My Road to Teacherdom

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/d34235_46028a640f124d48bc1eb148c56b08f7/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

It is my 21st year of teaching (including seminar & workshop gigs for teachers)! Let me share that:

The call to the vocation of teaching has to be discerned carefully as it involves great responsibility. Teachers take on more than simply the responsibility for their own lives and careers--- They are, by the very nature of their profession, responsible for so many others. What they say, how they say, what they draw out of their lesson plans have a potential impact on the choices of the young, leading them to the right path or leading them astray.

I started my teaching vocation in the Philippines. Though teaching pays a little in the Philippines, it has other, more valuable rewards. In and out of the classroom, I get stimulated intellectually. I get paid to read books, something I have always enjoyed doing. I am the boss inside the classroom since everything that happens in class is under my control. Well most things, at least, but I do believe that when some of my students prove to be a handful, it's only a matter of how I deal with them: That's why I am supposedly the "adult" in the classroom.

So as a teacher, I take responsibility over what happens in my class, good or bad. Teaching also satisfies my ego. Since I was a little girl, I've always wanted to be an entertainer. Well, teaching is also a lot like showbusiness. You perform before an audience. And it really makes my heart leap whenever my students learn something or laugh at my jokes.

My students truly make my life complete. Students for me are potential friends. I feel really blessed that I had and until now have a great set of students. Most of them are intelligent and vocal and this makes my job a lot easier. Class discussions flow smoothly most of the time (especially when I was teaching in the college level, and now that I am doing private practice, and whenever I have seminar gigs for teachers).

Teaching college students, private clients and my teacher-audience is challenging. I always have to be way ahead of my students, though there were times I get stumped, which was fine because as a teacher, I also appreciate the opportunity to learn from my students. One of the hardest things about teaching is thinking on your feet, being able to come up with credible and convincing answers since students think it's your job to know everything.

Teaching is seldom boring. Something new always happens. A sister of a former suitor became my student, putting me in really awkward situation. There was an instance a student broke down in class because I gave her failing grade.

As a teacher, I have a license to care. That's what I really do. Caring for people is the reason for my daily life. It's the reason for everything I do.

It is a strange feeling, being on the other side. I'm still not used to being addressed as "Miss". The troublemaker is still inside me, but I want to believe that teaching is what I do best--- being with my students and devoting the best years of my life to helping them realize their full potential. Teaching for me means reaching a certain degree of leadership or influence, a greater calling to be a good example. To walk the walk and talk the talk, to be more patient, be positive, be encouraging, be sincere, and be genuine. That is quite difficult to maintain, but I challenge myself. Life is not just about me! Today, my relationships are richer because of the leap I made to teaching, which is only another word for shaping the future.

Now that can sound a little overwhelming and intimidating, but I take comfort in the fact that the future doesn't happen overnight. In the classrooms of today, tomorrow is built by the hour. Sometimes it is as easy as teaching your class the ABCs or the 123s. Sometimes it is complicated as lighting up a bulb in their heads with the hope that someday it will brighten up the world in many ways.