Where Do You See Yourself In 4 Years As An Elementary School Teacher - Essay Example

Where Do You See Yourself In 4 Years As An Elementary School Teacher?“It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts. it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and always to think for themselves”: Robert Hutchins (“Robert Hutchins Quotes”). To be able to think, rationally and logically, is the greatest gift of mankind. To nurture this gift is our responsibility and to help young minds realize this wonderful capacity to the fullest is the duty of a teacher.

Four from now as an elementary school teacher I consider the first step towards becoming a better teacher is to be, above all else, a learner. By learning I do not mean gaining in-depth knowledge of a subject or becoming a master in many fields. By this I mean learning to understand the psyche of a rebellious 12 year old or a shy first grader. Every student has his/her own special needs and a teacher is duty bound to identify those needs. Understanding young children does not happen through listening to lectures or analyzing books on child psychology.

It can only be brought about by experience and patience while interacting on a one to one basis with the children you are working with. I intend to work towards building the confidence of my pupils, first of all in themselves, so they will always know that no goal is unreachable, and secondly in me so they will positively respond to my suggestions and advice. During my years as a student I have always responded well to only those teachers who, apart from being excellent in their teaching, were also genuine.

Many teachers undermine the perceptive powers of their students assuming that they can get away with just cursory replies to queries and in doing so unconsciously lose respect and faith of the children. Genuinely being interested and devoted to all of my students is my primary objective. In addition to earning their trust I will also be able to easily make them to pay heed to me. After all it is easier to control a class with love than with a rod. A rod can indeed quiet a noisy class but cannot make the minds attune to what is being taught.

A holistic approach instead of a completely academic approach is required to reach out to the students especially at such an impressionable age.Further, students at all levels have considerable attention deficit (not the syndrome) and at the elementary level more so. To keep them engaged throughout an entire period is quite a challenge in itself. In order to accomplish that I will put into practice a thoroughly interactive and imaginative approach. At every step of the learning process it is essential that there is constant communication and feedback from the students, as to how much is understood and how much is absorbed.

Also employing activity based learning techniques will ensure that more information gets across to the young minds.It is commonly believed that even the smallest and most unimportant detail, when read in a novel or a story book, is easily retained than when read from a text book. In keeping with that belief, I would like to impart various concepts to my students with the aide of a story, a real life incident or by pantomiming. The story will be remembered for years to come and also the act along with the concept too.

In more ways than one a student can be inspired to learn and learn well. A teacher is an integral part of this learning process. I see myself as one such teacher, inspiring young minds to look and venture beyond the horizons. After all as an elementary school teacher I am responsible for helping a student stride out of the simple world of addition and photosynthesis to a more complex world of quantum physics and meiosis. In four years from now, I would like to become the teacher who not only imparts knowledge but also help students understand the power of learning, equipping them with the basic and most essential skills to face the bigger challenges in their life and along the way remember me fondly.

Works cited:Robert Hutchins Quotes. Retrieved August 1, 2008, from Think Exist.com Web site: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/robert_m._hutchins/