Category Archives: 3. Prof. Skills & Abilities

The Virtues of Teaching

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In a recent input, we were asked what attributes we think teachers should possess in order to be regarded as both a professional and great practitioner. It’s difficult to pin-point just a handful of qualities, but here are a few that I think are important.

I think having integrity is something we as teachers definitely need. To me this means being honest and having strong moral principles. It’s important to be a good role model and someone who can show children what it means to have values. Being a person of integrity also means that my personal and professional relationships are genuine and I am a person who can be trusted, which is important considering children develop in the context of relationships.

I think having compassion is also important. Defined as “the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with the desire to alleviate it”, we as teachers spend a great deal of time helping children understand and overcome issues large and small. Taking into consideration the thoughts and feelings of our children instead of solely responding to their words is great way to build strong relationships. For example, angry words may conceal fear, guilt may hide behind blame. Trying to understand and respond to the underlying emotion can result in the child being more likely to trust and open up a little more.

I think having fairness within the classroom is a definite must. Many define being ‘fair’ as treating everyone the same, but I would argue against this. Children are not the same. They have different motivations for their choices, different needs, different causes for misbehaviour and different goals. That being said, I do think having set boundaries and rules that apply to everyone gives each individual child a clear grasp of what’s expected (and not expected) and the consequences of their actions. But it’s vital to have an unbiased approach in teaching and I think making a real conscious effort not have ‘favourites’ is important.

I think having patience is a quality that we as teacher most definitely need in order to make this job possible! To deal with twenty odd children demanding your undivided attention can be a real task to juggle. Every child has different needs and varying ranges of ability and being able to take a step back and evaluate a situation is essential to staying cool, calm and collected.

And lastly, I think having respect is important in regards to all aspects of life, not only as a teacher. It shows that one values another as an individual and that they have regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others. Children judge the character of us as teachers based on how we treat them. Respect needs to be earned from both sides. When a child experiences respect, they know what it feels like and begin to understand how important it is. That’s why the best way to teach respect is to show respect.

Plato’s Allegory of The Cave

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What is reality? This is a question that Plato explored in his book, The Republic, by examining concepts such as truth and justice.

In his short story, he imagined a group of people born in the darkness of a cave, chained and facing away from the entrance with only reflections and noises made from people passing by outside the cave as their experience. They had no knowledge of the outside world. For them, the cave was their reality.

However, one day one of the people escape and set foot outside the cave. For the first time in his life he sees the outside world and is exposed to the true reality of life outside his own. It takes some time for him to adjust – to the revelation / enlightenment – because he can only understand what he has previously experienced. Driven by this new reality however, he tries to convince the rest of the chained people within the cave of what he has seen, but they don’t believe him. The people in the cave have had an intrinsic education which has formed the basis for their understanding of the world.

The cave leads to many fundamental questions such as: What is the origin of knowledge? What are the problems of representation? What is the nature of reality itself?

Plato believed that education was the answer to these questions and the key to living a true and just life. He further believed that because of this, education should be provided by the state, something which the Curriculum for Excellence is centred upon; this idea of citizenship and creating well rounded people who are just. Through education it can be ensured that children become conditioned to the values that are accepted, in Plato’s view.

And so the story provides a clear explanation of the difference between experience and reality. It shows that the experience of reality is conditioned on the experience of life. So in simple terms, the way you live your life is your reality.

This highlights the importance for teachers to allow children to explore and learn from experiences by exposing them to new ones, and pushing them out of their comfort zones and into the world of the unknown.

We don’t learn, we remember…

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I think it’s fair to say that the recent inputs from John on the philosophy of education have left me feeling a little bit confused. However, that being said, I feel I now have a very basic understanding of some of the key theories concerning the ways in which we learn and how these can be used to improve the ways in which we teach.

The Greek philosopher, Plato, believed that we don’t learn, we remember. This is because he believed that the inner part of us – known as the soul – doesn’t change and is immortal in the sense that it has been reborn, time and again. Because of this, it has seen things in both the ‘material’ world and the ‘real’ world.

Our world, the ‘material’ world, is constantly changing and we rely on our senses to understand what’s going on. The ‘real’ world is outside of this realm and is unchanging and eternal. We understand this world not with our senses but instead with our mind.

The soul is said however, to be captivated by the workings of the body (i.e. our senses) and so we struggle to see past the illusion of our current world. Plato argued that in order to realise the ultimate reality of nature, we need to think independently of our senses, as the ‘material’ world is simply a shadow of the ‘real’ world of forms.

Plato belieapples-3-different-color-in-a-rowved that all things have a true being, a concept he explained in his Theory of the Forms.

Take apples for example:

  • What do they have in common?
  • What makes them distinctly ‘apple’?
  • What gives them their ‘appleness’?

Plato stated that there was only one form– or essence – of ‘appleness’ and that this forms the many. The form itself is unchanging and perfect (because it is from the ‘real’ world), but the apples (from the ‘material’ world) are simply an appearance of the form, which explains why they change and are imperfect.

We recognise these forms because we have a faint memory of them from our prior existence. It is this process of remembering the true reality of our world that allows us to learn, and therefore know that an apple is an apple, along with every other thing we interact with.

I think this is a really interesting concept and perhaps quite important in terms of our approach to teaching. This idea that we all have the prior knowledge there ready and waiting to be unlocked highlights the need for us as teachers to be willing to persevere with those kids who might be struggling. We need to help them rediscover what they already know.

Smarter Study Skills

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Trying to understand what university involves is a daunting process for most first time students. In those first few weeks, a lot is happening and it can be a somewhat overwhelming experience. ‘The Study Skills Book’ is a great reference manual to help with this process; it provides a simple yet comprehensive insight into all of the different aspects of student life, along with various hints and tips on how to make the most out of university.

Before the book begins to delve into the details of what to expect from university, it asks the reader to think about where they see themselves in five and then ten years’ time. This made me realise that, in the space of a short (and what already feels like will be a quick) four year degree, I’ll be starting out on my first year as a fully qualified teacher.

One of the main differences between secondary school and university is this concept of students being fully responsible for their own learning, and this book provides many useful hints and tips on how to cope with the transition, such as:

  • Goal setting – making short term goals will make the long term goals much more achievable
  • Communication with tutors / staff members – If I have an question or issue, speaking to the relevant people will ensure there is a quick resolution
  • Organisation – essential for keeping on top of course work and meeting deadlines, ensures effective time management, and having a balance between work and play
  • Learning new skills – being prepared to improve on existing skills, as well as those that are unfamiliar, and being open to the new ideas and concepts of learning
  • Looking after yourself – going to university is a big step and sometimes all you need is a little advice with how to cope with certain difficulties, but there are many services available ranging from academic skills advice to a counselling service

The book also details differences across other areas such as attendance, teaching strategies, learning requirements, and written work requirements. These are set out in a table while allows the reader to see the main differences at a quick glance.

These differences run parallel to the differences I’ll probably experience once I graduate from university and begin to venture out into the world of employment. The skills I develop now will stay with me throughout my life and the book highlights their importance to employers.

Working on these skills will make it easier to see the areas where I feel most competent, the areas I feel need more work, and the areas where I feel I need to dedicate time to the development of new skills.