Spending my practice teaching in Calasiao Comprehensive National High School

(CCNHS) is quite self-fulfilling.

I did have a good time in CCNHS as a practice teacher. Here are the following
reasons:
First, students show interests in their quest for knowledge especially in their
lessons. Their interests could be noticed in their classroom participation. They are
inquisitive and confident to ask questions on anything that they do not understand
or where vagueness appear to them.
Second, each of the students I have encountered carries the value of respect. They
highly maintain the traditional student-teacher relationship despite my effort to
break or lessen the barrier to attain maximum learning. Also, I am always flattered
to be called sir outside the school premises aside from my students.
Third, students are responsible enough to carry on with the flow of the lessons.
Likewise, they do not neglect the assigned roles given to them for classroom
management. I could see that responsibility is embedded in the hearts and heads of
these students.
In a different light, there are still misbehavior among the students. But for me,
these are just minor or common mistakes that the students must be aware of and
that the teachers should be vigilant in correcting these practices.
A REFLECTIVE PAPER

As everybody says that life of a teacher is never that easy, he should be a

role model and a good example to everyone. As an individual engaged to this kind
of profession, he must first possess all the traits that will make him to be a stronger
and a better person. Most especially on dealing with students of different
personalities.
All children misbehave at some time; it is part of finding out what
appropriate behavior is and where the limits are. Children may throw tantrums, test
the rules, start fights, refuse to cooperate with the teachers house rules and
routines, use bad languagethe list goes on. As the teacher teaches students
appropriate behavior, what the expected rules and boundaries are all about, it's
important to remember the goals of discipline. Discipline means helping a child
develop self-control and a sense of limits, experience the consequences of his/her
behavior, and learn from his/her mistakes. Discipline does not mean punishment or
conflict between the teacher and students. All of them need the security of knowing
the rules and boundaries of behavior; without them they feel at a loss, and later on
they become abusive.

As I continue my practice teaching in the institution, and as I see my students in

their fresh and innocent faces, I gradually develop a sense of love for the next
generation. With these, I am quite concern with what I can do for them, for the
projected future they will have, for the kind of society they will live in, for the kind
of living they will have, and of course, for the kind of thinking and belief they will
stand and fight for.

For not because of these students, I have been abandoned my leadership roles. I
thank the CCNHS students who taught me to live for the younger generation.
With your students achievements, I could say that CCNHS educators are highly
competitive. The manifestation of such is eminent to my critic teacher, Dr. Emlyn
E. Quinto. Although she was ahead of me for many years, the way she handles her
students epitomizes the blending of the traditional and the newest methods of
teaching, where values and intellectual developments meet. There is a leader in
her; likewise, she carries what every teacher must have - the love for the younger
generation. I am sure that CCNHS would be less without her.
My stay in CCNHS has taught me a lot. This is the lesson that I really want to learn
- to mingle and to live with other people with varying differences. It is for this
reason that these differences serve as walls for us to live and understand each other.
Overcoming and breaking these walls for maximum learning without losing the
degree of respect embedded to every person called teacher, is the very
foundation of learning inside any classroom.
I congratulate CCNHS for having value-oriented students with high regards to
respect.
In all, my practice teaching in CCNHS was a great time for learning and I could
say that it is life spent well.
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Reflecting upon my teaching always provides us many dimensions of

learning. It helps a teacher to improve and overcome my weaknesses. When I
entered the field of teaching, I was an amateur. I had many questions in mind: will
the students accept me? Am I really creative enough to bring about changes in
teaching profession? For a couple of months, I was in denial- I did not accept
criticism, and thought myself as a best teacher! But I wasnt. I learnt gradually that
without reflecting on teaching practices, it wouldnt have been possible to improve.
As time passed, I started reflecting upon my teaching. This was actually a
transformation process and taught me how to be a reflective teacher.
Upon completion of my four months of student teaching I have grown both
as an educator and an individual. Student teaching has fanned the fire of my
passion for being a teacher and been a light onto the path of how to become the
best I can be. Reflecting on each experience, the successful and the not so
successful, has encouraged me to continue to persevere and grow from these
challenges. Not only did I discover a great deal about teaching but I also learned a
great deal about myself.
In spite of the many daily challenges, I am ecstatic to say that I was able to
attain all of my student teaching goals. First, I gained a great deal of confidence in

my skills and abilities in the classroom. I discovered that I have an innate knack for
providing an environment of comfort and safety for students to explore ideas and
share insights without fear or condemnation. Every student is ensured an
opportunity to participate and become engaged. The students flourish in confidence
and character as their comments and thoughts are affirmed and encouraged even
when they arent right. Over the course of time, it was amazing to see the students
thrive and change before my very eyes. On the other hand, when they arent as
willing or are inappropriate, I need to be more direct and deliberate about my
expectations by using verbs that are clear cut/black and white so that students are
held accountable. I was given several opportunities to exercise this newly forming
muscle by issuing detentions, calling parents, and writing up students for
infractions.
Another goal I had for this time was increasing student engagement and
learning styles. Because the students are very open with me about where they are at
and their level of understanding, I am able to meet them there with innovative
instructional strategies to encourage creative and critical thinking. I explain the
why I use a strategy or when the information will be used in life, which is very
positive, especially in the middle school grades. By using varied materials and
resources the students become easily engaged.
An additional goal that has been met is assessing pacing and timemanagement. While as teachers we are training students in content, I have come to
understand that we are more importantly teaching skills, which require a delicate
balance of time and attention. While doing a book study in reading, I found that we
had to allow for extra time to explore the concept of context clues to understand
vocabulary, which had not been a planned part of the lesson. Within the constraints
of curriculum and the classroom, I will continue to work on developing this

balance in my own classroom by continuing to set goals while maintaining

flexibility.
In reflecting on other areas of performance during the past 16 weeks, I have
come to realize that I would not get it all in this short period of time. This has
taught me to be more gracious and accepting of myself, and I believe it will have a
positive impact on my teaching. Having wrestled through these challenging
moments will help me be more supportive and accepting of the students when they
struggle for understanding. Additionally, it has taught me that I will recurrently be
learning and growing as an educator. I have learned the value of setting goals and
objectives that will push me to continually raise the bar for my level of teaching
and hopefully, to be setting an example for my students.
Although I had many more learning experiences during this time, I cannot
lose sight of my intrinsic motivation for becoming a teacher to make a difference
in the lives of young people. I want my students to know they are important and
valued. Every student in my class is encouraged to speak and be heard; to have a
voice and listen to others. I enjoy challenging students to share their thoughts and
then encouraging them to find evidence and reasoning behind their perspective - to
take a stand for what they believe. This allows for their growth and maturity as
responsible people. As they listen to their classmates and their positions, they
experience compassion and respect for the differences and opinions of others. This
fosters deep analytical thinking and a love for learning that is critical to becoming
active, participating members of a community-and that is my over arching goal of
becoming a professional educator.
I come to education later in life and with a passion. I did not expect that I would
have a second career. I volunteered last year in my daughters kindergarten class
for a few hours a week to be generous to the community. Quickly, I discovered
that I was the one receiving the gift. The children were extraordinary; exciting,

challenging, and loving. Her teachers and the other teachers I met at her school
were extraordinary as well. Their caring, professionalism, and openheartedness
moved and inspired me.
Reasons for Wanting to Become a Teacher
I believe that teaching is an essential and noble profession. Next to parents,
teachers are the most important foundational element in our society. Everything
important begins in childhood, especially knowledge, self-knowledge, resilience,
and character. Proper preparation is fundamental to living a full, rewarding life.
Without self-knowledge, children may follow wrong paths and end up far from
their true callings; lost, sad, and unfulfilled. Without resilience, the storms and
challenges of life can turn children from their highest path, leaving them far from
who they might have been. Finally, character is the intangible force that raises
society as a whole, minimizes shocks and collisions between people, and balances
self-interest and social good. Ideally, all of this education starts in the home but
often the parents themselves may be inadequately skilled in this regard. School is
a necessary complement to and supplement of this learning.
As I began to read about children and education, a new world opened. I
understood that I had the opportunity to make at least a few childrens educational
experiences more nurturing and productive than my own had been. The brilliant
body of work I was reading was ripe with opportunities to improve the
outcomes and experiences of students today. In not much time, it became clear to
me that the second half of my life would be about children and their education.