profile of the future teacher

8/14/2019 Profile of the Future Teacher

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Profile of the future teacher

Personal, educational, and pedagogical philosophies: Views on teaching and learning

My mother is a retired English teacher who taught for 35 years and, it seems, loved almost every

minute of it. As I recall, one of her favourite films was To Sir With Love; I remember seeing this film as a

child and, even then, being impressed with the impact a teacher can have on his/her students lives.

Similarly, I remember shopping with my mother and meeting her former students, who genuinely seemed

to appreciate the impact she had had in their lives. Now a mature student in her forties, I have had other

careers, but finding myself in education feels, ultimately, like a good fit. I bring to this career a variety of

life experiences, but throughout the variety there has been a constant: an ongoing love of education and

respect for the teachers who dedicate themselves to nurturing learning.

Learning excites me. I never tire of embracing new challenges and learning the skills to succeed.

Over the years I have completed a number of university degrees in different fields. While working on a

Masters degree in English, I had the opportunity to teach writing skills to undergraduates. Based on my

success in this field, I was seen as a person with a facility for words, not for images; I felt, however, that I

had untapped visual skills that I wanted to develop. I have always loved to work with my hands, to take a

piece of cloth and sculpt it into clothing, but before I could create masterpieces, I needed to learn a

myriad of sewing techniques, which I did as part of a four-year fashion design degree at Ryerson

University.

Demonstrating my excitement about learning to students helps them to become excited about

learning themselves. While a fashion student at Ryerson University, I had the opportunity one term to act

as an educational assistant for a course demonstrating industrial sewing techniques. I shared with my

students my enthusiasm for learning the techniques requisite to creativity, so that they could become

excited and then patiently acquaint themselves with various industrial sewing techniques to express their

visions.


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With DuFour (2004), I view the school as a professional learning community; that is, I feel it is

most important to teach people how to learn not to simply provide them with information. Such an

approach involves what DuFour calls a shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning (p. 6).

In the fashion design classroom, for example, I helped students to become resourceful problem-solvers. I

provided step-by-step demonstrations of sewing techniques, and then gave students the opportunity to

reinforce what they had been shown by doing it themselves. Students learned according to their own

rhythm, but with each I supported the same goal: self-improvement, not competition with each other.

They made mistakes, and they learned.

I bring this same love of learning married with a passion for creativity to my work as a teacher of

English as a Second Language, now as a student teacher from McGill Universitys Faculty of Education,

in the future as a full-time language teacher. Learning a language requires the same patience, the same

need to become a resourceful problem solver. I model language learning, whether it be how to use a

dictionary, how to ask for assistance, how to keep a conversation going through circumlocution, or how,

step-by-step, to research, write, and design a poster that describes a caring celebrity who works tirelessly

for a charity. At all times, I emphasize that making errors is a natural part of learning and try to create a

classroom environment in which students feel comfortable to take risks with their language learning.

Learning also requires a respectful environment. I support critical thinking, not criticism. That is,

students should always feel free to ask questions if they dont agree with or dont understand what is

being taught, but they should do so in a respectful manner. As a student teacher, I model such respect,

asking and responding to questions patiently and attentively. I always show up on time, well-prepared for

my lessons, to provide a good example of professionalism for students to emulate.

I am also dedicated to developing strategies to promote equity and social justice in the classroom

by respecting diversity of race/ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. While working

for the Canadian Hearing Society many years ago, I learned that accessibility is a major issue for deaf,

deafened, and hard of hearing people, particularly accessibility to communication. I was pleased during

my third field experience to have the opportunity to use an FM system to make lessons accessible to one

student with a hearing impairment. A teacher in an inclusive classroom must become aware of the


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significant accessibility issues of his/her students and the availability of resources to facilitate all

students equity of access to education.

As an education student at McGill University, I have enjoyed the opportunity to share resources

with my peers through our online discussion boards, to share ideas in our classes, and to collaborate with

many in teamwork. We have not always agreed, but we have always listened to each others opinions

with respect. In my future career as a teacher, I hope to enjoy the same spirit of collegiality with my

colleagues and with them to express values that support and encourage collaboration, such as accepting

my own errors and those of others, offering help where I can and asking for help when I need it,

embracing the diversity represented by the teaching team, expressing commitment to meeting the teams

goals, accepting that differences lead to creativity and not conflict, and trusting the efforts of all

members of the team (Howden & Kopiec, 2003, p.3).

* * *

As a future teacher, then, I will build on this general philosophy of teaching and learning:

Inspire students with the love of learning

Develop an approach that marries teaching with self-learning; that is, help students learn how to

learn and enable them to be resourceful problem solvers

Motivate creativity and self-expression

Encourage self-improvement, not competition

Stress that errors are a natural part of learning

Create a respectful learning environment: encourage critical thinking, not criticism

Model professionalism

Respect diversity and maximize equity of access to education

Nurture collaboration with all members of the teaching team

* * *

Summary of personal goals


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My major personal goal is to learn how to balance my professional life and my personal life. I

tend to work very hard, too hard perhaps; professors and employers often comment that I go beyond their

expectations in my work. Such diligence can, over time, exact a personal toll. I hope in the future to take

more time for family and friends and, most importantly, myself, to make sure to refill the creative well

before I feel it running dry.

I also hope someday to have more time to work on fashion design and to express myself

creatively outside of the teaching field. In 2007, I left my job as a fashion designer to return to school and

pursue this new career, but I never intended to leave that career behind entirely. I imagine a time in the

future when I might find or make the time to create my own designs on a part-time basis. Photography

and filmmaking represent two other creative pursuits that I would enjoy more time to develop.

An important part of reaching these goals will be learning to ask for help. An independent person,

I am a tenacious problem solver who will leave no stone unturned in trying to complete a task on my own,

where sometimes it might be better to ask for help. As Howden and Kopiec (2003) suggest, values that

support and encourage collaboration involve not only recognizing that I can help a colleague but also

accepting to make the effort to help and to ask for help (p. 3, emphasis mine). An overwhelmed

teacher may become an ineffective teacher; if and when I feel the need for assistance, it is my

responsibility to ask.

Career plan

After a fourth and final teaching field experience next spring, I will graduate in May 2010.

Immediately following graduation, I intend to work intensively during May and June as a substitute

teacher. Then, in September 2010, I hope to begin my first full-time contract as an ESL teacher. I am as

yet undecided as to whether that will be at the elementary or secondary level, but hope to have a clearer

idea following my final field experience. Ultimately, however, I will accept a position where I am needed

and where I feel I have found a school that represents a good fit.

While teaching, I intend to continue my professional development, both as a professional

conference participant and as a presenter. As outlined in my portfolio, I have already presented


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References

DuFour, R. (2004). What is a Professional Learning Community? Schools as Learning Communities,

61, 6-11.

Howden, J., & Kopiec, M. (2003). Cultiver la collaboration (translation). Montreal : Chenelire

Education.

profile of the future teacher

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