Just Sayin’: Google It!

In a world with google we should be able to answer most of the “Why?” questions that children ask.  Don’t get lazy and stifle their learning. Those questions are an opportunity to expand their knowledge.  Google it!

My View of Teaching

I realized that my method of teaching consists of the following: Encourage, and guide the student to grasp their true potential, never control.  I hate when people try to control me, so why would I try to control them?  Also, never under pressure, while some may work well under pressure, in my opinion, few learn well under pressure.  While I am not yet a certified or a licensed teacher, I was practically born with a passion for teaching.

Most likely, it started with the birth of my younger brother when I was 20 months old.  I guess I always felt that I was the one who should help instruct him.   Of course, most the education in my home came from my mother.   My mother was an excellent teacher, she homeschooled all of us during our first years, and she taught me how to read before I was five.  However, I always assumed that I could relate to my brother, and be on his level, mostly because of our age proximity.  I remember when I would always try to instruct him to color inside the lines.  In my home, this was very common with all of the members of the family.  My father would speak to us about complex theories from a very young age, and my sisters were always helping me learn new things.  Learning, in my house was not limited to school or during homeschooling hours, my parents treated learning as something very natural.  Therefore, I always loved putting together the pieces of information I would capture in different places: school, movies, books, etc. I would, then, love sharing what I learned with those around me. Then, throughout most of my life, I have always loved being able to help people realize something, or learn.

I would say I began realizing my love for educating when I was in high school.  My boyfriend’s father, who was a former NYU math professor, was having a difficult time giving math tutoring to his 10-year-old granddaughter.   The reason for not succeeding in this attempt was not the lack of knowledge, but the lack of being able to meet her at a level she would understand or that would spark her interest.  Frustrated, they asked if I would give it a shot.  I did, I sat down with her, and told her to explain what was being taught in the class, and then helped her realize that she already had everything necessary to understand the lessons.  I also focused on the weak areas, mostly the times table, and the results were excellent.  My now father-in-law, always jokes about how everything happened.

I later moved on to be a freelance tutor in the university, mostly for accounting, but I ended up tutoring my classmates in any of the various courses I was taking.  I started working for the university as a Math tutor, however the one hour I had with the students was never enough to be able to help those who were very lost.  The next semester I was hired as an English tutor, which I was hesitant about at first, but  I succeeded with the help of another English tutor who became my mentor and good friend.  I would say that my teaching style started to be set in place while working as a tutor. Even though my major in the university was in accounting, I realized more, and more everyday that I wanted to be a teacher.  Of course, I believe in finishing what I start, so I finished my bachelor’s in accounting, and then took the courses needed to be an accounting teacher (business education teacher).  Mixing the two subjects I loved most.

I love teaching those who are willing to learn, but the challenge is getting them to that point.  While there will always be students who absolutely refuse to learn, most students are willing to learn when something interests them.  I was able to find what sparked the interest of most of them, and used this to teach them.  To get to know them enough to know what interests them, and to go to their level, they needed to feel comfortable being around me.  To accomplish this, I had to be pleasant.  A pleasant personality is usually underestimated.  However, when educating, some students may tune you out completely if they feel you are unpleasant.   Those are the subjective aspects of it, feelings have to do a lot in this process.

Finally, I always think that students learn things that they consider important for everyday life, so I always try, and help them find real life, and daily life applications for their learning. I like showing them that learning is a natural process, in reality they learn everyday without realizing it.