Better Understanding of the Teaching Profession

The desire to get into teaching stemmed from the realization on how much I had benefitted and developed as a person, from my compassionate and understanding teachers throughout my experience in primary school. The prospect of being able to inspire and encourage children of all backgrounds and abilities to achieve their full potential is what is driving my motivation to become a primary school teacher. Due to current circumstances I have been unable to get any classroom experience. 

However, to gain a better understanding of the teaching profession, I watched classes online from this I found that the teachers highlighted and made the learning objectives for the subject clear by verbally outlining to the pupils what they were aiming to achieve. This proved to be successful because it explained to the pupils what they are expected to learn and by verbally communicating it to the pupils which provided the pupils with a better understanding of what is required from them. I observed the teachers using a variety of questioning techniques throughout their lessons. I found that use of open-ended questions was often more effective as they promoted discussion and deepened understanding for the pupils. 

The way in which the teachers used interactive reward charts to help manage the children’s behaviour I found to be very effective as it made the pupils want to achieve the end goal of being able to participate in golden time at the end of the week where they would be able to do enjoyable activities which otherwise aren’t available. As a Scout, I worked with my local Beavers, where we helped them with their social, outdoors and sport skills. This especially helped with their social skills, as they were working with other children that they had not come across. 

As a Prefect in secondary school, I was an EAL Mentor where I helped students who needed extra help to develop their English skills. From this I feel that the enthusiasm and commitment I demonstrated made a positive impact on another pupil’s education. From working as a customer service assistant, I developed my compassion as I helped customers who may have required assistance and having the patience to allow them to not feel rushed. Although I am currently studying an BA(Hons) in Media Production, there are many skills that that I have gained from this experience which can be transferred into the teaching environment. 

These skills include resilience which especially was developed when producing my audio documentary. During the production, there were several technical issues and problems which we had to and through our resilience and determination we managed to complete our documentary, this task also developed my patience when having to edit the audio clips together, my teamwork, leadership and management skills in the group, as I was responsible for how it was going to flow and what each person’s roles were. Other key aspect that I have acquired that are essential is the organisation, time management and listening. This is something we constantly have to do when working on projects, from making sure that we listen to everyone’s ideas for a potential product. 

Making sure that we are organised for a shoot by making sure that all permission forms have been written and signed for and that we have all equipment booked out ready for the day. Time management is crucial in making sure that we have the final product ready before the deadline. These skills can be transferred into the classroom. Time management and organisation is needed so that you are prepared for what you are going to teach and make sure that it will run within the required lesson time. Having patience and being a great listener is essential with teaching as this would be required when understanding and then helping pupils who may find a certain task difficult. Resilience is also key to make sure that no matter what the pupils get the best possible education that they deserve in order to achieve their utmost potential.