MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I am Pelma Nonkululeko Mahlangu, I am a student at
TEC Siyabuswa campus, I study Bed foundation phase, I am going to be a
foundation phase teacher. This is my teaching philosophy.
Being a teacher goes beyond than just passing
knowledge/information to students.My goal as a teacher to be is to play a role
in building a better nation with better citizens. I believe that a foundation
phase teacher plays a big role in determining the kind of person a child grows
out to be, I want to lay a foundation, not only in the child’s academic journey
but in the child’s future. I believe that what a young child is thought at an
early age determines the kind of people they will be.
I aim to be a teacher that cares more about the
wellbeing of a child than the academic performance of a child, because I
believe that a happy child will do well in their school work. I believe that
for one to help build a nation it needs to start with one building an individual,
then a community and then a nation. I aim to build a nation through caring,
loving, supporting, respecting and accepting my learners as they are and try
teach in a way that it benefits all of them with their diverse difficulties.
A teacher has
different roles to play so as a teacher I want to play a role of being a parent
to my learners in the absence of their biological parents, I want to be that
person they go to in terms of support and everything. One role that I feel is
important that I play is the encouraging success, as I am aware that learners
do not develop nor progress the same, I need to encourage them that they can
succeed all of them not all at the same time but they will all succeed if they
can be patient and determined, I will do this through problem solving in class,
giving them something to do, others will do it faster than others but at the
end they will all get it right.
Another role I will play as a teacher is to select a
learning pace/speed that will benefit the needs of the learners, I have to
teach in a way that all learners with variable developments are able to
understand the lesson fully so. As a teacher I will have to attend workshops,
network, research and find ways that will enhance that teaching and learning in
my class.
Promoting equality in class and be able to reflect
are another roles I will play as a teacher, I need to be able to treat my
learners in the same way, not having favourite learners because their parent’s
social status or my relationship with them. As a teacher I need to reflect on
my experiences or actions in class eg if my learners have not understood during
the lesson I need to find a solution to the problem, find out ways that I can
use to make them understand better.
A teacher is not the only person who can play a role
in class, learners also need to play certain roles. A learner in nowadays does
not only sit and consume education, they need to be actively involved in the
lesson by asking questions, raising opinions and etc, this will make learning
more fun, because without the learners participation there will be no learning.
Learners need to be disciplined, imagine giving
learners an assignment or homework and none of them writes it how would you
know that they have understood or not? Or just in the middle of the lesson a
learner shouts for no reason, this will disrupt the lesson, therefore learners need to be disciplined and respectful.
i see the process of teaching and learning as something that goes in both ways, where a teacher learns from a student and a student learns from the teacher.Teaching and learning process is based on a curriculum and needs preparation,patience and time.you can not teach if you not patient because learners learn differently and you need to be patient with them.
For optimal learning to take place there should be an interaction between a learner and a teacher.There should be security,security does not only mean in physical but emotional as well,learners need to feel secure with their teacher,they need to feel that they belong and they are loved,their well being has to be taken care of first.Imagine a learner comes to school hungry will they learn to the optimum? no,they need to be first well then they can learn.
Most teachers believe that when learners are scared of you its fine while its not,how will learners express themselves,their ideas and how will they ask questions?you do not need to be feared but respected,learners need to feel that they can talk to you,come to you for support or emotional stress,trust you.
Optimal learning will take place when you as a teacher you understand all your learners and their academic barries and you able to teach in a way that it will benefit each of them at the end of the day.
One of the values i underpin under my practice is care, I am a caring person and that is important as a teacher,caring for learners and be close to them.It is of great importance that you respect the child regardless of the age and respect for your co-workers as well as you profession that is my other value respect.
I have no doubt that i am going to be one of the amazing foundation phase teachers that one will remember even when they are old.
