*This is a paper I recently wrote for class. It meant a lot to me and I wanted to share it. It is important as we reach for out career dreams, to define ourselves or someone else will.
As I think of myself as an educator now, I must first reflect on my “pre-module” perspective to show the comparison and growth in my current thinking. In applying to Fordham University to further my education as an adult learner and educator, I wrote in my essay “My decision to become an educator is the fruition of specific seeds deeply planted within me to become an effective communicator, organizer, planner, and responsible leader. Through the continuous nurturing of these attributes and characteristics, I am able to work effectively with adult students in an educational environment.” This metaphor can be described as a gardener (Apps, 1991, p. 23). I have since then learned through hands on experience from being a career development facilitator to young adults, that it takes more than providing the “perfect” environment to empower students. Creating the culture and environment are only external factors that can have little and sometimes shallow results. As a trainer and educator, I now use the metaphor of a water well in which I will discuss in further detail throughout this reflection.
Upon reading bell hooks’ work, I seek to have a deeper connection with my students, which lies within their intrinsic motivation and potential. My responsibility as an educator is to draw it out. I must first understand myself and feel comfortable to show and reveal my true self to my students. Recently, I have found myself taking on the persona of a serious and inflexible instructor. I assumed that in teaching a career and professional development course, I had to become stern with my students. My rationale was that the real world of work would not have any mercy on them. I have recognized that there is a need for a healthy balance to my teaching style of approach. I have to become more conscience of not only the intellectual needs of my learners, but the emotional needs as well. Considering that the majority of the population that I serve is at risk young adults, they have experienced already a lifetime’s worth of being beaten up upon. As hooks, I want to transform my classroom as an oasis for freedom and relief from their normality of life.
Through the Learning Styles Inventory, it was confirmed that I was a visual learner. I see people including my students for not only who they are, but who they could become as well. My learning style also means that I love to use graphs, charts, color and vivid word descriptions. I enjoy performing spoken word poetry in my free time. Being able to create and tell a story to an audience is captivating. This skill will allow for me to be comfortable in presenting in front of my students and be engaging enough to capture their attention. I have learned however, that everyone is not a visual learner and I have to adapt. I have the tendency to speak in metaphors to paint the picture of what I want to say to my learners or coworkers, but sometimes they get lost in the translation. I have to commit to developing strategies and techniques in bringing out the best in others, through other learning styles that is suited for everyone.
The creativity lies in the possibilities, methods and strategies in making learning happen. My humanistic approach to teaching allows for me to teach to the human potential. This means that I have to become more non judgmental on the current situations and circumstances that I or my students face. I use this concept as I design a program or write a curriculum. I have to remain relevant, fresh and replenished. Like a water well, if I am not renewed or refilled, I will become dry and useless. I am an avid reader of contemporary best sellers to classics works by authors such as Napoleon Hill. It is important for me to stay on top of the trends of technology as well because it is progressing at a rapid speed each day. I continue to improve on my professional development and learning, by taking classes that would help me grow as a facilitator, such as leadership, human relations and coaching.
Communication is the “drawing the water out” tool in which deep inner self reflection and learning insights can occur. Ever since I became a certified personal and life coach this summer, my vision is to use it as a communication tool in which I use with my learners so they can become more self-directed. This new vision will greatly impact my teaching style, because it is intertwined with my values, beliefs, and attitude (Galbraith, 2004, p. 14). The benefit of coaching is that it brings out the best in everyone. It provides a creative environment and the opportunity for an educator/facilitator to discover the wealth of the inner human resources of its members. People will discover their inner self-motivation that would change the culture of the working or learning environment. (Whitmore, 2002). Many of these new communication techniques that I am including into my teaching style include; being present through active listening, creating safety, providing constructive feedback, paraphrasing for clarification, being non-judgmental, furthering action and deepen thinking and asking open ended questions.
Paulo Freire and bell hooks have been excellent representations for me as to how learners can have an impact on those around them as well. Success is achieved when there is effective questioning from the facilitator. As an effective leader, I want to further action and deepen thinking. The purpose of effective questioning is to create awareness and responsibility. This can take the form of personal, family, community or global responsibility. Unlike the “banking system of education” as Paulo Freire can best describe, I choose not to be a bucket filler, but a water drawer form the well of a student’s mind.
References
Apps, J. W. (1991). Thinking as a teacher. In Mastering the teaching of adults (pp. 21-25). Malabar,FL: Krieger.
Galbraith, M. W. (Ed.). (2004). Adult learning methods (3rd ed.). Malabar, FL: Krieger.
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress. New York, NY: Routledge.
Whitmore, J. (2002). Coaching for performance (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Brealey Publishing.
Aspire. Create. Develop.
Shemeka Peters
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