Learning Through Teaching

I learn a lot through learning to teach. Just as much as in learning, the teacher needs to seek out meaning in what she teaches, because she needs to make that relevance to the pupils she's going to impart that very teaching to.


In my former years of teacher-training in NIE, I used to naively think that as long as I had taught in every level from primary 1 to 6, I would have conquered teaching. I was gravely mistaken, as entering into the teaching world opened my eyes to the many types of pupils I see, who adopt such vast learning styles. Like them, I began to learn through practicum (formerly termed 'teaching practice') that every pupil, every child was a unique individual and there can not be a one-size-fits-all teaching style that applies throughout the board.


I learnt to appreciate individuals, to motivate them, to encourage them, differently through teaching. One method that works for one rarely implies that it applies for another. It is in knowing and accepting that everyone is different that makes teaching a daily challenge that I have come to face in anticipation everyday I step into school. Yes, an exuberant anticipation!


Though an ex-teacher now, the heartbeat stays the same. Every day of tutoring is a day of bringing the excitement and joy of learning closer to the hearts of my pupils. The smiles they exude on their faces tell of so much more. It tells of understanding, of hope, of confidence, of belief in self.


Tomorrow will be another of such a day.

~ Learning, like teaching, is a work of heart ~