7. Get To Know Yourself
Teachers! The most important teaching tool you have is you! Yes, you! It’s true.
They don’t teach you this in college, it’s not part of the education curriculum, but if you think about it, it really should be. The most persuasive, effective, efficacious, long lasting, inspiring teaching tool you have is YOU!
What does this mean? What is the premise of teaching in the first place? What is the premise of education in primary schools? Those are big questions. Of course, the premise varies from school to school, methodology to methodology, philosophy to philosophy. Nevertheless, these are good questions to ask oneself as an educator. What is the premise of education? Why do I teach? (Who are these children and why do they keep calling me “teacher”?)
So, yes, while it is important to be able to be impersonal and fulfill the requirements of the curriculum you are following, the standards and subsequent testing, it is as important to remember what actually makes a difference in your students’ lives! You! You are the one who makes a difference!
It is often the simplest things that have the most impact. For example, what you do love?
- You may have a love of language and words that naturally transmits to your students.
- You may love imagery & descriptive detail.
- You may have a love for character development.
- You may love observation and detection.
- You may love numbers, sequence, patterns & cycles, fractals and quantum everything!
- Maybe you are a lover of logic.
- Perhaps your passion is ethics & justice!
- Are you a history lover?
- A natural storyteller?
- Maybe your thing is rhyme and verse or the poetry of the human soul?
It is for you to discover, to put together, to kindle. These are arts of teaching and transference. So… Get to Know Yourself within a new premise, context and NEED.
Children need their teachers to be human first, just like them!
The most important & powerful teaching tool is – You! Learning how to put that tool to its best use, developing your natural arts and abilities, building confidence and versatility, broadening and honing your skills – all become part of your self-training. To do so is to be able to give a greater service into the world in the domain of education which is a highly valued and valiant endeavour!
It is teachers that make a school! It is not the funding, the resources, the facilities, the methodology, philosophy or curriculum. All that helps. But none of it counts without good teachers who make education an art, and bring natural human arts to education!
~PAZ
*****
