It was my first day of teaching. I taught English (Language) subject. I was prepared but I also felt nervous since it was the first time that my pupils would see me how I teach. The subject matter was all about number words as adjectives used to describe persons, animals, places or things.
At ten, I found myself in front of my pupils, teaching the subject matter. Ma’am Yen was there, observing how I taught.
I started my motivation by letting them share their own experiences during their field trips. This idea came out when one of my students told me that they had their field trip few weeks ago.
“You know Sir; we had our field trip last week,” Layne shared me their field trip experiences.
Then, I gave some follow up questions like, where did you go… what have you seen… did you enjoy the field trip?
This interaction help me during my discussion of ‘In the Province’, I let them shared their experiences. Hence, my discussion was very interesting for them.
As I discussed the topic, my activities were not enough. My pupils still keep on raising their hands to answer. So, I learnt that next time around, I would prepare more activities where each of them will be given a chance to go to the board and participate.
They made a poster of a province or a farm. It was quite enjoying since it drew their attention as they work together. Sometimes, I used Filipino language in explaining them some complex thoughts. I thought it was okay since Ma’am Yen used it too. I went wrong; it became my weakness as she graded my teaching demo. Anyway, it is still okay. I and my pupils enjoyed the activities. I was able to use the time productively.
In the afternoon, while Ma’am Malou was not yet around. We had an activity. It was the “raindrops, rain and storm”. I learned this activity in my English subject with Ma’am Artuz. My pupils liked the game. Thanks to the proponent. It made my pupils appreciate games in the class instead of making undesirable noise.
Ma’am Malou taught the Makabayan subject (Sibika at Kultura). It was about cooperation. Through her personal experience on typhoon Ondoy and Peping, she told the class about this unforgettable experience from her cousins living somewhere in Marikina. It draws the attention of the pupils and it builds interaction when the pupils share their knowledge and experience on particular event.
There was no regular class yet. They were all preparing for the upcoming Intramurals of the Basic Education Department. They were busy during their practice for Mass Demo and Modern Dance. I was standing most of the time, dancing and teaching the pupils. Hence, I don’t have time to seat down and rest for an hour.
When I came home, I felt restless and tired. My muscles cramped. I wanted to sleep early and rest. Now, I realized that being a teacher is not just standing in front of the class, teaching the subject matter and disciplining pupils; it is more on doing all the tasks even the things you do not expect. For elementary teacher, you should have all the guts- a dancer, artist, and everything which is beyond being a teacher.
When you take advantage of opportunities to speak to children in a one-to-one relationship, they will feel that they are accepted and valued. It will also help you to enhance your teaching strategies by deeply moving through their experiences where they can relate with. They will feel that they are reading their memoir of experiences where they learn.
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