What have you realized about what enables your passion for teaching?

How have these factors

affected you as an educator?

Every Educator is unique. Each has his own set of beliefs, principles and philosophies which
govern his practice of the profession. Besides, each one is understood to have come from differing
socio-cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Moreover, the personal experiences of hardships or
struggles in life, the firsthand experience of love for oneself and for others, as well as the experience
of success and failure, of recognition and condemnation, all these contribute to making each educator
distinct from one another, and above all, has a great bearing on his being a teacher.

All teachers are unique, but they are one in purpose. Needless to say, all teachers, no matter
how different they are both personally and professionally, work together on one ultimate reason – that
is, to transform the lives of the students so they would become functioning and participating members
of the society. This is done by providing them with necessary knowledge across subject areas, by
tapping their skills and offering various avenues for improvement, and by placing them in situations
that call for the development of their holistic beings. As such, students would be better equipped as
they face the world on their own. This is our mandate and, at the same time, the reason for our
existence.

As an educator, I have come to know that the goals we have for our learners take deep roots
on our personal experience of failures and successes. At times, this goal may be fueled by an
undesirable situation at present. For instance, a teacher who was once economically challenged but
was able to succeed in life through hard work and perseverance would use that experience to inspire
learners to also aim for success despite their present condition or situation. On the same note, a
teacher who was once believed to be a total failure because he was an airhead but was able to attain
success by using this as an inspiration would likely inspire his learners through his life story. But
sometimes, what drives a teacher to really exert more passion and love for teaching is the present
situation of the learners. Truly, nothing can be more heartbreaking than seeing your learners’ worst
experiences when they are supposed to be enjoying life at their age. As a teacher, you know how that
feels, especially if you have been in such situations. That, therefore, leads you to exhaust every
possible way just to uplift them and take them out of that curse. There are instances, also, when a
teacher inspires his learners not because of his previous experiences but because of how positive his
views on life is, given the fact that life itself is a roller coaster ride. This goes without saying that,
indeed, we teachers are the best visual aids. That is, students learn from what they see in us…from
what we exude to them.

To sum it up, all teachers are unique in that they have different experiences and stories of
failures and success. They likewise have different beliefs and principles in life. But one thing is sure -
these different experiences, beliefs, and principles in life help teachers to kindle the passion within
them in order to attain this country’s mission and vision for education – to turn out graduates who are
capable of making a difference.