1. Sst 229 (Social Readings 1)<br />LAURO, CHRISTINE M.<br />My Qualities as a Teacher<br />I have a strong foundation of good values. I always hear people say that teaching is not only a profession but an identity. Teachers can either make or destroy lives. I say this because I always remember those teachers who have made a difference in my life, and they continue to be a big part of it still. Their voices are in my head and I am sure I want them to be part of my voice as well. Their thoughts and values inform what I consider and call my own thoughts and values. I want their examples – the things they did, more than the style of their teaching to continue to inform the way I teach, the way I work and the way I live. <br />At this point I want to share an encounter with a student. I used to teach one on one and group classes in an English Institution where students are mostly composed of Asian learners - Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese and Thais. I got my biggest shock when a particular student (an engineer and married with two kids), gave me an indecent proposal. His exact words were, “Chin, I will give you ten thousand pesos only if you sleep with me for one night.” As someone who is always in dire need of money, I could have said, “Wow, ten thousand pesos is not bad, after all it’s just for one night, or just 11 minutes as what the writer Paolo Coelho described.” Or I could have negotiated to raise the price to fifty thousand grand or more (haha!). But my teacher ego said I need to teach the student a lesson in any way. I told him that no amount of money could buy my dignity as a person. And I told him I pity him for even thinking of such proposal. But not wanting to yield he said, “Oh come on, you’re a Filipino and Filipinos always need money.” And that totally blew me and really pissed me off. I told him I don’t only pity him but his wife and two kids for having such indecent and unprofessional husband and father. After our argument I asked our schedule manager to transfer the student to a male teacher. He was never my student again but before his program in the institution ended, he surprised me by purposely talking to me and thanking me about what I said. He said he was embarrassed and he learned something more than learning the English language. <br />In a sense, then, all good teachers rescue us from the death of boredom, apathy, self-preoccupation and self-satisfaction. A teacher is an intellectual but more of a moral life saver. I am a teacher who is rescued by rescuing others.<br />I make sure I know my students well. Learning could be very taxing so I make the learning environment is non-threatening and welcoming for the students to be comfortable and at ease while learning. My students before were mostly university students, professionals and even retirees who want to learn basic English because they plan to travel. I believe there was no point of being very strict and authoritarian. I try to be friendly but of course not too familiar because I’m still a teacher. That way, they’re open to express themselves and ask questions about things they don’t understand. In my classroom I used to have a perculator and I serve my students tea/coffee (especially my old students who would really get sleepy in class) and talk to them as though we’re just in a tea house or a coffee shop having casual conversations. With this I am able to build healthy teacher – student relationship. More importantly, I am able to discover what motivates them and know how to scaffold activities to ensure that maximum learning occurs. <br />I am confident. I say my confidence as a teacher does not primarily come from being knowledgeable of the subject matter but is always acquired by thorough preparation on how I present the subject matter. I keep myself up to date with new information. I bring additional materials that are engaging for the class to be interesting.<br />
