Assignment One: Who I am as an Adult Learner

Education 455 Sharondeep Rai 10078778

To me, learning and teaching go hand in hand and can sometimes be used as synonyms for one another. I believe that if you can learn, you will be able to teach and when you teach you will learn new things. Through my own experiences, I have learned what I believe are good methods and bad methods of teaching. I learned what works for me and how I can help others. An adult learner can be classified as one who is self directed, independent, focused and motivated (MacKeracher, 2004). In regards to myself, I believe I am very motivated in my goal to become an elementary teacher. I have knowledge from my previous experiences and I put that to use every day when I learn new information. I also feel that an important characteristic of an adult learner that applies to me as well is that I want to learn in order to be able to deal with life problems. Adult learners want to learn in order to be able to deal with real life problems (MacKeracher, 2004). I don't want to learn to simply get my degree; I want to learn to become the best I can. This is why I feel that I am an adult learner. I know what my goals are and I want to be able to apply my knowledge to real life situations especially as a teacher. I use my previous knowledge as well as the new things I'm learning in everyday experiences. I believe I have a very strong identity as a learner and a pre-service teacher, and the best thing about it is that I have the power to continually discover myself. A strong identity involves deep connections with others through shared histories and experiences, reciprocity, affection and mutual commitments (Wenger, 2000). I know who I am and I know that there is a lot of space to grow. As a child, I had always looked up to my grandfather who practically raised me. He is the one person in my life who has always influenced all my decisions regarding life. Before he came to Canada, he was a teacher in India. He showed me passion for teaching, and how rewarding it was. I have always wanted to become a teacher, and my grandfather is an important player behind my decision. As Etienne Wenger says, the ways in which we engage with each other and

with the world profoundly shape our experience of who we are (Wenger, 2000). I believe my grandfather helped establish my identity as a learner as a teacher. I was able to engage with him and he definitely shaped my experience. As I grew, I began to volunteer a lot at schools. When I found myself in a grade two classroom, I knew I found my future career. I loved working with the kids, how bright and eager they were. I found I was more excited to teach the younger ones than I was with the older students. That was when I knew I was meant to be an elementary teacher. When the time came to enroll into university, I knew to apply to the Faculty of Education. I chose to enroll into the concurrent education program that the University of Calgary offered because I felt that it was an appropriate challenge for me. I decided to take history as my major because of my passion for learning about the past. My experiences were both personal and professional, and they led me to a pre-service teacher education program. I am glad to be able to say I am happy with the path I took and that I look forward to continuing my journey as a teacher. From kindergarten to grade twelve, I had amazing teachers who really pushed me as well as teachers who were so terrible; I had to push them to the back of my mind. I have always struggled with mathematics. It is not something I am comfortable with at all. There is a specific reason behind that, and it is because of my teachers. No matter how good or how bad they were, they could never seem to help me master math. In my high school experience, my math teachers did not believe in me at all, which caused me significant issues in learning the material. I was stressed about my grades, and always in a bad state of mind. My teachers believed that either you're good at math or you're bad. They didn't think it was worth the extra effort to sit down individually with me and work on problems and decided to choose the easy way out. They constantly referred me to applied math, which I ended up taking in the end. Within the first week

of school, my math teacher told me I was not smart enough for 30-1 and that I should drop to 302. He didn't change the way he taught and every time I would ask for help, he'd ask how I still didn't understand it. He was not patient and made me feel like a complete failure. I felt horrified at the prospect of going down to 30-2 but he gave me no choice. Had he given me the chance and the time, I know I would've passed the course but he gave up on me. Every teacher leaves a mark on their students and my math teacher had left me scarred and to this day, I hesitate when it comes to that subject. Teachers can leave good marks too. My kindergarten teacher was one of the reasons that I became interested in teaching in the first place. She was encouraging, open minded, and was patient. She knew how to play the role of a friend and teacher perfectly well and balanced everything perfectly. As a learner, I feel that teachers should help students rather than call it a day. Every mind still has something they are yet to learn, and teachers are the ones who can help you to do that. My experience with math, despite how terrible it made me feel about myself was a significant learning moment that completely impacted and influenced my choice to become a teacher. As a teacher, I will not allow my students to go through what I did because of my math teacher. I will never give up on students because I know everyone has potential. I would change my teaching methods and accommodate a student who doesn't understand the material. A lesson should not be considered over until all children understand it. Teachers should know that all children develop at different rates and as a teacher in training. I believe that patience is key. As a teacher, I want to bring not only knowledge to my classroom but love as well. As Margaret Wheatley describes, a gesture of love can be anything that we do to help another person discover their humanity (Wheatley, n.d.). This is important to me because as a pre-service elementary teacher, I want to be able to implement values of humanity in my students and show them how to

become a good wholesome person. I want to be able to allow for a flow of conversation in my classroom in which my students and I are equal with one another. Conversation can only take place amongst equals (Wheatley, n.d.) and I think it's necessary for a classroom to be a space where everyone feels equal and loved. I think that as a teacher, I have to be able to shape my classroom into an environment which is fun and creative but has rules as well. Being a teacher is important to me because I want to be able to spark the passion for something the same way my grandfather sparked it for me about teaching and history. As a teacher, I don't want to focus on anything other than the truth. I want to be a truthful teacher, to my students and to myself. The teacher within us speaks of what is real for us, of what is true (Palmer, 1997). I would like to be able to rely on my own instincts because no one knows me better than myself. I want to be able to open minds to new ideas. Education is a very meaningful and significant topic to me. This is because I personally believe that learning is a lifelong process and you will never know everything. Education is an important tool for anyone regardless of age, and as someone who wants to implement a passion for that tool in the early ages of childhood I believe that you need to bring a passion to it before you can get the same reaction from your students. I think we need to show students why education is an amazing thing in order for them to care about it.

References MacKeracher, Dorothy. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning. Palmer, P. J. (1997). The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in Teaching. Taylor & Francis Group, 29(6), 14-21. Wenger, Etienne. (2000). Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems. Organization Articles, 7(2). Wheatley, Margaret. Canyon Days: A Week in Moqui Canyon, Lake Powell.