My Teaching Philosophy

I want to teach because every time I teach someone something for the first time they have this look of astonishment in their eyes. It’s almost a childlike innocence and it doesn’t change no matter how old they are. Some try to hide it, but it is still visible. When I was younger my father used to say:”The eyes are the windows to the soul. They reveal the inner most thoughts of a person.” And in my experience he was right. Not only do I feel great having accomplished the task at hand, but you get another sense of joy having taught someone something they themselves had usually given up on. I think that everyone wants to learn something new, even the people who claim they do not. Maybe it is that the wrong question is being asked. Or that something happened which made them give up on the subject. Or the method used to teach them was not the right fit for them so they stopped trying.

I had a friend in school that always nodded yes when the teacher asked her if the lesson was clear and understood. The fact of the matter was that she didn’t understand and would ask me to explain it to her later. When I asked why she didn’t tell the teacher that it was unclear she replied: “because the teacher would always explain it again and again in the same exact way and she still wouldn’t get it.” Repeating something the same way over and over again could and has worked for some people, but not everyone is the same. That is why I believe that having more than one way of teaching someone the same thing is essential. Not only have I seen the results of this at first hand, I have also learned from every new encounter to add or simplify my methods of teaching. I’ve come to realize that when I teach someone something I myself come to understand the material a lot better.

The way I approach teaching is centered on the person I’m teaching. I’ve never been or seen myself as a teacher. On the other hand I have taught many people many different things on occasion. In school I was always the one that would help explain certain lessons to my classmates. And they enjoyed the way I approached their problem so they could understand it better. This way of adapting to each person stayed with me and I was told on many occasions that I have a knack for teaching. I worked for two years in an ICT company repairing and installing software on computers. It just so happens that there was a small cyber café in the back. People would ask me to help them with anything related to the computer and instead of doing it for them I would teach them how to do it themselves. Therefore the next time I was not around they could do it without asking for assistance. I’ve taught small children how to navigate to game sites, helped older students with their school assignments, showed people how to use e-banking and helped the elderly work with their phones, tablets, laptops and computers (e.g. social media).

It would always frustrate me if someone asked me for help and I didn’t or couldn’t help because I myself didn’t know the answer. When I was put into those types of situations I would later go on the web and start reading up about it. I would check out information from various websites and if ever asked again for help on that particular subject I could at least try and help by conveying what I knew. It hasn’t always gone as smooth and there have been times where I couldn’t teach someone something no matter what I tried. Because both there was a certain time limit and we ran out of time or the method I used was not the right one. Having good conversation skills is a must if you want to be understood. Having great communication skills will help you not only in teaching but also in your everyday life.  You do not only talk when you are teaching and it is not easy communicating when the person speaks a different language or is deaf. Both of these I have encountered and what I have found to be very helpful in these situations is body language.  So that is why I also believe that working on these skills as a teacher will improve the results you are aiming for.

It is always good to set goals for yourself so you know where you are and where you are going. Now having goals set doesn’t mean you will automatically reach them, but striving to achieve them is a meaningful task in itself. Maybe you will accomplish what you set out to do or maybe you won’t accomplish everything you hoped to do. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try or give up on your goals. Keep knocking down those obstacles and one day you won’t even notice that you did all you set out to do and more. Usually by that point you already have a new set of goals. It’s funny how that works. Do your best, take that risk, and get involved. Only then can you learn what your limits are and if you even have them. That’s why I love the saying by my namesake Benjamin Franklin "Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember, Involve me and I Learn."

By Benjamin Panhuyzen

2 comments:

  1. Dear Benjamin, What I do like about your teaching philosophy is that if you couldn't help the person because you didn't know how or didn't know the answer you went to the web to find out yourself. I also like the way you adjust your goals e.g. setting a new set of goals! I myself have the same experiences.

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    1. Thank you Madelone, I'm sure I'll keep working at it and improving as I continue doing so.
      Feel free to visit my blog more often. I'll be adding more content soon.

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