly courageous and inventive early teacher who inspires me) and close friends in this course who keep me balanced and on track. I was hoping for a nifty little one liner but – them’s the brakes:
As much as a young child is compelled to eat, sleep and play, I think they have a desire, equally, to learn. It may not be immediately apparent but as a primary teacher, I will:
- show a respect for the learner and the way they build their knowledge;
- scaffold learning that best suits the individual; and
- help them discover and never lose a life long love of learning.
Fundamentally, I agree that a school education should, at it’s barest minimum, “fit students for fulfilling, useful lives and give them all at least a roughly equal chance at happiness” (Dodson, 2009) with a view to putting them on the right path to be able to “contribute to Australia’s social, cultural and economic development” (MCEETYA, 2008). But to get children to this stage, I will endeavour to use creative, imaginative and innovative methods to teach both life skills and academic skills by continually exposing them to (and exploring with them) an array of information, facts and ideas to ensure they are able to discover what it is that excites them.
If a child is not learning, then I am not teaching them in a way that works best for them.
It is certainly a good headspace to take into the remaining eight months of MTeach and the two upcoming Professional Experiences.
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