Category: Teacher/Teaching

There are many valuable events in life, but I went through an unforgettable travel-education experience once I ended up in England. It all started with winning consent at my University (Tashkent University of Economics) as “The Best Teacher of 2015.”First, in the spring of 2015, I prepared a portfolio of my achievements in teaching and have become a participant international contest. The contest for the title “The Best Teacher of The Competition”. It had been held by the Minister of Education of Uzbekistan. Definitely, the aim of the competition was to seek out a talented university teacher. According to the results of the competition, there were 11 winners including myself. The prize for the winners was a brief trip to Great Britain to develop pedagogical skills and study world experience in pedagogy. Immediately in the summer of 2015, there was a chance to urge for an English visa. We arrived in Great Britain in the hours of darkness. Our first stop was Norwich. Norwich could be a city in England’s Norfolk Country. Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) has become our place of learning. Moreover, this kind of Summer course included a vigorous social program with optional excursions. So, our classes lasted for 2 weeks, from Monday to Friday. By the way, my colleague Renata, and I lived in the house of a beautiful English family. It had been an elderly couple, Gavin and Dayana. They provided us with a respectful welcome. So, we got aware of English customs and I got a friendship forever with Renata. On the other hand, despite the tight training schedule, in the evenings we could devote the time to shopping. Moreover, the weekend has come and it was time to get the entertainment part of the program. The first object of our visit was The Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is located on the south coast of the Themes, next to the Millennium Bridge. We watched the play “Twelfth Night”, fragments of which I shot on my iPad. With great pleasure, I can show it to anyone, who wants to see the original piece. The next day of our weekend was devoted to a visit to Oxford. Initially, the choice was between Oxford or Cambridge, but after gazing at the images and reading the report, we decided that Oxford was cool and that we went there. After, awaiting next weekend, we visited London, to castle. Castle is found within the “heart” of London. I got aware of the history of the castle, approached it, and took numerous photographs. This place is majestic. Then, we went boating on the Thames. A motorboat runs from clock Big Ben to the Tower of London. After a period, our studies were completed. supported the results of the training, we prepared tiny low thematic presentations and received a certificate from a certified teacher. My certificate demonstrates the successful development of the subsequent areas: Issues in Teacher training, Materials Development (including participant presentation), and Guided Study (including reading and research tasks). The conclusion may be noted that the mix of travel and education in Great Britain was a vital stage in my career as an educator and happy traveler. I have got wanted to explain this story persistently, but I don’t think that I could do it in the language of Shakespeare!

In this 21st century, a teacher should adopt a new approach toward the students so that they are updated with today’s tools and technology. When the students utilize everything that is important in today’s world then the students will be able to live and prosper in today’s economy as well they could be more productive in the future. What am I trying to say is in a teacher’s professional journey, he or she will be a guide for the student’s life. A teacher always plays a major role in the student’s life. Let’s see what the expectations should be in this 21st-century teaching profession.

Nowadays, the world is being more globalized which means the world economy, culture, and population are caused by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology and investment flows, and people and information in each country. So, what am trying to say is multilingual lesson is needed in this teaching profession for students. The students need to learn various languages since our country’s moving forward up in the economy and development.

When students learn many languages it will really benefit them in the future such as could get a job easily, being able to communicate with others in different languages, and many more.

Furthermore, other countries like China, the United Kingdom, Russia, and so on are trying to enlarge their companies in our countries. Obviously, they want their employee to be good at languages because proper communication leads to better cooperation. That is one of the factors why we must prioritize multilingual lessons in the 21st teaching profession since the outcome will give advantages to others as well.

These days, teachers should be role models in the teaching profession. The teacher must demonstrate a good example towards the students in respect, integrity, care, and trust. A positive role model could really inspire the students to live meaningful lives. The students will look up to their teachers and have a great bonding as well. If the students only learn the knowledge from the book, they could be smarter only but if the teachers taught the values and ethics in their life, they could be more productive in society. In this modern century, everyone expects students to learn more beyond academic lessons.

Next, every school has higher expectations of teachers which is that they should have higher academic qualifications. It is making sense why they are putting this kind of condition.

The government and schools believe that the teacher could be more knowledgeable and could share more facts with the students. This is because a teacher is the backbone of the students and could mold their behavior into the right path. The teachers are able to guide and dedicate the students to the power of education This is the reason why they require such a qualification in a school.

As we see there were expectations in the teaching profession, but there are challenges as well in this 21st teaching profession. To illustrate in detail, this century is more to the technology world. In this teaching profession, not all teachers are young and updated with new modern tools. So, some of the teachers are facing this issue that they are not well updated in new technology tools that will be used in the classroom. When they are not good at it, they prefer rote learning and there will be no innovation and creativity in their lessons. The students will fail to explore certain boundaries of possibilities and diminish their ability to creatively approach every problem and situation.

Classroom management is one of the challenges that were facing by teachers right now in the teaching profession Classroom management provides a variety of techniques used by teachers to organize students during class, to be orderly, focused, and attentive, perform tasks, and remain academically productive. There are a lot of students with different preferences, personalities, and many more. A teacher should manage everyone in the classroom based on their behavior so that the classroom won’t be in chaos. The teachers must always change their approach and learning styles for every lesson to ensure the students are attentive and not distracted. I believe that when the teachers manage the classroom more to students’ preferences, they will learn better than before.

Today’s education not only prepares students for a knowledgeable survival career. It aims to create future leaders and global citizens with an integrated view and way of community and the world. A teacher’s duty is to create global awareness in students which is helping them to understand environmental, social, cultural, political, and economic events in the world. Everyone can share the knowledge from the book with the children but as a teacher, we need to balance the academic world and global awareness as well. In short, the teaching profession could be really challenging for teachers but it can be overcome if they think rationally about the ways to the challenges.

In today’s society, teachers can be many people and many things. A teacher can be a parent, a sibling, a relative, or a friend. A teacher can also be one’s own experiences throughout life. One thing that we know is constant is our ability to learn from the aforementioned. Teaching and learning are two ingredients to success at any age, and neither one can exist without the other. Teaching is how we grow as a civilization, and learning is an indication to continue teaching. Teaching is the root of success within any field of study, and without said process, the advancement of people across all tracks of the scholarship will cease to progress. Teaching should be fun because learning should be fun. Teaching is power and happiness that is entrenched within anyone who is passionate about uplifting, motivating, and changing the lives of scholars who at any point in life had a dream to be somebody special.

To be an outstanding teacher, one must first be an outstanding learner. Before I became a teacher, I was outstanding at learning. After I retire, I will continue to be an outstanding learner. Being an outstanding learner is the foundation of an outstanding teacher because it is in learning that one excels and develops. Each day, I learn new strategies and methods from my cohorts that aid me in delivering quality, individualized instruction for my scholars. Each day, I learn from the very same students that I teach. My students teach me how to become a better person, teacher, and role model. They teach me how to maintain a growth mindset when faced with adversity, and they teach me how to listen so that I can elicit change in their lives. For me to be an outstanding teacher, I had to become an outstanding learner and realize that I am not always correct; I do not always do everything perfectly; I can learn from the youngest person to the oldest person, and everyone has something to contribute to the world.

Being a teacher has many rewards. As a teacher, one has the ability to restore a person’s will to chase their dreams and not be afraid of failure. One has the ability to motivate people to become better citizens in life, and one has the ability to mold the minds of our future. It is important for me to leave my footprints in the sand of life. Students rarely have the opportunity to have an African American male as their teacher. As an African American male, it is important for me to be a representation of someone magnificent because the stereotypes of African American men are not always represented positively in media (e.g. music, movies, and television). Very bluntly, students of all races and genders state that they want to be in my class because they have heard amazing things about me, and those who have not to say they want to be in my class because I am a male or because I am African American. As a lifelong learner and outstanding teacher, it would be a mistake to ignore the fact that my simple physical characteristics of myself can play a major factor in changing a student’s life. A reward for being who I am and teaching what I teach is being able to see students that relate to me because of my gender, my skin color, and my socio-economic background. Students relate to my goofy and flawed personality, my passion for being great, and my will to make mindful choices, and they decide for themselves that they want to be like me or even become better. My students and I have an interdependent relationship. They recognize that the guidance, motivation, and knowledge that I provide are essential to their success, and I recognize that their yearning for what I can offer drives me toward success; we both need each other for survival.

My beliefs are demonstrated in my personal teaching style because I make them evident to my students in everything that I do. I constantly remind my students how I need them so that I can become great, and in return, they provide me with that same reminder. I teach my students the value of education and the importance of having fun while learning. I teach my students that being the best version of one’s self is the only thing one should be obligated to offer to the world, and that being who they are is just enough. My students see my passion when I teach and during our motivational talks through our morning meetings. The two most important things that I teach to my students and the two things that drive my teaching style are that I want them to create lives for themselves that they are happy to wake up and live, and to avoid making excuses for what does not go right in their lives, but instead make a change.

I realize most students do not concentrate to their language necessities, and that is a genuine disgrace since when you make a stride back, unmistakably this class is one that can genuinely set you up for an implausible remainder. I would state that most students at Lassiter, myself notwithstanding, unquestionably do not concentrate to it as we should. I, like other people, pushed my work aside and accepted different classes progressively significant.

Since I am nearly in college, I perceive exactly how significant language is in my life, especially since it will sway to be useful in most employment situations. Not unreasonably finding out about different subjects wasn’t significant, on the grounds that they are exceptionally critical to be a balanced person. I trust I invested an excessive amount of energy worrying over them when I ought to have concentrated on a subsequent language. Thinking back, falling into that example was probably the greatest lament of high school. Spanish is one the most functional classes to take in high school. Regardless of what you need to accomplish for a mind-blowing remainder, a subsequent language is the most useful thing to begin early.

Much obliged to you for making me and others feel certain when learning Spanish, it’s way of life and making us need to adapt even more every day. Picking up something this diverse is hard and despite the fact that I may have made it look like a ‘simple’ class, it truly wasn’t. Realizing that I can be respectable at something that is so difficult to learn is ameliorating and certainty boosting. Much obliged to you for giving me that it merits all the work. At the point when I wasn’t so certain about my own capacities, you never addressed me. You told me the best way to acknowledge demands head on and not withdraw. You showed me how to appreciate language and welcome each second of it. You sent me into this appreciation of different dialects that I hadn’t encountered previously. You caused me to understand that a language wasn’t something to simply get past. A language is a way to another culture. It is so critical to be socially mindful, particularly on the planet we live in today. Much obliged to you for opening my eyes to another world. You made me a superior individual in something beyond Spanish and I am more than appreciative for all that you have accomplished for me and without a doubt, many others. Much thanks to you for being a phenomenal educator.

Write a letter to the best teacher you ever had. Using concepts covered in chapter twelve, explain how the format of the classroom and method of instruction affected your motivation.

Dear Ms. Watkins,

I would like to say thank you for being my favorite teacher for the rest of my life after I met you in the first year of middle school. You made me realize and believe that I can speak English perfectly, although my improvement was a bit slower than others. You motivated and encouraged me every day. Your patience and not giving up on me made me go to class excited. I still remember your style of teaching.

You allowed me to be independent but made sure that I felt the comfort of you being with me whenever I needed help. This helped me to be more confident and showed me that I could do it like other classmates. I still remember the independent reading day that you had every Friday. Did you know that I finished the whole book in English for the first time, although I struggled slightly? I think it was possible because of your independent teaching method. Also, the reciprocal teaching method improved my reading comprehension. Although it was my weakest skill, now it’s not my weakest anymore.

Since I was grouped with students who were similar to my level, it helped me be more comfortable sharing more than learning from each other. You always provided me with the best support, and I’m studying to be a teacher like you. You taught me to become who I am today, and it was an honor to be your student.

Peter Sinclaire once wrote: “Determination, patience and courage are the only things needed to improve any situation”. Determination is something people are driven by without realizing it. It is to strive to do something to make a positive difference in someone’s life. In the book ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers: 101 Stories about How You Make a Difference’, Amy Newmark and Alex Kajitini present the idea that anyone, with determination, can make a difference in the lives of students.

When people are truly determined enough, they can make a difference in someone’s life, or even save someone’s life. ‘Saving Daniel’ was a story about a young boy who was slowly dying due to kidney failure. The students and teacher in his class would sing and dance to keep his morale up. While there were times the teacher wanted to quit teaching, she was reminded that she must stay to help Daniel in his fight. Susan Traugh writes, “I’d go home drained, exhausted, and ready to give up. Except, there was Daniel. I couldn’t give up on Daniel. None of us could” (Newmark and Kajitani, 17). This teacher gives her students a goal for them to work towards until they have met it. She was determined to help make a difference in her students’ lives. Further on in the book, a story named ‘Puppy Therapy’ can contribute to this theme as well. The story is about a teacher who is struggling to get one particular student to be enthusiastic about school. All of her other students could not wait to arrive every day and were ecstatic to come back the next. Jeremy was different though; he had severe learning disabilities and poor social skills. Jeanne Kraus writes: “The kids loved our unique classroom style, and it worked – they were motivated and enthusiastic. Then, one year I was assigned a particularly unreachable student. Jeremy had been born with fetal alcohol syndrome, which probably accounted for his severe learning disabilities” (Newmark, Kajitani, 129). On many occasions, she tried to reach out to Jeremy, but nothing worked until she brought in her puppy. When she did so, Jeremy finally showed some enthusiasm. This particular story shows how the teacher was determined to get all of her students engaged, even if it took a long time. The first and second stories, along with many others in the book, revolve around the big idea that determination can make a difference in the lives of students.

In the end, determination is a trait that can lead to successful teaching. While all teachers might not teach with the same passion, they all have their own motivation and determination. When a teacher is determined, they have the opportunity to teach kids valuable lessons that can improve their education and life overall. In every situation, a teacher always has the opportunity to use his or her determination to impact the lives of students.

Work Cited

1. Newmark, Amy, and Alex Kajitani. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers: 101 Stories about How You Make a Difference. Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, 2017.

In this essay, I am going to examine three main schools of thought, namely – cognitive, behaviorist and humanistic – in the context of the educational process, and decide which of them seems best for the learning circumstances.

Cognitive School of Thought

Cognitive school of thought refers to how someone learn which is through mental processes, mainly on how people think, understand, remember and most probably apply it in their daily basis. So, scientists had estimated what goes on in an individual’s head through two vital ideas which is information processing and mental learning.

Information processing means an individual learn something, keep it in their mental, and then recover that information when needed or when they have to use it for their learning. First of all, short-term memory is a storage where the certain amount of information learner gained will be restored for few seconds, and then if they keep on thinking about it, it will be sent to their long-term memory to be kept forever. Long-term memory is where learner store the information that gained from short-term memory for quite a longer time. If the information does not used by them to any extent, it might be neglected permanently.

Attention is something that is very hard to attain from the students when educators are teaching. As an educator, they have to be creative and slightly open-minded in order to acquire student’s attention. Moreover, meaningful learning is about the relationship between the information learners already knew and new information they will be learning. New information can be obtained from the latest outcome which will be compared with the information we already knew.

Behaviorist School of Thought

Behaviorism refers to studies justified by surrounding causes rather than internal forces. Behaviorist tend to teach an individual based on outer stimuli, outer problems, and outer forces. There are five work thinkers who classified behaviorist school of thought who are Thorndike (connectionism), Pavlov and Watson (classical conditioning), Skinner (operant conditioning), Bandura (observable learning and modelling), and Gagne (hierarchical conditioning).

Classical conditioning is when two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal. Operant conditioning, referred as instrumental conditioning, is a way of learning through rewards or punishments in their behavior. Classical conditioning is involuntary and automatic responses, whereas operant conditioning is voluntary and operates on environment. The educator has control over the students to implement what is right and wrong in their brain.

Humanistic School of Thought

Humanistic school of thought is based on the learner’s free will, self-potential, and private extensions. It is based on students’ interests and requirements when learning something. Learners should be allowed to study on their own will and choose their learning courses from their own perspective rather than being ordered by parents or guardians. An educator should have an eye on every learner’s activities so they can keep on achieving in their upcoming achievements.

Thinkers like Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Alfred Adler, and Abraham Maslow had been classified that every learner have their own rights to choose their own educating path to achieve and supported by the help of educators. Learning does not only mean intellectual, whereas it is also focus on teaching someone or making them to obtain knowledge. Every student must be accepted as they are and not being judged for who they are in education. As a human being, each and every soul has their own liberty to pursue their studies. A learner can easily obtain knowledge when they are in a good environment physically and mentally.

Impacts of Each School of Thought

Speaking of the cognitive school of thought, its impact would be to enhance comprehension. Learners can develop a deeper understanding of the material and its application to the studies. It also boosts the confidence to have the ability to handle challenges at school and improves problem solving skills that makes it easier to learn new things within short period. The impact of behaviorist school of thought is that it allows the learner to react in a predictable way under certain conditions. Not only that, it does not consider the feelings or emotions of someone and does not explain all learning as it only explains about external forces and environment. And finally, the impact of humanistic school of thought is the freedom to learn anything an individual like rather than being ordered to learn something they hate. It also considers emotional states and how they impact on learning, and sometimes students will have different knowledge from each other if they choose what they want to learn.

Conclusion

In conclusion, after reviewing the three schools of thought regarding the educational process, I can conclude that the best school of thought is when the teacher teaches through the formal conditions of schooling, so it is better to use the cognitive school of thought. In my opinion, the best school of thought is when an educator is teaching via formal learning circumstances in school, it is better to use cognitive school of thought. It is because the students will easily understand what the teacher is trying to convey. Not only that, students can voice out their point of view without any obstacles from external forces, they can also build their self-confidence by the cognitive school of thought, as they can finally speak up their opinion in front of other people, which leads to boosting their confidence level.

Science and technology are changing rapidly today, and people have sought to keep pace with these changes. The students expected in these rapid and mass processes are implicit and passive, and no student can respond quickly with the shortest stride. On the other hand, the purpose of education is to actively participate in classes, present alternatives that can solve problems, and train students who can think critically. Under these circumstances, new education and training approaches have become important in our education system. It is important for students to discover the fun and enjoyable aspects of the lesson, actively participate in the lesson, create an environment for discussion, and use visual materials that can provide students with more meaningful learning. One of these tools is also a cartoon. Cartoons are a tool for attracting students’ attention, ensuring continuity of attention, reducing tension and test anxiety, and facilitating a more comfortable learning environment.

‘Cartoon’ is defined as a humorous drawing of a specific depiction of humor art that can be created by taking the essence of the drawing and promoting the technical possibilities of visual arts. Cartoons are an effective tool used to teach and advise fun. Cartoons are easy for children to recognize. In the process of making cartoons meaningful, students first focus on the lines of the cartoon, consider all the details, set up connections, make comments, and keep in mind the contrast and relevance with the target. Therefore, students think creatively and critically, and cartoons improve students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and also express themselves, think freely, and convey their thoughts and feelings verbally and in writing. Let’s imagine what you can do. In addition, manga makes the case possible from various aspects while smiling for students (Black, 2003). One of the main purposes of manga is not only to make students laugh in the process but also to make it as they wish. Manga generally has a critical perspective. The topics discussed in the work are required to be reviewed from a critical point of view by the reader. The meaning of the course in teaching cartoons suitable for that subject is effective and memorable. This is an alternative to educational systems based on memorization training accompanied by bleeding wounds. In the meantime, the class develops a fun, intellectual realm of the mind. This will increase your ability to comment on a topic. A teacher who knows comics and can do her best to save today’s youth from nasty comics that contain only elements of humor. Instead, it provides point lines to provide visibility, motivate students, and create opportunities for discussion. The use of comics in today’s education is not well-liked. However, no tool can make education just as interesting as cartoons. Therefore, cartoon visual materials motivate students and provide opportunities for discussion. Communication with comics is simple and uncomplicated. This is remarkable and surprising. It will be a memorable part. The warmth and charm of the cartoon, and the comfort of laughter and smiles make it easier to take advantage of relaxation and easily bring the desired message into your memory. When a student takes a lesson using cartoons, the student is, in particular, better understanding the knowledge of the topic. The cartoon contains important messages generated by looking at the details and simplifying the details to define the case. Therefore, the function of comics that solidifies the foundation that students teach and reminds increases the effectiveness of educational comics. In that sense, manga has a great meaning in education.

The importance of the benefits gained from cartoons in the process of education and the benefits gained from cartoons can be summarized as follows. Students want entertainment during class. Cartoons use a language of humor and have the power to achieve it. This language of learning humor guides students to learn. This allows students to participate more in the lesson without getting bored and provides a fun dimension to the lesson. A positive classroom environment, created with a smile, is more useful than a narrated lesson. It is effective for learning the skills and abilities of students. Teachers can ask questions about the cartoons they drew in class to get students interested and learn the topic. Students will also review the comics they have drawn to develop oral and writing skills. Cartoons are important in that students form relationships between themes and help learners develop problem-solving skills. Manga students have different perspectives and will bring a wealth of ideas. Therefore, it is easier to capture the details of the information. Children have very limited time to concentrate. I’m tired of it as soon as the student’s attention is distracted during class time. You can concentrate on the lesson for a long time without getting bored by teaching the subjects in the manga. At the same time, becoming fond of the course will be an important contribution. Cartoons play an important role in keeping students engaged in class for a long time. Introductory knowledge is effective in refocusing your attention on a given class time. This situation is to keep them. Cartoons make a positive contribution to the development of students’ thinking and comprehension skills. Therefore, they play a role in the formation of a readiness audience, since the set goals are effective in teaching them well. Cartoons are effective for communication with students. This will make it easier for students to remember messages related to their goals. It can be said that the approach of humor is attractive while planning communication with students. Communication with comics is an easy, uncomplicated way.

In the next session, the role of the teacher will involve facilitating discussions surrounding the trip that took place. In doing so, children can share their ideas of particular artworks or processes using art and design terminology which would, in turn, fulfill one of the NC aims (2013). The discussion will also allow children to be critical and gain a deeper understanding of the multiple perspectives that the arts promote (Eisner, 2002). Toward the end of the discussion, children will be introduced to the artist Jennifer Collier and will have the opportunity to discuss and explore her work.

Following the discussion session, children will be given the opportunity to explore different materials in relation to the project. This exploration will be set up with multiple stations across the room, allowing children to explore all the different processes rather than choosing one and solely using that. The stations will also support classroom and resource management. The choice to incorporate stations is inspired by Ogier, who suggests that the environment in which a space is set up to foster children’s creativity will allow children to explore freely (2017, p. 38).

The stations will be; a paper ruffling station, using both double-sided tape and PVA glue to create these (See sketchbook for examples of this approach), an embroidery station using paper and thread, a station with sewing machines (this could be swapped out for an additional embroidery station if the school does not have access to sewing machines), and a station that explores a range of other found materials that could be used for applique. The materials that children will be exploring will mainly be different types of paper, however, some found materials such as bin bags and plastic bottle lids could be explored in relation to the project. This would shine a light on the recycling element of the project, which can be further explored in either science or PSHE lessons, therefore, creating effective cross-curricular links (Barnes, 2018). Furthermore, the use of found materials will reduce the pressure on schools to source lots of materials as the class could bring in suitable recycling materials from home for their project.

Modeling will be provided at each station through verbalizing my thought process and asking children for their ideas as I go. This will give children first-hand experience of how to complete the process whilst supporting them in fulfilling the NC requirements of mastering their artistic skill (DfE, 2013). Some may argue that this will promote a restrictive approach as the modeling would be showing a ‘correct’ way of achieving the process, which in doing so, could restrict children’s creativity as they are only following the teacher’s process to achieve a predetermined outcome (Ogier, 2017). However, there will be some children, perhaps those with SEN, who will not know where to start when given materials, and this could cause anxiety. Furthermore, modeling is essential for the sewing machine station as there is an additional health and safety element to consider. Therefore, the session will aim to find a balance between free exploration and controlled modeling.

At this point, children won’t have seen any examples of what their project will look like or is aiming to achieve. This is intentional as it will allow for a more natural exploration and development of ideas instead of showing them an example as that could lead to children wanting to replicate this. Furthermore, this approach will hopefully combat the sentiment that children feel anxious about their ability in art (Key and Stilman, 2009) between the ages of 9-11 as per Lowenfeld’s stages of artistic development (1987). The self-awareness amongst this age group is important to consider when teaching art to KS2, and this disengagement with Art was evident during my time on placement with a year 6 class. Therefore, the decision to have a mixture of a modeling and exploratory-based approach has been taken as it will hopefully relieve these pressures and will, in turn, provide all children with the opportunity to be creative (National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education, 1999)

After these initial exploration sessions, children will be shown what their final product could look like and will begin to develop designs for their badge or brooch in their sketchbooks to explore what they would like to achieve throughout the project. It is at this point where design and craft will overlap and children will have the freedom to explore the project in their own way by creating initial designs prior to the making process.

Relating back to teachers’ anxieties surrounding Art and Design, assessment could cause some to avoid giving time to the subject due to its subjective nature. This project will use the 8 studio habits of mind suggested by Hetland et al (2013) to ensure there are attainable goals that children can achieve without disrupting individual creativity and requiring children’s work to fit into a single category.

The decision to have a project that is craft based was made to ensure that children can explore a range of different processes rather than just drawing. Art and Design is more diverse than this. With schools being engaged in catch-up programs due to the pandemic, it is important, now more than ever, to reintroduce more craft-based learning in Art classrooms. Craft allows for more than just creating an end product, it also supports children’s communication and collaborative skills which have been drastically hindered by COVID lockdowns (Crafts Council and NSEAD, 2021). Furthermore, this project will allow children to explore new mediums and gain enjoyment from taking part in Art and Design lessons whilst contributing to a bigger picture of sustainability.

The center quote I chose to represent my teaching philosophy is “Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve” (Roger Lewin). This shows my belief that learning is not centered around testing and statistics, but rather the heart and mind of each student. If I were to word my educational philosophy into a poetic statement like the many quotes I found, it would be that “I want to reach each child for who they truly are, teach them to truly learn, and help them to be truly happy”. Because of my high hopes for teaching, I found it difficult to choose only one quote. Others that I felt were important were, for example, one by Buckminster Fuller who said “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly”, describing how each student has a beautiful potential that only they can reach, and it is the job of the teacher to support them along the way. Finally, there are two Chinese proverbs I found to be especially important. One states “Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time”, and the other says “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand”. Again, these both explain how teaching and learning is a process centered around the student.

I believe the purpose of education should be to prepare students for adult life with not only the knowledge but also the skills, both academic and otherwise, that they need to succeed. Specifically, I want each student to have the base set of knowledge and academic skills ‘required’ in our society, but I also want them to be able to connect with and understand others around them, especially those who are different from them. Empathy, on the part of both the student and the teacher, is incredibly important. Respect is first and foremost in the classroom. While it is important to have high-achieving students, each one will be different and as I teacher I hope to cater to their separate and unique wants and needs as much as possible and necessary. I believe that teaching should not be an authoritative dictatorship. The teacher is still learning just as much as the students are, and while the maturity and authority that comes from their education and position make them worthy of respect, I believe that students should not be taught to blindly follow that authority. While it is often taught that one must ‘respect their elders’, one must also remember that students are human beings deserving of just as much attention and respect as the teacher or any others in authority, and it is important for the classroom hierarchy and environment to reflect this. As such, I do believe that teaching should be student-centered. They come to school to learn and grow in many ways, not just be tested and filed away as numbers. Classes must work as a cohesive unit, helping students to develop social skills among their peers, but the teacher must also take time to recognize each student individually, especially at lower or younger levels of education. The teaching methods employed should involve auditory, visual, and tactile learners, combining both social and independent work. While this balance may be hard to achieve, it is up to the teacher to understand their students’ needs and work to accommodate them. For example, a lecture would involve written work like notes, intelligent commentary from the teacher, visual aids to go along with what is presented, and any chance for discussion possible. Remember, the goal is to help students truly learn the material, not just memorize the answers. Every student needs an opportunity to share their voice, but not a requirement to do so, as, again, each student is different and expresses themselves in different ways. Once participation is required, it may seem to be a chore or another box to check for certain students. Each student should also feel represented and secure in their identities. Whether this is their culture, race, religion, gender, or anything else that makes them who they are, each student needs an equal opportunity to relate to the material being taught and the activities completed. Not every student is the same, and their uniqueness should be celebrated, not forced to blend in.

In order to accomplish such lofty goals and seemingly unrealistic expectations for education, teachers should be kind, caring, and understanding individuals who truly believe in and enjoy what they do. It is difficult to devote so much time and mental effort to teaching, especially when so much emphasis is put on truly knowing and reaching each child. However, with the proper training and experience, teachers who are willing to go the extra mile and commit to their students will find that the students are not the only ones who are learning new things. When we as teachers open our hearts and minds to the countless possibilities the next generations have to offer, we will never stop learning and growing in our respect for the youth of our world.