The moment we have our first glance of the world, we learn. We continuously learn every day of our lives. We learn how to walk, to tak, to eat, or to love and other things that are shared by the people around us. We learn new things from our own experiences. Learning from my own understanding is passing knowledge that is impactful enough to change one's perception of how they perceive the world. To be able to learn is to be able to see the world in different lenses. Learning allows us to understand different perspectives upon different dilemmas and phenomena in this world. The knowledge and information given to us and retained in our minds is what we learnt. In a learning situation, such as in our own community or homes, it gives us opportunities to learn things that are enough to influence how we see things. It allows us to weigh the information given to us through the process of learning whether to accept it or not to allow those learning ideas to retain to our system. Because we are able now to ponder what information to accept or not, we can learn what we think is essential to be learnt. The moment we question the different phenomena in the world, we learn. The moment we critically criticize things whether it is true or not, we are allowing ourselves to acquire more in-depth analysis of the knowledge. Learning is not about easily absorbing the information like sponges without thinking if that information is true, but rather being humble enough to accept that we might be in the dark about different things happening around us. Upon inquiries about the truthfulness of the information instead of just absorbing it, enable us to discover further knowledge. That's how a learning situation should be, we are able to learn a different perspective on a certain information before allowing it to be absorbed by our minds. Because without critical thinking upon learning might mitigate the potential of ourselves to develop our cognitive skills to the fullest. Furthermore, having critical consciousness upon acquisition of knowledge and information will be a bridge towards in-depth understanding about the world and how different things work. With that, we can view the whole picture and determine what are the things that need to be adopted, accepted, and changed as having in-depth knowledge about certain things will uncover secrets of the world where things that need to be changed are exposed. These secrets of the world may be biased and contradictions towards other perspectives. Knowing enough of these things will help us to take actions accordingly.
Learning is almost always associated with the word teaching. Learning is the opportunity for us to acquire different knowledge and new ideas. Teaching, on the other hand, are the ways, methods, or/and techniques of the facilitators of learning to transmit these learnings to the learners. Teaching is the connection between how teachers give instructions for the students to effectively learn and apply the different knowledge, ideas, and information passed on them. Teaching and learning, nonetheless helps individuals to transform the minds of the students having the support of the facilitators of learning, the teachers. Teachers are the glue that binds teaching and learning. By the help of teachers, the knowledge is being transmitted to the students effectively. Educators are the ones who are accountable for how their students learn the knowledge or concepts that will mold them to become a better citizen not just in their local environment, but also globally. As a future educator, I acknowledge the responsibilities and duties of being a teacher. I wholeheartedly accepted the calling of teaching. With this, I will facilitate teaching in the way that I can boost the morale of my students to establish their confidence in examining how the different systems in the world works, as well as to see the problems that need concrete actions to attain betterment. Getting to know the different perspectives of my students will allow me to understand where they are coming from whenever they say their standpoints. I believe that students are not blank paper that always need to write things on them to have or retain information. They are from different contextual backgrounds that make them see the world in different lenses. As the facilitator of learning, I will make these different experiences and backgrounds of my students for them to engage more on learning. Learning must be co-constructed where students and teachers are on equal footing where everything they care about is being acknowledged, respected, and given importance. I must learn how to connect the content of what I will teach to my students to their lived experiences, interests, and perspectives. As a Social Studies educator, I must learn how to generate relevant and authentic examples, instances, and problems wherein my students can relate as it is more-specific to their contexts. Encouraging my students to share their own experiences, viewpoints, and inquiries, and to give importance to their contributions as sources of knowledge and insights on the learning. I will promote a learning environment wherein they're comfortable with sharing their own perspectives without worrying about being judged by the people around them. They must realize how powerful their voices are, and how it could possibly create significant changes not just in the learning community, but also to their own society. I will also create a learning environment where they can freely inquire about things that they want to have further knowledge about. In my standpoint, assisting my students to develop their own voices is also equivalent to leading them towards creating significant changes to their own lives, the lives of the people around them, and to the world.
In the learning process, I am expecting my students to acquire not just crucial knowledge about the subject matter, but also improve their critical thinking and inquiry skills and give value to their voices. As I mentioned, students came from different backgrounds having their own unique stories that makes them view the world in different lenses. With this, I am not limiting their ability to think beyond what I inculcate to them. I will help them realize that my knowledge is not the supreme knowledge that they could possibly acquire, but a stepping stone for them to unreveal more knowledge upon inquiries. This will surely awaken their critical consciousness upon having inquiries. I envision my students to have a concrete foundation of what they believe, how they can evaluate their own belief, and how they can strengthen their beliefs. Our professor, Sir. Macky, always mentioning about having a strong and good disposition. Neutrality in Social Studies doesn't have a space. Not taking a stand doesn’t mean you are being neutral. It means you are conforming to the ways of dominant forces in the societal context. Our voice matters. Being silent about the topics wherein oppression is rampant is also allowing the oppressors to continue their wrongdoings. I will not see and let my students be in that kind of position. In response, I will help them realize that learning, knowledge, and ideas are not static. Instead, I will encourage them to inquire, analyze, and evaluate different sources where they will be able to explore different perspectives, challenge the truthfulness of the information instead of believing it immediately, and determine the inequalities, biases, and gaps in the information. I aim for them to have critical consciousness that will be their weapons in mitigating circumstances that spread inequalities and social injustices. As a Social Studies educator, I aim for them to become the nation's army to emancipate oppressive factors in our country.
In order for me to achieve these goals for my students, I will give emphasis to the importance of dialogue and cooperative learning inside the classroom. As I said, I need to establish their confidence for them to have a strong foundation of their voices. So, the promotion of respect, creative , and supportive environment must be observed in the classroom. This will allow them to be more expressive with their thoughts and ideas where knowledge and viewpoints are being shared across the class and not being buried behind their minds. Other strategies that can help me to achieve the goals I set for my students such as group discussions, different sources review, and project-based learning. In this case, my students have the opportunity to
work together, learn from each other, and co-create knowledge.
Making these conceptual ideas is a bit challenging for me as I know the fact that we came from different backgrounds wherein the prior knowledge, ideas, and information we gained from our past experiences can hinder the acquisition of new knowledge. Some of these are religious beliefs and family traditions. As educators, we are the ones that create our learning objectives, assessment, and such to assess and effectively assist our students to develop their full potential. In that case, I will first determine my own perspective. It always starts within ourselves. Having enough knowledge about our standpoint, biases, and interests will help us see how it could possibly influence the way we teach. Acknowledgment or awareness of ourselves is the key step towards effective learning. After having self-consciousness, I should next have the backgrounds of my students. I need to understand why they behave, act, and respond like the way they do. Upon understanding their backgrounds, I will create scenarios or examples that are relevant to their backgrounds which they can relate to and with that, it will establish engagement between my students and myself. This will help them to participate in the class discussion as they are related to the topic. It will encourage them to share their own standpoints from their own lived experiences. Having them more active in the class discussion will have a broader realm of knowledge to be shared with the group. In this case, they can assess which knowledge, ideas, and opinions they will accept or not. They will let their minds think critically and analyze the different stories that came from their classmates. With that, more chances of inquiries will rise during the class discussion. I will help them realize and have aspirations for positive changes in their own lives and to the community they belong to. Presentation of real-life experiences and issues observed by them is a catalyst for their minds to think what they can do to create changes and take actions to solve those problems.
chose teaching as my profession and I am aware that this isn't an easy path to take. My goals for myself as a teacher are to have greater confidence in public speaking, increase my knowledge about the course that I am currently taking, and enhance my own critical thinking and inquiry skills. In terms of self-esteem, I have an inconsistent level of it depending on the anxiety I feel during the time of public speaking. I am disappointed with myself whenever I find myself struggling to communicate my thoughts in English. I can create literary works, essays, and technically write in English without the help of any Artificial Intelligence. But the problem is that I usually stutter and panic when I start to turn my creative writings into speaking. I need to enhance my self-esteem and public speaking as it is essential for every aspiring educator. I will seepractice and take opportunities where I can speak in English in order for me to be used to it and lessen my anxiety in public speaking. As they say, practice makes perfect. I will also read and listen to my professors' words of wisdom to expand my vocabulary. I will also make reading a habit. Having enough knowledge is always the foundation of a good standpoint. I believe acquiring knowledge through reading is an efficient way for me to increase my knowledge. I can also enhance my critical thinking and inquiry skills with that as I know more, I inquire more that becomes the key to further research for new knowledge. Taking research and reflection papers seriously is also a great tool for me to develop those skills that are needed for me to become an effective educator. I must learn these things first so that I am able to transmit these learnings on my future students.
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