Things That I Learned from My Students

Phew! It's been quite a week.  Things are quite under-control despite of all the happenings here and there at school.  It's has also been a week since I said good-bye to my first sets of students.  I realize now how deeply I miss them.  I had the most cherished experiences in my life with all 6 of them.  Moreover, having the experience to be their teacher is the genesis of me being an early childhood educator. Besides having to teach them for 8 months, I also got to learn so many valuable lessons from each of my students unique characteristics.  So,in honor of Jeremy, Kent Felix, Danica, Jennifer, Bryan, and Farrel, I would like to share to you the things that I learned while having them as my students.

First is what I learned from Jeremy.  JJ is simply an orderly child.  That's what enabled him to complete each tasks more quickly and with minimal hindrance.  This makes him a good problem-solver.  This reminds me that when my life gets messy with problems or out-of-control, it would be best if I take time to be organized to find the solutions of each of the problems.  Next, Kent Felix.  Kent's positive spirit and persistence had always took my breath away. This young boy had often been opposed by the other children in the class (mostly because of his persistence), yet he never faced such oppositions in negative manner (picking up a fight, kicking, hitting, feeling belittled). He's always been a Sunny Boy (the name he introduced himself as when we first met).  Being an adult, means more realizations that there are people who likes you and welcomes you happily in to their lives, and there are the ones just want to push you far and away because they despise you.. for being yourself.  I'm so thankful I could learn from Kent that it's important to persist yet have positive spirit despite of what kind of tantrums or attitude others might throw you.  The third student I'm thankful to have had is Danica.  Danica is a self-wanderer who loves to take her time enjoying what she's doing.  As the result, she often came up with uniquely beautiful artworks that showed her passion.  This characteristic of her reminds me about passion and its role in order to create amazing things.  Just like how Danica does her work, don't hesitate to use extra time to produce something extra-ordinary.  Sweet Jennifer had also been an inspiration to me.  Her delicateness made her a lovely friend to all the children in class. Her friendship with Danica really proves that compassion is a conclusive element in life. How about Bryan?  I learned from this little boy that every challenge can be overcome if we have the right spirit to face it.  Yups, his efforts in class really reminded me that every-task given to me in life is doable and never set limitations on what we can and cannot do in life.  Just try... keep trying... and achieve.  Last but not least is Farrel.  Farrel is the kind of boy who stands up for himself.  He inspired me to be confident at all times.  From him, I also learned that even a tough person have its vulnerable side.  That's called being human.

   

It has truly been an immeasurable honor to be inspired by these six wonderful children.  I shall and am sure will continue to learn many more valuable life lessons from the students yet to come. Teaching is an endless learning.  Without teaching, learning can still go on... but without learning, teaching may ceased. 

The End and The Beginning

My first academic year as a teacher had just passed.  It was a remarkable feeling to call the names of each of my first sets of students to the stage to receive their Kindergarten diploma on their first graduation day.  As they left Caterpillars school, so did I.  Well, here are few pictures to remember the wonderful journey I had in Caterpillars.

It was an honor to conduct and design the first ever Caterpillar's Yearbook

It's my first graduating class.  It's a privilege to be their homeroom teacher. 

our last fun-walk as a class

I decided to pursue my career as a teacher in different school, The Woodlands Preschool and Kindergarten in Senayan.  It's like opening a fresh new chapter.  This year I get to work with some adorable 2-3 year-olds who came from several countries.

I'm looking forward for this new adventure.  I will strive to make the best learning experience for them.  Well, I will make this blog to a better use:  my everyday teaching journal.  It would be like an over-all report of my observations on early-childhood education.  I hope for nothing but the best for everything.

Learning by Choosing

Today marks my third month of officially being a kindergarten teacher. I know I'm still a little too green in this profession, but I know one thing for sure: I'm not merely in love with my job. It has definitely become a part of me that I cannot live without. I'm sure that I have chosen the right path. Out of many career possibilities, I simply listened to the calling of the heart and it has brought me one of the best things in life: passion. It's my choice--not at all by default--to be a teacher.

Speaking of choices, I think it would be best for young learners to be provided with choices throughout their learning process. It's a common sense that should be applied in our education system especially when children are literally facing so many options in every minute of their lives.

Throughout my teaching journey I have discovered that my students like to be given options in class. I have noticed this by observing several class activities. First is during arts and crafts time. Instead of telling them to do the project "exactly" like the sample, it would be better to show them once how to do it and leave them to try it by themselves. Giving them the options to do things differently is exercising their freedom to choose. At the end, they may come up for something better than the sample given or realized that the given way is more practical.

The power of choosing is also very beneficial in terms of studying a subject. It's the teacher's job to motivate the students to learn. Forcing them to learn something will just create a negative impression of the child towards that subject and limits their progress. I usually let my students to pick their own subject individually. It can get quite handful for the teacher because it requires personal attention to each one of the students in class. But that way learning is more suitable and highly effective because the learning process takes place personally according to each student's strengths and weaknesses. One point to keep in mind: always appreciate the child's progress and never give the same standard to all. Everyone is unique in their own way.

(do you get the joke?)

This world is full of choices: good and bad. It's just the natural order of the universe. However, a child's innocent mind may not yet comprehend the goodness and the badness that happens before their eyes. Yet, it's already filled with sense of wonders. So, it's necessary to guide them to explore their options. Give them understandings by explaining. For example, why they cannot run around in certain areas--since they "choose" to do that; or why some foods though they taste good, may be bad for their health. A child will simply "choose" what he or she "think" what's good for them. Yet their thoughts may be superficial most of the time, so it's important for caring parents to nurture understandings in the child's mind. So, don't just restrict their freedom to choose, but give them understanding and trust them to decide what's good for them. That way we teach them to choose wisely from early on and nurture them to mature in the most natural way.