Humberto Marino

Narrative Essay
This is the story of my development as a teacher since the very beginning. It was almost 4
years ago that I started teaching English formally, this means in front of a group. As a
teenager I had taught English at my house giving private lessons to groups of two or three
students but it wasn't until 2011 that I finally started teaching in a private school.
At the beginning of my career in teaching I had given up a job in computer engineering
which I didn't like very much so I was very excited thinking that I finally was able to do what
I like best: languages. I was also thinking that this job would not be as hard as
programming computers, that it would be more relaxed. And so, my first year was more or
less easy in the sense that I didnt have too many students, my groups had an average of
10 students. I really liked this year because even though I didn't have much experience I
enjoyed it because I was finally able to put into practice many games with my English
students. I really like trying out new games and activities with my students, I see the
classroom as a laboratory where I can experiment with new stuff that sometimes doesn't
work quite well but other times it is a total success and I feel very happy.
Although the first year was sometimes hard because I didn't have much experience I was
able to thrive and keep on going but on my second year things started to change, the
groups started to grow and reach 16 and sometimes 27 students. Also I started to teach
English to 3rd grade secondary students and sixth grade elementary, these groups began
to be a challenge for me because students at this age are rebellious and disobedient. With
the group of 3rd secondary I had to teach English and technology, a total of eight hours a
week, the kids were lazy, they didn't want to study, they were noisy and because of my
inexperience I wasn't able to control the group appropriately. Because of my lack of
confidence and assertiveness I had many problems with students, their parents and my
principal, who decided to reassign me to other groups. These were tough days and I used
to share my problems with a colleague who helped me become aware of the many
mistakes I was making.
It was on this year that I didn't have enough confidence that I could do the teaching job. I
would stand before class insecure and dubious about what I should do in many different

situations. But a collaborator, in this case, a colleague teacher brought to my attention that
I was insecure in the classroom and encouraged me to build confidence in this area. I
became aware of this fact and decided to build more confidence by repeating to myself
assuring phrases that reminded me my true worth and other tips from Brown (2015). When
I did this, many things began to change in my classroom. I was now more confident,
whenever I gave commands to my students they obeyed, and in difficult situations that
needed a quick decision I did a good job showing myself to the students calmed and
assured.
My third year was not as bad as the second one but it was still hard. The principal saw in
me other talents with children like teaching songs and making appropriate didactic material
for them and so she decided to change me to other groups. With some classes I did a
great job but with others I still had problems, this helped me a lot to understand that
everybody is good at some things and bad at others. This way of thinking encouraged me
a lot and with God's help it kept my teaching career going.
It was on this 3rd year that I discovered counseling skills, which are definitely part of the
development realm. I have picked up these skills here and there, when I hear them
mentioned in a conference, in some reflections or in another teacher's conversations; after
being aware of my lacking these skills I have immediately tried to put them into practice
with my students who are in their teenage years. I have incorporated Drabs (2015)
counseling skills like listening, empathy, unconditional positive regard, self-disclosure and
helping my students to remove obstacles in their life. All of these skills have helped me to
become a better teacher and to be the difference in my students lives. These skills are
definitely not learned through a course but rather through a process of self-reflection and
introspection that helps a teacher realize his achievements and failures. It was on this year
that I became more interested in making an impact in students lives and giving them
valuable advice.
It was also on this 3rd year that I was taught assertiveness skills on my daily practice, I
remember one time I had a problem with a student and decided to go with the principal of
my school who, after listening to me and the student, came to the conclusion that we both
had the need to be assertive: to think about the needs of others before ours1. Through her
comments I became aware that I needed assertiveness skills in my life and began
1 Mindtools(2015)

applying this particular skill to my teaching practice which brought a better understanding
of the situations of my students and thoughtfulness for them that has brought harmony to
my English classroom.
In this 3rd year I started putting into practice my knowledge in sociolinguistics. My masters
degree has also been a source of awareness to English teaching in the aspect of cultural
broadening through my subject called sociolinguistics where I learned about all the
different accents of English throughout the world. Through this subject I came to the
conclusion that, due to globalization process that exists nowadays, my students will
encounter many different accents of English and not just American standard English or
British Received pronunciation. As a result I have decided to provide my students with
different kinds of English, different pronunciations and accents belonging to many parts of
the world. In this way I have improved my teaching practice through awareness.
And finally in my fourth year I have come to realize that teaching secondary school is not
my thing, and that I enjoy teaching to third and fourth grade in elementary school, also I
would like to teach university students in the future. There's still a long way ahead in the
path of excellence but I have made improvements in many areas like: group control,
counseling, confidence and assertiveness skills.
It was on this fourth year that I started using more my computing skills. I did a BA in
computer engineering but I hadnt applied much my computers skills to teaching. However,
after seeing other colleagues use their computer abilities with teaching I realized I had
valuable tools that I didn't use much and so I started using more technology like showing
videos to my students, projecting images on the screen to play games and giving them
extra resources through the World Wide Web. I have also seen that other teachers, after
hearing from our principal the urgent needs for computer skills, have become aware of this
need and have started learning the basic technology skills like typing a Word document
and sending emails.
Also in this 4th year I have come to realize what Rossner says about teacher development,
that it has to be bottom up, which means it has to be mainly organized by in-service
teachers and not by managers of the school. It is teachers who know what the needs in
the classroom are. For example, it was the principal of my school, who is also an inservice teacher, who proposed for us teachers to read and study a book that talks about
classroom management and another book that talks about hyperactive kids and how to

deal with them. I remember that she chose to study this book when my school was going
through a time when there was a lot of bad behavior and we teachers were new in the field
and didn't know what to do to control the classroom. More recently, the principal and
teachers have become aware that many problems in our school are due to hyper active
students that stir the whole group and cause problems in their relationship with other
students and this is why the principal is reading with us a book that talks about hyperactive
students: she wants to helps us become aware of our need to change classroom habits in
order to deal with this problem.
In this 4th year I am acquiring a characteristic from Rossner which is new experiences and
challenges. Through my Masters Degree I have become aware of new things that I want
to reach some day, for example this very module I am taking right now: Teacher Education,
has opened my eyes to see that one day I myself will be training other teachers. This has
been an amazing discovery and encouraging news that have motivated me to keep on
improving my teaching practice because one day I will share my experiences with other
teachers. Another positive experience that has challenged me about this Master's Degree,
has been when I discovered a vocabulary program by Paul Nation where he describes
how a reading program can work wonders in English teaching, even more than the results
of a structured teaching experience. As a result of this program I became very encouraged
to provide my students with the necessary books so they can start their own reading
program. This is another example of how teacher development has helped me become
aware of my needs and helped me change in my teaching profession.
When I look back I see an improvement in my career through the help of God, my
collaborators and the process of teacher development. Advancement has been made but
there are still new challenges to overcome; looking back helps me see that this job can be
done with patience and endurance. If I keep on working and changing for good I will keep
on making progress and my students will receive a better education.

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