Reflection on my understanding of good pedagogy (Activity 5)

Throughout my learning experiences at school up until I began my university degree I always felt as though I had reached my limit of learning. I thought that this was as far as my little brain could go, hence that fact that I never started studying until I was twenty seven years old. A part of me feels that this attitude was developed while I was at school. When I think back to my time at school I remember always feeling as though I was not one of the smart kids and there was only so much I could achieve. I realise now that this perception was completely incorrect and this was never corrected because there were no expectations at school. As long I achieved fifty percent or above for a test or exam I would be okay. I also believe that this stemmed from the fact that one of my biggest fears at school was writing tests and exams. As I learned last week when children are in a state of fear the brain is unable to absorb the information and learning is simply not achieved. How sad is it that some teachers are happy to allow their students to scrape through on just a pass and not even worry that they may not understand the concept. How sad that some teachers don’t care that every child is an individual and therefore require different learning styles.

This is why I am so pleased that I have decided to become a teacher, so that I can make a difference for those kids who feel the way I used to feel at school. I feel that it is so important to have the highest expectations for all students, depending on their abilities. I believe in the importance of getting to know your students. This is vital so that a relationship is formed whereby students feel safe in their learning environment and feel able to ask questions without fear. My students will have their learning styles catered for and I will do my utmost to keep them engaged in all my lessons I deliver. It the teachers job to extend students through higher order thinking so that all students feel that they can achieve whatever they want in their lives.