Elements of Teaching

First of all, I would like to commend my cooperating school, Rafael L. Lazatin Memorial High School’s routine when it comes to cleanliness. Since students change classrooms, the school has a policy that whoever used the room should clean it first before leaving. The next class to use the room should refuse to enter if they see that the room is not thoroughly cleaned and arranged. It’s impressive how they were able to maintain that. Oh well, I just thought it was worth it to share. Hahaha!

     Speaking of classroom environment, let’s talk about my observations regarding the elements of teaching present inside my cooperating teacher--Ms. Tamayo’s class. Let’s start with the teaching environment. Ms. Tamayo, in my observation, is a very laid back teacher. She knows when to give appropriate feedback, she disciplines the class in moderation, and she knows when to laugh and have fun with the students. What I like about the way she maintains an organized classroom environment is that whenever she sees that the students are being a bit unfocused or sometimes unruly, she doesn’t shout her lungs out to get the attention of the class, she understand that she’s handling high school students (Grade 10) and scolding them like little kids is unnecessary. Next, facilities. For some reason, Ms. Tamayo seem to have a projector of her own. I’m not sure if all the teachers do, because I don’t see all of them bringing it to class, but my cooperating teacher always brings it with her. The rooms for the high school students are nice, it has good lighting and it’s well ventilated. Ms. Tamayo knows how to work with what facilities she has and contrary to what is commonly perceived when we talk about facilities in public schools, it doesn’t really show that she’s having a hard time when it comes to resources and facilities inside the classrooms.

      Because of this, I can also say that she manifests professionalism. I don’t see her complain all the time about anything. If she sees that there are aspects where the school is lacking, she just tells me that I have to be prepared for those kind of scenarios instead of bad mouthing the government, the superiors or anyone for that matter. She also gives helpful advice whenever we have some free time during my observation hours.

Teaching Philosophy

I finally met my new cooperating teacher! She’s Ms. Rona Tamayo, and she’s currently handling Grade 10 students. She is also the current adviser of their school’s English club. This year is actually the time where was finally given loads in English, because according to her, when she first started teaching, there were no vacancies in the English department so she was absorbed in the AP department for the mean time. I was actually surprised because it doesn’t seem like she took a break from teaching English for a while.

Ms. Tamayo is an excellent teacher. She’s very articulate, and you can really see how prepared she is for the lessons that she presents in class. She employs different strategies in teaching other than the usual such as lecture method. Ms. Tamayo ensures that every student is involved in the learning process and she makes sure that majority of the flow of the discussion is rooted from the insights of the students. I remember one time when she lost track of time, the topic revolved on establishing solidarity and building relationships, the students were really participating because she knew how to ask questions that would direct the students to a more concrete and relevant answer. As soon as we went out of that class, she told me that sometimes it’s hard to be aware of the time when the students are really engrossed with the lesson because teachers should take advantage of those moments. After all, what we teachers are aiming for is the quality of learning, not the quantity of lessons that we were able to cover. I can say that Ms. Tamayo’s philosophy in teaching lies more on the progressive side.

Our Orientation Day for Field Study

For the past terms, I spent my Field Study 1-5 in only one school, Sto. Domingo Integrated School. It was fun, but I did want to experience a new environment, which was why I was delighted when I heard that our Field Study Coordinator, Sir Elmer Sotiangco, allowed us to pick the school where we want to be deployed. I heard that not all of the requests were granted because the accommodation for observes in different schools vary, but luckily I was one of those who got transferred to my requested school. I chose Rafael L. Lazatin Memorial High School honestly because it’s significantly nearer than SDIS. It takes me an hour to get there, compared to RLLMHS where I only need around 20 minutes.

I was excited to observe in a different school and meet different students since almost all of the students in SDIS were familiar to me because the school population is not that big.

Our orientation day in the school went well. We first met Ms. Cazarina David, the Head teacher, before we were distributed to our respective cooperating teachers. We were reminded by Sir Jeff Karagdag of the basic ethic and policies to be observed during our stay such as observing only on the time set and agreed by the teacher and observer, wearing of prescribed uniform, and punctuality. Overall, our first visit went really well. I’m excited with the change of environment. 

Wish me luck!

Dr. Wong Article #2

Procedures Teach Responsibility

     The second part of Dr. Wong's The Effective Teacher Series "The First Days of School" revolved around the teacher's important role in classroom management. He started it with the statement that first days of school are the most important days of every classroom because whatever transpires in that very first day of school will greatly affect the success of the students' learning. During his talk, he emphasized that effective teachers assign seats on the first day of school. When I first heard of it, I didn't take it as something note-worthy, and mostly because as I recalled my experiences as a student attending her first day of school, I don't really remember my teachers assigning seats on the first day, as we usually wait 'til we get settled for a day or two. Then as Dr. Wong repeats that statement a couple times while giving scenarios that may affect classroom management even just because of that minute detail, I realized it isn't just about having an orderly classroom. It's also teaching our students the sense of responsibility even with the smallest things.

     I agree that students can see if a teacher wants to be in the classroom or not, and most of all, they can see when a teacher is unprepared. So on the first day of class, this is what I'm going to remind myself: show my students that I came to class with an action plan, show them that I do want to be in that room, and show them that in that class, taking responsibility is part of their everyday task. If in the first day of school, we allow the students to practice responsibility, then hopefully we do not have to resort to raising our voices just to make them listen in the next days of school.

Dr. Wong Article #1

Welcome to Survival Inn: A Transient For Teachers 

      "And so, brand new teachers, is that once you want to be? 20 years from now-- trapped?”

Not long from now, I will also be called a neophyte in the teaching profession. So I asked myself, “Will I ever get past the survival stage when it’s my turn to teach?” but then I found myself asking another question that is more significant than the first one, and that is “Will I really do that to myself? To my students, more importantly? I tend to day dream about what my future classes would look like, one that is manageable and smooth sailing. Thanks to Dr. Wong, I am reminded of the reality. Thinking about it now, it seems scary, but I brush it off and tell myself; out of the many trips I’ll have in my journey as a teacher, I might get tired and stop in a transient house, and then remind myself again, that the more I stay, the harder I’ll suffer because transient homes are supposed to be temporary. I can't stand the thought of having to drag myself to school everyday like a miserable zombie.

     Survival stage is not a notion to stop trying, but rather an opportunity to re-ignite the same passion and enthusiasm we had for teaching during our first day. I have to remind myself that I have to pack up and give what my students and I deserve; a fulfilling profession, and a joyful learning environment.