Growing up, the environment around me has constantly changed affecting my

development as an individual and therefore influencing the person that I have

become. There have been many social and environmental factors that have
influenced my development over the years from each of the five systems of
Bronfenbrenners social ecology model; the microsystem, the mesosystem, the
exosystem, the macrosystem and the chronosystem. As a very young girl I wanted to
be many things; a beautician, a gymnast, a tennis player and a sports teacher.
Although my wants in a career have changed there are two themes or ideas that
have stuck by me throughout my childhood and adolescence; working with children
and sport. A personal metaphor that I use for education in general as well as for
teaching is that teaching is a long and tiring yet exciting match of tennis. Through my
years of schooling and my decision to follow a career in education I have begun to
develop a teaching philosophy that I wish to follow, with many factors that underpin
my beliefs.

As a child I was fortunate to have many positive factors and experiences in my

immediate settings, otherwise known as the microsystem in Bronfenbrenners theory
(Bowes, 2004). I was the youngest of two children and I have always had a
supportive family with my mum, dad, sister and I. I grew up knowing all of my
neighbours and got along well with them all. In my neighbourhood I have always had
access to local parks, playgrounds and other sporting facilities. There were many
health services in the area such as doctors clinics, dentists and even a public
hospital within a fifteen minute drive. There were many interconnected factors within
my microsystem as a child, with this system of interactions being known as the
mesosystem (Bowes, 2004). There was a strong relationship between expectations
and responsibilities at home and at school. At home I was given chores and my
parents had certain expectations of my sister and I, some things as simple as being
expected to do something as soon as I was told to do so. I grew up with values such
as honesty and respect and many of the same values were mirrored in the school
community. These keys aspects that were linked between my school and home life
encouraged me to be willing to learn and ready to cooperate which allowed me to
make an easy transition into primary school.

In reference to Bronfenbrenners model, the exosystem consisting of factors that I

personally was not involved with but my parents were, would have influenced my
development (Bowes, 2004). My mum worked shift work while my dad worked full
time. I remember often being looked after by my grandparents, being babysat as well
as having to attend before and after school care. Unlike many of my friends at the
time it was the times that I attended before and after school care that made me
appreciate school so much. I used to think about how much I liked the ladies that
looked after us because many of them had their own children but they looked after us
every day for hours after school and it inspired me to be like them in some way. As I
started to get older and made the transition from primary to secondary school I was
spending more time home alone instead of being babysat while my parents were at
work teaching me a lot of responsibility, independence and giving me confidence.
Cultural values of society, otherwise known as features of the macrosystem, allowed
me to develop different values and morals (Bowes, 2004). I lived near a train station
and culturally it was acceptable for children my age to catch public transport so I was
always allowed to use public transport, even without an adult. I had learnt a lot of
independence and was not reliant on other people throughout my schooling which
allowed me to learn efficiently by myself.

My chronosystem, the system which involves major environmental changes as well

as transitions was mostly positive (Bowes, 2004). In primary school I remember
having the courage to put my hand up in class and was rewarded when I got the
answer to the questions correct which then encouraged me to always be involved in
class discussions and be able to take advantage of interactive lessons. My transition
from primary to high school was smooth because I was a confident person allowing
me to make friends quickly and easily. I was sixteen years old and in year eleven
when I had a few issues occur. I sustained a severe spinal injury that caused me to
be unable to attend school for a good half of the school year. The injury caused me to
not be able to pursue a career in sport and have to give up playing tennis. At the time
of this injury I had very unsupportive friends who ended up becoming my enemies
and suffered from depression and anxiety. At this time in my schooling I felt very
disconnected and it affected me a lot. I was unable to concentrate and stay attentive
most of the time and was in agony physically and mentally. I saw a psychologist who
taught me some techniques in control that aided my development by allowing me to
find confidence again as well as the realisation that I was still able to develop to my
personal potential. That year I had accelerated in a unit 3 and 4 subject and the
teacher was an inspiration for me to overcome my issues and become a teacher.
When a person is positive and believes in a certain result, the people involved are
often motivated to reach success and that is why this teacher motivated me, because
he had full faith in what I could and would do (Shamir, House, Arthur, 1993) Another
person who had a large influence on me wanting to be a teacher was my prep
teacher. I always look back on her as one of the best teachers Ive ever had because
she started my schooling years positively and guided me through my first year of
school with ease, always encouraging me along the way. I developed into a person
who was a quick learner and valued my education because of the great teachers I
had and wanted to be just like them. The idea that I could help people learn as well
as help shape peoples values and morals in life, like many teachers did for me in
primary school really influenced me to want to be a teacher.

The word teacher can be used in many different contexts as well as for many
different types of educators. There are many different definitions of the word teacher
although a definition I like to use is; Someone who encourage understanding and
influences someone to learn through experience or by example as well as to guide
someone on how to do something and to provide knowledge to an individual (Oxford,
2014). I used to think that the word teacher merely meant someone who educated
you in something specific such as mathematics or how to swim but I have come to
understand through my own experiences that it can mean much more than that. A
teacher, especially a primary school teacher, is one of the first major role models a
child has apart from family. Not only do they educate children in literacy and
mathematics at school but they play a part in developing individuals own identities.
Teachers help children develop the building blocks for their personal values and
morals that the children will live by and develop upon throughout life. I would not be
at University now if it were not for the teachers and experiences I had in my past that
allowed me to mentally and emotionally develop into someone who is motivated and
can cope with being a teacher and dealing with children. As a pre service teacher my
aspiration for the future is to be someone that children will remember when they grow
up and look back upon as someone that started them off on their journey through
education positively as well as someone who helped shape the individual they
become. I aspire to be a teacher who not only teaches from a book or second hand
knowledge but is able to teach from experience and express the importance in
having faith and respect in each and every person. My beliefs about teaching and
learning otherwise known as my teaching philosophy are shaped from my
experiences both past and present. I have always believed that it is important for
people to learn from experience rather than being babied throughout life. People
generally learn more through facing a problem and having to deal with it themselves
rather than just hearing about a situation from a distance (Boud, Cohen, Walker,
1993).
My personal metaphor for teaching is a five set tennis match because although they
are often long and strenuous they are also rewarding at the end just like a teacher
faces struggles but gets to watch their students grow and develop. You have your
good tennis players and you have your bad tennis players and all players have on
and off days where they play better and worse. The players represent the different
groups of people involved in teaching; your boss and colleagues, the teacher and the
children that you teach. In a tennis match there are always points you win and points
you lose and in conjunction with this you have points that are quick and ones that are
not. Life is a journey and a career is only part of it, therefore the points represent the
ups and downs you would often face in the job and sometimes they are quick to
overcome and sometimes they are not. For example dealing with a student that
disrupts the class, or having to deal with a bully may be losing points but dealing with
a new international student may be a win because although difficult it is a positive
experience. Teachers will face difficulties in their own lives while having to deal with
many young children at the same time and have to find balance between home and
work life. In a tennis match it is important to find balance in order to be consistent.
Sometimes a player can double fault a serve and then the next one can be an ace
but no matter what the circumstances are, a lot of the time the outcomes are
unpredictable. Working in a school as a teacher is a journey, although childhood is a
time of immense learning and development a human being never stops learning
throughout life, and teachers are given the opportunity not only to teach the students
but to learn from them too (Lieberman, 2012). The last point of a match can either be
a win or a loss and represents the end of a teachers journey where they retire, but it
is up to the individual as to how it will affect them. Personally as a learner and
aspiring teacher I can relate this metaphor to myself. When referring to the players of
the game I had some great teachers and I had some who were not as good. I learnt
best from teachers who were interactive and who took the students ideas and wants
of learning into consideration and tailored their methods to suit the class. I can look at
the situation from both the educators and students point of view and hope to be a
teacher who uses other experiences and ideas in conjunction with my beliefs to
create lesson plans. In reference to winning and losing points I had my strong
subjects and my weak subjects at school but even when I struggled I pushed through
and although some of my struggles took time to get over, just like points in a tennis
match, I learnt how to overcome them and used those techniques to be able to
overcome future struggles more quickly. Where I am now, I picture myself as playing
a long service game. I am learning from the opponents way of hitting the ball, in
reality the knowledge I am being taught from my lecturers and tutors at University,
and playing on the defensive just to get the ball back in the court. This service game I
am playing will continue until I am in the field of teaching where finally the game will
get more exciting and I will be able to take control.

Looking at my years of education and growth in a historical timeline with reference to

Bronfenbrenners Social Ecology Model it is notable that all the factors that were
relevant to me from each of the five systems affected and influenced my learning
ability and personal development as well as affecting what I wanted to do for a
career. Many events occurred throughout my schooling that encouraged me to be a
teacher as well as many of my own positive experiences at school with good quality
teachers being the real inspiration as to why I wanted to be a teacher. It is important
to understand that these people and experiences that influence our development as
individuals all come from a complex system presented by Urie Bronfenbrenner is the
Social Ecology Model. Past experiences have shaped my aspirations for the teacher
that I want to be. The metaphor created of a tennis match represents both my
experience through education as well as my perceived creative example for teaching
and the teacher that I want to be.

Alexandra Grycuk
S00170582

Word Count: 2189

References
Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Walker, D. (1993). Using experience for learning (1st ed.).
Buckingham [England]: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open
University Press.

Bowes, J. (2004). Children, families & communities (1st ed.). South Melbourne, Vic.:
Oxford University Press.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development (1st ed.). Cambridge,

Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Lieberman, M. (2014). Why We Stop Learning: The Paradox of Expertise.

Psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 13 May 2014, from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/social-brain-social-mind/201206/why-we-
stop-learning-the-paradox-expertise

Oxforddictionaries.com,. (2014). teach: definition of teach in Oxford dictionary (British

& World English). Retrieved 10 May 2014, from
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/teach

Shamir, B., House, R., & Arthur, M. (1993). The Motivational Effects of Charismatic
Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory. Organization Science, 4(4), 577-594.
doi:10.1287/orsc.4.4.577

Zepeda, S., & Mayers, R. (2001). New Kids on the Block Schedule: Beginning
Teachers Face Challenges. The High School Journal, 84(4), 1-11.
doi:10.1353/hsj.2001.0014