An Overview About My Teaching Experience

INTRODUCTION

I think one of the keys to being an effective teacher is the willingness to give the students

your very best. If I cannot commit myself to being the best, how can I expect the students to give

me their best effort. Teaching is giving and receiving, or better yet it is sharing. I think I am still

learning how to share and share effectively. By sharing effectively in the past, I have helped

others learn. The mere act of writing this journal, done honestly, is an act of sharing.

I believe there are several experiences in the last two years of my academic journey that

demonstrate how my participation, support, attention, conversations, and lessons have helped

others learn. I, too, have learned from each experience, often in the moment, if not afterward.

MY FIRST STEP INTO EDUCATION

My first class in education was at Mohamed IV High-School. I consider it one of real

reasons why I have chosen this profession. The teacher for the course, Najat Mekhloufi, was so

passionate about education, teaching, and students that I knew I had found a model of a great

educator. She cared equally about what she taught as to what we thought. She pushed us to

think, investigate, and discuss the issues in contemporary education. She made herself available

in class and afterwards for any question or concern. And he did it all with a smile. This approach

made me work harder, so to not let her down or my classmates. Much of discussion was done at

a round table using the Socratic Method. I often felt that I was in charge of my own education,

and that of my peers. Therefore, I needed to know my material and organize my thoughts if were

to teach others and add to the class.

We were also required to do 20 hours of fieldwork in an educational setting. I chose the

ASMA organization. I worked in a special ESL program helping small groups of adults speak and

read English. The instruction was a bizarre mix if direct, social, and authentic teaching. It mostly

consisted of drill and practice, while attempting to get students to speak of themselves by using

myself as a model. It was one of the most trying experiences of my life. I was often uncomfortable

in the teaching role because of my lack of experience, but I persisted and I know that each day

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someone learned something from my effort, including me. Even when I struggled I think they

appreciated the effort.

Also took a separate 40-hour fieldwork class. I was assigned to observe at Al Kayrawan

Middle School, one of the toughest schools in the area. The teacher there later told me, that she

has given me the assignment so that I would know, for sure, whether I wanted to teach. I lucked

out and had a very supportive cooperating teacher and great students. My teacher put me to work

right away, thankfully, and I made a bulletin board with students, graded papers, and assisted

students during guided and independent practice. I felt for the first time that I was effectively

helping, and only now in reflection do I realize that I was teaching and making a difference. The

kids got to know me and some came to me for help. Often times I would stay after and talk shop

with the teacher and assist any student in need. My shining moment was when I taught a lesson I

created at the end. It was on Facebook and I had the students broken up into groups given

particular issues to discuss before a full class discussion. In retrospect, I believe I created some

quasi SIM/IPM lesson plan. It was in this class that I had made my first connections with real

students and felt that I might not be bad at this job. The students even said hey in the hallway and

one shook my hand at the end of the fieldwork. I thought that was pretty cool.

EFL Teaching

I was an efl teacher at the Ministry of Education for the last 6 years, and in that time, I

had many occasions where I felt like I was making a difference in the life of others. I begin the job

after a short stint as a behavior management specialist, i.e. substitute teacher. I felt I was learning

more about what I did not about education. As an English teacher, I got to know the students and

fellow educators. Being there everyday allowed me to make the connections and build the trust

needed to be an effective teacher.

My first job a teaching assistant had me working with five different teachers, assisting five

different groups of students, from all three grades of middle school. Even though they had me

spread thin, I was still able to become a part each class. Once I had proven myself helpful, I was

given a greater role in assisting students with questions and problems. On several occasions, I

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taught the class, if the teacher was out for the day or a meeting. The students began to trust me

and ask for my help. I think taking the time to get know my students as individuals and

sharing something of myself (hobby, sport, etc.,) unrelated to teaching allowed me to

make a connection, show that I cared, and demonstrate that I was more than another

talking head. I guess I was modeling the behavior that I wanted them to copy, and the behavior I

hope to instill in my future classrooms.

IT'S All ABOUT Sharing!

The second assignment was the most challenging and rewarding experience I have had

in education so far. A school psychologist I know set me up as a one to one aid for an autistic

sixth grade boy. I begin the assignment in the summer at a camp. It was a great place for us to

bond, and there I met many other wonderful kids and counselors. We participated in a lot of group

projects and activities and though they were not specifically under the Social Interaction Model,

the students were learning many of the elements of PIGS. Even though I was assigned to one

student I assisted all of them fielding questions, playing games, asking questions, listening to

stories, and laughing.

Once the summer camp ended, I was off to middle school with my student, and new

friend, Salman. Before this assignment my only knowledge of autism came from one college

course and some newspaper articles. Realizing that one of the main components of autism was

severe social skill deficiencies. Salman, as I had discovered in camp, was a very sweet boy, who

turned out to be quite affectionate, not the norm, and I ended up having one a tough but

wonderful year. His speech was not always clear and he often lacked the ability to express

himself, so I had to intuit my effect by gauging his physical reactions. Every new concept had to

be delivered using Direct Instruction, making sure everything was as clear as possible because

he did not ask questions. I knew by his posture or his facial expression if he understood the

lesson. I could see his excitement when he grasped a new word or concept. It forced me to be

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more concise and I think made me a better teacher for it. Those moments of understanding and

smiles made my day.

Salman and I were in a self-contained classroom with seven other students and four

educators. This closeness meant that we teachers had to support one another in order for the

room to work. I was fortunate that everyone got along and everybody would pitch in to help out a

fellow teacher or student. A special camaraderie developed and everyone benefited. Many times I

was asked to teach Salman and one or two other students. Whether it was vocabulary, writing or

any other skill, I was given the chance to teach and share knowledge and I loved it. I know I could

have done a better time each time I taught, but I now know teaching is learning twice. What I

know for sure is that I helped out students by teaching and being there for them, and I helped out

the other teachers by lending a hand and participating beyond what I was asked to do. I really

understood that I was making a difference and that I might be pretty good at this teaching thing.

THIS SUMMER: CLASSES AND FIELDWORK

I feel my participation in several of my summer school classes helped other students

learn. The first experience was in my Collaboration course, when I taught a lesson with another

student, in front of a large class. We were only one of three groups who opted to teach, instead of

taking a test. Once we got going I knew I was in a teaching moment. I remember looking over at

my partner during our lesson and seeing that he knew we had captured everyone in class. The

lesson was on human rights and after the lesson when I asked if people wanted to pass back the

paperwork, one of the students told me she wanted to keep it for her own class. That knocked me

out, and then I realized everyone kept his or her paperwork. I think, or hope, that my fellow

students learned as much about our effort and enthusiasm for teaching, as they did about human

rights.

That experience leads me to our class. I feel that I am finally making many of the

connections in education and I want to share my understanding with my fellow students and

teachers. I dont like being the one that always talks, so I try to hold back sometimes, but I want to

learn, participate, and help out. If putting myself on the line facilitates understanding or

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encourages others to raise their voice in agreement, dissent or elsewhere, I feel I have done my

job. I try not to get to serious, by infusing some humor, and biting my tongue so others can talk. I

just hope that others recognize that my efforts are not selfish, and instead see that I want to share

the learning.

My fieldwork has given me an excuse to get back in a classroom again. I realize how

much I enjoy working with kids and teaching when I am away from it for a while. I have not had a

teaching moment as of yet, but I enjoy talking with my cooperating teacher, watching her teach,

and getting to know the students. I recently spent time with one student who is shunned by the

others because of his aggressive behavior. I knew he needed some attention and I wanted to

help out. He was pleased to have someone who would listen to him. I only hope the time we

spent talking was as rewarding for him as it was for me.

I am also taking a Literacy and Technology, my first online course. It has been a

challenge in many ways, but what has been most rewarding is helping one another out. We are

required to respond to others posted work and offer praise and suggestions. I have tried to

remember the Three Kisses and a Wish principle when responding to my peers. I hope that my

ideas helped out a few people. I have also made attempts at answering coursework questions

people post. I prefer real classrooms to online ones, but the class has found its own way to bond

and we have all become supporters and teachers.

CONCLUSION

I am presently a professor with WFU in NC, USA, and an EFL Teacher & Trainer with the

British Council in Morocco and the Ministry of Education. Prior to this semester, I was a site

coordinator for Adventure Club, a before- and after-school child care program in Casablanca

State Schools.

I know that I have only scratched the service of my teaching career, but I feel I have

made a difference in the lives of others and I plan to continue sharing for many years to come.

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