At Máximo Trueba I have been assigned a few different subjects and age groups.  I teach technology for the entire Secundario 1 age group, which is comprised of six classes.  I also teach physics and chemistry for the Secundario 2 classes, and physical education for the Bachillerato 1 classes and some of the Secundario 3 classes.  I am very grateful to be placed with the classes and subjects that I have been assigned because it gives me a variety of age groups and subject matter to work with.

 

     I have several goals that I have established for myself as a teacher and for my students.  They are based on my personal teaching philosophy and are intended to make myself more effective and connected with my students, and to make my students more well-rounded, problem-solving, creative young adults.  First off, I try to speak casually with students as much as possible and engage them in any type of conversation that I can depending on their level of English.  Whether it is before, during, or after class, I think students benefit greatly from practicing relaxed, conversational English in a low stress conversation.  I want my students to feel comfortable speaking in English with me, regardless of how much they may struggle with the English language.  I also always try to be aware of not simply giving students answers straightaway when they ask me questions - instead I try to guide them in coming to the answers on their own.  I believe learning occurs much more effectively in this way, when the student has problem-solved and arrived at the answer on their own, as opposed to when the answer is just given to them and they don’t need to think critically about the problem that is facing them.  This goal goes together with something else I strive for in the classroom, which is to always encourage critical thinking and thinking outside the box.  I achieve this in various ways, but mostly through engaging students in activities or asking them questions about the material that pushes them outside of the textbook information.  Being able to think about the material in a way different than how it is presented to them the first time they learn it causes them to see it from a different perspective and, in my opinion, learn it in a much more complete manner.  Beyond academia, this also teaches students that there are multiple manners in which information or any problem can be viewed, and it is often best to consider these different perspectives because it gives a more holistic view of the subject.

 

     Given that my physical education and technology classes already have a largely set curriculum and set activities, my roles in these classes is largely supplementary and I rarely, if ever, lead the entire class on my own.  In technology, I often will lead warm-up activities to get the students speaking in English and I will typically incorporate some new English phrase or some peculiarity of spoken English in order to broaden their ability to speak like a native speaker.  In physical education it is largely the same, and my main activities developed are centered on getting the students to practice English and learn about sport-related vocabulary that they otherwise may not learn in the classroom.  In physics and chemistry, I do regularly have the opportunity to lead the entire classroom on my own.  I have developed and lead experiments in the laboratory, guided students in creating projects outside of the classroom such as water-powered rockets, and led in-class activities that get students engaged in using the information we are learning instead of merely listening to me tell them information.

 

     There have been some general occurrences as well as specific moments that have been wonderful highlights for me as a teacher.  Generally speaking, it is extremely rewarding to see a student who lacks confidence – whether in English speaking ability or their knowledge of a given subject – succeed and do well in front of their classmates.  Kids can be subject to a lot of pressures and perceived judgement from classmates, and I can see some students faces light up when they answer something well during the class. There are certainly students who have no reservations in regards to speaking up in class, and of course I am happy for those students when they answer something correctly or understand the subject at hand, however I really find joy when the timid, unconfident, or quiet students find the courage to speak up in class and put themselves out there in front of their classmates.  Speaking more specifically, I have several highlights from my time as a Language Assistant, but one project in particular stands out, and that is when I built water rockets with my physics and chemistry classes.  We were doing a unit on gases and pressure, and I was looking for a fun way to get the kids some hands-on experience with the principles we were discussing.  The teacher I work with and myself came up with the idea of having the kids build rockets utilizing some of the basic principles we had discussed in class.  The kids absolutely loved the assignment, and it was great seeing them troubleshoot and brainstorm ways to fix or improve their rockets over the couple weeks we were doing the project.  Their excitement for the project and ability to explain how it related to the scientific principles we were discussing was really a wonderful thing to be a part of.