Exploring My Teaching

 Exploring My Inner Teacher

We carried out this exercise in a class session together with teacher Sandra, an exercise to make a feedback of ourseglves as teachers, in order to know our weaknesses, our strengths, our opportunities and our challenges when teaching. 

Matriz FLOR

The next exercise was more creative and profound for me, there are things that one often overlooks about oneself and what one is studying and practicing. The fact of making a self-recognition about your conceptions, what you love (which many times you overlook), my concerns and what I think I do well when teaching, is a beautiful job and to be able to share it with your colleagues and see things we have in common and also be able to advise each other is the best part of this. 

Reflective Silhouette

I made the decision to do it in the form of a tree that bears fruit, because that's basically what education is like. There is the sun (your conceptions) that is basically the guide that you have when teaching and that is what gives life to everything else. Then, we have the fruit (the heart) which is what grows and what you have left of everything you learn, of what marks you, what you love. 

On the other hand, we have the trunk that are our concerns when teaching, as we all have concerns about things that we do not know how to develop or how to develop and we lack more strategies, but once we can handle it and work on this, the leaves grow, which are an essential part of the tree, of our work, of what we do well so that everything else bears fruit and what we do is more rewarding. 

My Teaching History

My journey through education and teaching that leads me to be where I am now, on this path of being a teacher, dates to a time when the idea of teaching was the last thing on my mind. During my teenage years, the idea of teaching or being a teacher was distant and unfamiliar to my interests. In fact, I was always a shy and reserved person, with stage fright that prevented me from even imagining standing in front of a group of students. Back then, just the thought of standing in front of a classroom was enough to make me nervous, even when I was in school in front of my classmates.

My high school years were marked by uncertainty and the search for my path. Although I never imagined myself as a teacher, I always felt a special connection with the English language through music, the series I watched, and because learning another language seemed incredible to me. On the other hand, the English teachers I had throughout my time in school were the ones who sparked a deep interest in the language within me and made me feel like I had a natural talent for it.

It was thus that, in a super unexpected turn, my initial plans were to study business administration, but I didn't feel complete; I wanted English and after a semester, I quit and fully embraced the foreign languages ​​degree. However, what I didn't expect was the challenge this would represent for me. The transition from the school environment to the university was abrupt and overwhelming, especially because I hadn't read the curriculum before. I found myself struggling to adapt to a new way of life, facing academic challenges I had never experienced before.

Shyness and stage fright became my biggest obstacles. Simply participating in class became a titanic task, and the idea of ​​having to face a group of students filled me with anxiety. As the semesters progressed, I struggled with the feeling of not living up to expectations, of not having the solid foundations I needed to succeed.

But even in the darkest moments, there was a spark of hope that refused to extinguish. During my primary practice, something changed within me. I found myself in front of a group of children, and although the idea terrified me at first, I discovered that I had a special connection with them. With this degree, I felt more confident because I like children, and I began to feel more comfortable in the role of a teacher. On the other hand, the teachers in that semester made me feel very motivated; learning teaching didactics for children and psycholinguistics was changing my perspective, and the idea of ​​teaching felt like maybe it was what I wanted.

I cannot deny that there are still moments of doubt and confusion, especially when a new semester begins because I never know what awaits me next, and it fills me with anxiety and fear, and all that makes me question if teaching is really for me. But every time I enter a classroom and see the faces of my students, it makes me feel a little less afraid and makes me want to try my best, and at the end of the semester when I receive feedback from my students, tutors, and teachers, I feel a little better.

My history as a teacher and teaching is full of ups and downs, some challenges overcome, and, above all, a small passion for teaching that I never thought I would find within me. Although the journey here has not been easy over the years, I am grateful for every obstacle I have faced, as it has led me to overcome fears I had and because I have found motivation in colleagues, teachers, and above all in my first approach to teaching, which was my mom, my pillar.