My teaching formula in a capsule

Though my becoming a teacher is accidental, as I desperately wanted a job after graduation in 1988, my becoming an educator is a process of learning and reflecting. Here I share my reflections and personal formula for teaching.

Struggling Students

I have come across a few students who are struggling in school, most of them are struggling academically.  Some others are struggling socially and emotionally. Students who struggle academically need much attention and scaffolding.  I also have students who just came to the country and are English learners. Take the case of Keron, who willingly signaled to me his language difficulty from the very first day when he was asking me the spelling of some simple words such as China, slippers, shirt, etc.  Coming in from Guyana, he shows poor spelling capability and language background.  No wonder, he was aloft and unwilling to participate in class activities.  Due to lack of school records, I decided to speak to the school speech teacher and the school resource teacher who provided me insights and shared me some materials for him.  I spoke to his mother about his difficulty, and we decided that he joins me during my Club 37.5 schedule at 7:30 AM, although he also had his scheduled Club 37.5 at 2:30 PM .  I started introducing him to the 100 most common words, then eventually advanced to 200 and 300 words.  It was a long climb for Keron to decode the words and to associate letter placements and sound, but after a few weeks, he was showing improvements.  Not being prepared for language therapy though, I continued to discuss his case with the speech teacher and eventually, he was placed in a resource class once a week.  I can see that after a few months, he has already gained confidence in answering questions and handing in his worksheets.

Last school year, I was assigned a self-contained class of 7 special education students, a majority of who were LD students.  That spring, I happen to enroll in one of my literacy courses, which I learned that in order for students to achieve literacy skills, teachers are to provide as much scaffolding as they can offer.  Although I teach Science, I have considered myself a Literacy teacher as well.  I learned to help my students with word meaning and vocabulary, and encouraged them to advance their written and oral sentence structures.  My self-contained students were able to write simple essays and other writing activities like the R.A.F.T., Four-Squares, and a lot more.  Surprisingly, I was able to organize a simple science fair for them, where they presented their science project with their Special Ed and Speech teacher present.

Differentiated Instruction  

A differentiated instruction, I believe, is one that allows the teachers to vary the content, the process, the product, or the environment of the lesson based on the students’ capabilities to receive instruction.  I always try to distinguish my students into at least two learning ability groups, since in reality, it is very difficult for a teacher to prepare a lesson that encompasses all learning styles.  I realized that in order for me to start differentiating my classroom instruction, I need to see where my students at, and gather information about them individually and as a class in general.  I have tried looking at students’ previous ELA and Mathematics State test scores and find some patterns.  To the least, the scores are very helpful.  But I also assess on my own, as I analyze their quiz scores, observe their language facilities, and read their journal reports.

Based on experience with my students, I have learned to group my students into two: those who can grasp the concept on their own, and those who cannot.  With this grouping in mind, I develop classroom tasks for those who demonstrate the understanding of a concept to be application lessons and other classroom tasks that would require me to apply direct instruction.  The mini-lesson is usually presented to the whole class and students who need direct instruction will be given more attention during the workshop time.  Sensing that some of my students can go on their independent pace, I just allow them to go on their own rate of progress, i.e., proceed to do the critical thinking part, which is an independent project or extension activity of the lesson. The struggling students may not realize it, but they are no longer required to do the critical thinking activity, which I usually reserve at the end of the workshop period for the advanced students to do.

I have also tried varying the learning activities of the students by developing alternative paths to learn, process, and analyze the key concepts of the lesson.  I usually provide opportunities to my students to use different kinds of graphic organizers, encourage them to express their observations in tabular form, or even draw and illustrate concepts and ideas using a model.  The graphic organizers may  become complex for some students who can process the ideas and concepts faster and in depth.  A simple tally sheet, for example, may require a columnar table to show the number of students who participated in a survey based on gender, grade level, zones, and ethnic groups.  With some students, it would actually complete my day to see that they have at least accomplished a simple Venn diagram to illustrate the comparison among the cold-blooded animals and the warm blooded ones.

Parent Involvement

Even from the very start of the school year, I make it a point to make the parents of my students aware that I want them to be my partners in educating their children. So during the first day of school, I send through my students a “Parent-Teacher-Student Contract” which I prepared myself.  I would ask the parents to review the contract and discuss the same with their children.  That is initially my contact with the parents of my students.  Aside from discussing the expectations and the classroom rules, classroom rituals and routines, the class requirements and grading policy in the contract, I would also ask the parents’ contact information, such as home phone number, work phone number, and even email address. I also give the school phone number and my email address which is unique and exclusive for my class, so that we can call and confer with one another anytime we need to.

I make it a point to be present during open house nights and parent-teacher conferences where I can personally meet and discuss academic concerns with the parents of my students. I also send in occasional information and communication about year-round projects, quarterly activities, classroom events, and even monthly academic reports. A return slip is gathered from the students to make sure the parents received these letters.  Phones calls are also a constant routine for me.

I believe it would also be helpful to invite the parents to visit the classroom during the day so they can see the classroom situation and even offer suggestions for the physical improvement of their children’s classroom.  We can also invite them to come and witness the class’ science project oral presentation, or act as judges during our classroom mini-fairs.

Parents can indeed provide valuable support and help during class fieldtrips, so I usually invite two or more to join the class when our class or academy goes on a trip.

Teacher Reward
With 15 school years of teaching experience in the Philippines and more than seven years
years in New York City, I realized that teaching is not just a noble profession. It should be a

fulfilling one.  Any teacher who would choose to teach can become severed with the challenges
and pressures of the profession, but counting the rewards of touching the lives of the young
people and making a difference in their outlook and belief in life can be gratifying and 
heartwarming. 

Add to a teacher’s emotional and professional support of a closely-knit faculty and school staff is prize and reward enough for the teacher to teach despite the extreme challenges.  A welcoming and supportive faculty is a gem in any given school, a treasure each teacher will conscientiously work for to keep.  It is from the warmth of support and acceptance of colleagues that teachers can gain the strength and perseverance to learn and grow in their teaching profession.

To work with students who respond willingly to the challenges of instruction and education is another treasure that teachers want to pursue.  Held to high academic and behavioral standards, students who are willing to climb and soar to any heights possible, would never fail to inspire teachers to do better, and give more of themselves in their teaching endeavors.  Add to that the willing and essential participation of the parents and the community to collaborate with the school staff.  It would be priceless, indeed!

Ultimately, teachers may find the challenge and the joy to share their experience, knowledge and expertise to demonstrate a learning program that promotes not only learning and wisdom, but achievement and success, as well.  With a learning program set along the culture and atmosphere of self-worth, industry, responsibility, recognition and appreciation, students would be encouraged and challenged to look into themselves and offer the best of what they have to their community and to their country.

School and the society
I believe that the school is an avenue for our youngsters to discover about  themselves and the

world where there live in as citizens and stewards.  Schools should be the source of an
accurate and functional view of the world, as well as their mirror of what they shall become in
the future.  The school for that matter should demonstrate the universal virtues of respect and
responsibility, compassion and accountability, equality and conscience, integrity and industry,
in order for us to see the world to operate through these universal virtues.  Nurturing the mind of
the young people in school about who they should be and what they can be, or who their
neighbors are and what they can do if they are in their neighbors’ shoes, is a preparation for
life that is worth investing for the future generations and yonder.

Specifically, the school should provide a pleasant, healthy and safe working and learning
environments for both the students and the teachers.  These are necessary if we want to
prepare the children and young people for responsible citizenship and effective participation in
the future society.  Children growing up in pleasant, healthy, and safe environments will pursue
the same environments for their children and children’s children.

The school should also meet the needs of the students and the community from a culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds and orientations.  This provision will ensure the development
of a just and harmonious learning environment that shall eventually extend into a community and
a society where equality and respect of individual differences and ideology are fostered and
upheld.

School curriculum
School should provide, first and foremost, the basic educational concepts that weave the foundation of all real life learning and decision making.  The basic concepts underlying the reading, writing, and counting skills, as well as the capacities to manipulate, sort, compare, analyze, and evaluate real life situations should be explicitly taught in school, aside from being taught at home.  This I believe, is basic to the building of a literate and intelligent society that builds a strong nation.   

But the education of the heart should never be left out.  It is not only the total education of the mind, but the construction of the character as well.  Schools should not deviate in their noble task to educate the mind and the heart.  For it would be unfortunate for a society to find its citizens slowly becoming intellectual giants yet morally dwarfs. For education to be encompassing, it must also prepare the individuals in their life skills and social demeanors.  The school is the proper avenue for these life skills, more particularly to manual operations, simple carpentry or electronics.  But the school should also be a source of the basic truths about social interaction, where respect, responsibility, integrity, citizenship, and honor are part and parcel of an individual’s dealings.  That is why, the school is compelled to create an atmosphere of acceptance and self-esteem so that each student may experience self-worth and exercise the same view about other people’s worth. Ultimately, the school should develop the decision making skills of the students in order for them to grow as responsible adults and resolute member of the society.  It should be an unwavering concern of the school to develop among the students the importance of choosing wisely, and the acting upon earnestly such choices in life.

     

Challenges of education
I believe that the greatest problems with education in our community at present are the lack of funding for adequate student services, the demands of the standardized testing, and the change of family structure.

I have observed that my teaching prowess diminish relative to the number of my students in the classroom.  This I realized that, although I am not a Special Education teacher, I can teach better a self-contained class than a regular class of 30 or more students.  The problem is, we don’t have enough teachers in our schools.  The lack of teachers in the school affects the class size, since the class size can be minimized when we have more teachers to teach more classes.  This is just a few of the other services that the school should offer the students. Take for example, it was reported that the budget for each first grade student in some suburban school districts that includes a foreign language program is much higher than the budget foe each first grade student in the New York City schools, where foreign-born students are hardly provided with English classes. 

Our schools also need more technology-oriented classroom programs, as well as adequate science laboratories and up-to-date science programs.  The access to technology would supposedly reinforce labor needs and globalization in this present time. As a teacher, I am used to make do with whatever available resources that are available for me to use in my classroom.  In terms of innovation and teaching resourcefulness, I can always find ways to make my lesson come alive with available and affordable materials.  The problem of class size and adequate services, though, are more of a heavy challenge to me than preparing a lesson plan.

There is always the problem of the demands of the standardized testing that compel the teachers to pattern their teaching based on the coming annual state examinations.  Although these tests are standardized, they do not usually and effectively measure the academic performance of a school district, much more of a particular school.  In most cases, schools are judged unworthy and non-performing based on a few populations of English language learners.  Because of

the fearful verdict of closing some schools considered as non-performing on the bases of standardized test, most educators would do the short cut to the concepts, exclusively teach the concept and pattern the teaching style to the state wide assessments.  Educators are compelled to teach the concept because they are necessary for better scores and good report.  

Realizing the need for students to reach up to the standards set by the city and state departments of Education, I have to consider myself, a Science teacher, as a Literacy teacher as well.  My classroom program usually includes literacy pieces, and learning the strategies in teaching literacy in my subject area actually pays off.  The literacy courses I have painstakingly taken during the weekends, as well as the summer literacy programs for ELLs I have participated in have given valuable insights to the teaching of literacy in the content area. 

The change of family structure has tremendously affected the school system at present and has led to other social issues such as violence, drug abuse, among others.  This problem actually stemmed from poverty, single parent homes, abuse or neglect and homelessness.

Although I am not trained to handle social problems, I still consider myself as responsible for addressing these problems since these problems have, to a greater or lesser degree, an impact on my teaching. I can always work with the school counselors or social workers once I observe some signs of social problem related to home structure and poverty.  I can be more understanding of the issues that confront the students everyday, and be more patient in dealing with some of them. 

Perseverance, Responsibility, Integrity, Discipline, and Enthusiasm

I actually started teaching as a non-Education graduate.  I finished a paramedical course, but I was drawn into the teaching profession many years ago after I volunteered teaching in church school.  The real world of teachers was not a joke, a task not to be taken lightly.  Since I believed that I needed training while on the job, I took Education courses that would allow me to take the Philippine Board Examination for Teachers.  I was past my 20s and didn’t really wanted to go back to school, yet the challenge of equipping myself to become an effective and worthy teacher drove me back to school.  It was extremely difficult to teach and study at the same time.  But I must finish my education.  My professional advancement must prevail. 

When I finished the 18 units of Education courses, I decided I should be taking the licensure examination to get me certified as a teacher.  I thought it would be easy, I got to have double study time, browsing through every review material I can get, getting outlines from educational philosophies and practices, analyze and compare pedagogical principles, develop my own learning outline of child development, etc.  It was indeed a tough preparation.  But I must pass. I must get certified.  I must be worthy of my profession.

It actually took me five years to complete my Master’s degree.  I had 6 units of courses every Saturday.  By the time I was to take my comprehensive examination, my wife is about ready to give birth to our daughter.  I have to divide my time. And how wisely I should!  A lot of times I wanted to give up on my Master’s.  But I needed to finish what I have started.  I needed to fulfill my goals, and my dream of becoming a better teacher, and a better person, a better catalyst in the society I chose to live with.

A few years ago, I was assigned to teach Values Education to First Year high school students.  I do not actually know how to teach the subject, so I have to exert extra effort to prepare my teaching materials and classroom activities.  One time, we had a lesson on Responsibility as a virtue and my students were asked to share about their ideas on how they can show responsibility.  There were a lot of instances that the students shared, all describing their experiences of being responsible to take care of their younger siblings, to keep the furniture and appliances clean and working, to do and finish their class work and home assignments, etc.  I never realized that after a few days, we would learn a better lesson about responsibility.

We had a culminating activity on social behavior which we held on the school auditorium.  After getting approval for the activity, the students prepared their own program and games, brought in food and some music.  Because of the excitement of the program, the students have become a bit out of control, and they started tossing and throwing some food to one another, until the floor got messy and the walls got dirty. 

I spoke to them and informed them that I have to write an incident report to our Head Teacher to explain the incident, and to apologize about not being clear with the students’ actions and behavior during the program.  I told the class that I won’t recommend them for disciplinary actions because I failed in my duty to set a clear guideline for the activity.  My students, upon learning about what I planned to do for them, felt sorry as well, and asked me to arrange for them to clean up the mess they caused.  Up to this time, I always remind myself never to put the blame to other people. 

I grew up in a family who values honesty as the highest form of integrity. I have learned through the years that whether my supervisor is around or  not, I do my job well because my conscience dictates me to do so. 

In the past when I taught at the Philippine’s premier Science high school, I always had the opportunity to travel with students.  Every year, I travel with students, either to represent the school in any national programs, quiz bees, or science fairs.  Although the school provides for our stipend and travel allowances, which are all approved and necessary, I always make sure I spend the money right be asking the cab drivers for his signature, and always keeping the receipts and the plane tickets intact for proper accounting after we get back from our travel.  I do this to make my mind clear of any doubts about my self. I just feel good when I know that I did my work with all honesty.

In my work as a classroom teacher, I believe I needed a clear and transparent source of my assessment as a teacher.  I make my reports credible by covering only the things that I have personally accomplished or achieved, and not pad them with eloquence and rhetoric. Because of that, I believe I can always stand proud about my works and my accomplishment, because there never was a hollow space in my conscience.   

I know that discipline comes from within the person.  It is the sense of control of your own will when confronted against anything that you are not pleased about.  As a teacher, I must be disciplined in my own time.  The time spent in school should be redeemed as much as possible, in providing learning opportunities to the students.  I do not delay in my preparation time, in fact, I spend the time thinking in advance what to do next.  The moment I get home, I have to divide my time wisely, as a father and as a husband, and toward the end of the night, as a teacher who is ready for the challenges of another school day.

I have also learned how discipline my mind about the many concerns of my personal and professional lives.  A disciplined mind is focused to its goals.  Because of this, I learned how to restrain myself in times my personal life is severed by my professional life.  I have to stop for a while, and refocus.  I have to divide the line.  I have to forget my personal life while I am on the job.  Unfortunately, whether I like it or not, I cannot easily dismiss my professional life from my personal life.  For whether I am at home or at a family retreat in Pennsylvania, I can’t help thinking and feeling that I am a teacher wherever I go.

Ever since I worked as a teacher, I have never considered bringing my troubles and family concerns to my classroom.  Once I get inside my classroom, whether I am well or not, inspired or disturbed, prosperous or broke, I always generate the sense of academic rigor and fervor for my work, such that my students would get infected to develop the same feeling and eagerness to learn.

It is only after the last student leaves the room and the bell rings for dismissal that I feel my energy has dissipated, and I needed time alone to gather my strength.  Drained of my physical power, I would slowly pack up to go home, where my family awaits me, and would eventually renew my strength for yet another school day to follow.  

I would most identify myself to be a patient and persevering person.  I have persevered with the struggles of life, although hard they can be.  I have welcomed the difficulties in my life since I was a child, growing up in poverty and learning to make both ends meet just to finish my high school, and opting to endure the sacrifices entailed with keeping a government scholarship for a college degree. 

I know that people can be difficult and cruel some times, but if they were given to me as a social investment, then I will do whatever I can to make myself useful and valuable to them.  I just have learned to accept people as they are, and keep up with them, since I believe that they too, will realize their good side once they see the good in others. It may be difficult and protracted, but it would be worth the long wait.