OPD iV: Essay 2

Future problems in teaching practice

We as secondary school teachers have a lot of things to improve in order to contribute to a better education and of course to students become better and better.

So, for purpose of this essay I will explain in first place, what I think are our challenges in general, I mean, for all English teachers; then I will explain mines and how I think I can become a better teacher.

In first place teachers have a lot of challenges:

·         To educate students: By education I do not mean academic knowledge, I mean values and abilities. Before become English teachers, we are just teachers, so as such, we cannot stay at academic level. We need to teach values, behaviors and abilities to our students. They need to know how to be respectful to other people, how to be perseverant and how do their best for improve their environment and their country. And even if that is not our job as English teachers, it is as teachers in general.

·         To motivate students: We should find the way of motivate our students, in the English learning and in general learning. We must find what are they attracted to and use that stuff to get and keep their attention. But also we must teach them to be motivated not by extern factors, but by their own desires and goals.

·         Develop abilities: Students must learn to use the knowledge they have, not just to memorize concepts. And the only way we can reach that level with our students is by changing the evaluation way because, we must stop evaluating just concepts and reach deeper evaluation levels.

·         Reach a communicative approach: By searching interesting and attractive materials for students, and by making activities that make them get interested in class, teachers must involve students into a communicative environment in order they can learn English in a more real way, just by practicing and working in pairs, and with topics they are interested in, we can make students to get truly interested in the subject, and then they will learn English in a more meaningful way.

·         Teacher vocation: This challenge is one of the most important, because a lot of people do not really want to be a teacher, however it is important that teachers love their job, love what they do, because just when you love something you will do your best for be better at it.

My special challenges as a teacher are:

·         The most important thing I need to get better is in my time, I mean, sometimes I think I am to slow that I cannot finish all the activities I have planned. So I need to learn how to organize my time in a more effective way and to follow every activity such as I have planned it.

·         Another think I need to improve is the level of my voice, but I do not know how I am going to do that, because I need that people listen to me always, this way it is better to catch and keep attention from the class. However I think I have a not enough strong voice because I should talk really loud for students can listen everything.

·         And finally, I am not sure if I need to be better at this, but I think I do. Maybe I must be more strict and serious with students, maybe that way they will not become so loud to fast. However I am not quite sure about that, because I think is better for a teacher to gain our students confidence by making a interesting class and teaching them things they are interested in, that by yelling at them all the time.

At the end of the day teachers have a lot of challenges, but it is important to realize that education and improvement of students in English, history, Spanish, science, and all the subjects do not depend just of teachers, but also of parents and family, and of government, because sometimes it is really hard to  work by ourselves. When teachers are not supported by the other education elements such as students, it is hard that we/they do not feel alone