My Challenges as a Teacher

I have been inspired by a number of teachers in my life who have been instrumental in forming me. It is through the example of some of my teachers that I have been able to choose teaching as my profession. Teaching has been my passion from a very young age and I have felt at ease with the students at various levels. During these my experiences of interaction with students, I have tried to replicate some of the skills of my teachers. I’ve succeeded in developing some of these skills while I’m still figuring a way to cultivate other skills. Even before joining the B.Ed. course I have had the experience of teaching, and I have been faced with a number of challenges.

I’ve spent a couple of years in two different schools, teaching biology, social science and English language to high school students. Since I was teaching in the rural schools, expressing myself in English was a great challenge. Teaching biology and social science and translating every word to local language was a tough task as I had to concentrate on completing the syllabus as well. Managing the classroom of about 70 students was a challenge in itself. It was challenging to discipline the students and not to hurt them at the same time. I had a tough time evaluating the answer sheets as the board prescribed certain minimum criteria for allotting marks. Staying true to the expectations of the institution and of parents were my other challenges. During this stint, I learnt that it is one thing to have a total knowledge of the subject; but to teach that effectively to students requires a whole different set of communication skills.

The one month internship at Redbridge International Academy during my B.Ed. course brought a few challenges of its own. The first challenge was the expectations from my group as we were perceived as a talented group of trainee teachers. Being an international school, the classrooms were not crowded. The transition from facing bigger classrooms to such small classes was challenging. At the same time, the students in this school were very active and not shy of asking questions. There were times when I felt that my knowledge level was not up to the mark. The students at this school are exposed to the modern media and use a number of gadgets both at home and in the school, and are well informed. It required a greater effort from me to answer their questions. I took it as a challenge, rather than facing it as a question and eventually I felt confident to interact with the students.

The school has students from multicultural backgrounds. There are students from various states of India. It was rather challenging to establish a healthy connection with some of them. Being a multicultural group, they displayed a variety of interests and mindsets. I was not really prepared for it. The classrooms also had a few children with special educational needs. Since it was my first experience with such children, I found it challenging to interact with them. Finally, the school has students of various educational boards such as ICSE, IGCSE and IBDP each of which have different levels and requirements. It was quite challenging to take classes as I had to constantly change my teaching strategies as I switched from one class to another.

Marianne Williamson says: “The challenges we face in life are always lessons that serve our soul’s growth.” I have experienced various challenges in my experience as a part-time teacher and as a trainee teacher. But all these experiences have taught me great things in life. Instead of taking them as problems, I have accepted these challenges as opportunities for growth and this helped me to grow as a professional teacher. These have helped me to self-reflect and to be open-minded, responsible and to dedicate myself whole heartedly. All these challenging experiences have made me strong, and with the help of my colleagues, teachers and mentors, I have been able to grow into a better teacher.