Lesson Learned, Perspective Earned: A Reflection of My Journey to Become an Aspiring Educator

Embarking on my journey as a teacher is such a wonderful and insightful experience. I have always been grateful that I have chosen this career. I have learned and grown so much in this field, especially working with kids (around 6 to 10) and teens (11 to 15) who have shaped not just my professional development but also my perception of life.

Looking back, I was such an impatient and apathetic person. I barely gave any thought to my surroundings, and I tended to take things easy. During my Junior year, I applied for a job as a part-time teacher in a private school for the first time, and it was that particular job that opened my eyes to the real world. As a teacher, I encountered different types of students who came from various backgrounds, and I started to question myself, especially my attitude toward these young minds. I used to believe that kids have only one duty, which is to STUDY. Thus, students did not have to deal with stress since they did not have jobs or any other big responsibilities.

However, I learned that I got it all wrong, and I remembered learning a valuable lesson when one of my students, at the time, decided to take up her courage and asked me for advice. She told me everything about her family situation, and how her father was in hospital which led her family to encounter financial hardship. Hence, she struggled with paying the school fees, and she also mentioned not catching up with the lessons due to the pressure that she had at home. As a result, she needed to drop out of school even though she really wanted to pursue her education. That was the day all the dots connected, and I realized why she tended to miss my class and zoned out during each session despite her hard-working attitude.

Through this encounter, I have always evaluated my attitude and interaction with every student whenever they seemed distracted or absent from class. I also learned to be more open and understanding since EVERYONE IS FACING DIFFERENT OBSTACLES IN LIVES. We do not know how their days are and what kinds of problems they have faced, so as a teacher, you should always be kind and understanding toward everyone who comes through the door.

As I continued my journey as a teacher and listened to my students’ confessions about their home environment and how they were being treated, particularly when they were compared with other kids by their parents or judged and made fun of their sexuality and more, I could see how traumatizing these experiences can be for young people.

Seeing this, I felt uncomfortable and questioned the morality of our society. Why do people judge and discriminate against each other in the classroom? What causes disrespect in the classroom? I understand that we are raised differently with different lenses toward the world, but respecting each other matters in this world. Hence, I started to reform my classroom perception towards the idea of solidarity and unconditional love. We, as a class, have agreed to create a space called "Comfort Zone," and this space is at one corner of our classroom where students can retreat when they encounter difficulties and prefer to have some solitude that allows them to take a moment for themselves without the need to interact with their classmates. We, together as a whole class, probably cannot help them physically, but at least we can help and support them emotionally.

In class, students can also think of me as their big sister since they all are welcome to come and express their difficulties and also opinions. Their opinions will always be heard in the classroom, which is something that we can bond over. We are here to grow and learn together. We respect each other and challenge our past selves to become the best version of ourselves. Overall, I used to see myself as a teacher only when I stepped foot into the classroom, but now, I see myself as an educator, and as I learned about the many challenges and difficulties that students face, I am more motivated and determined to transform my classroom to become a safe and inviting place for learning.