The Courage to Teach - III. Reflect on your earliest encounters with teaching. If you are drawn to teaching, when did you first feel drawn to it? What was it that drew you? What within you was evoked by teaching—its values, its methods, the way it names and frames reality? What does the nature of teaching reveal about who you are? If you aren’t, share a story about one of your favorite teachers. What do you recall most vividly about that teacher? What was his / her relation to the subject taught? What was the ethos of his/ her classroom?

Well, to reflect on my first encounters with teaching those took place  three years ago when I began to study the major. I vividly remember the first day I was in front of a group of students, I was very nervous but I had prepare  all the didactic materials I had  to use in that class. They were ninth grade students.  

During the first weeks sometimes I made ​​mistakes or had problems controlling my discipline classroom. However, with the help of my tutor and my teachers honestly believe I have progressed since the first day I taught. 

 

Gradually I  had the opportunity to improve in many aspects for which I am thankful but aware that I still have a long way to go in the complex world of teaching and learning. 

In my first encounters with teaching I felt insecure  of myself about my abilities but with the experiences that I have acquired I felt more engaged and more confident  of myself as a consequence.

It was during that time that I felt more attracted to the idea of ​​be a teacher   even I had the dream of being a teacher when I really face the experience of teaching was a motivation for me, a new challenge in my life. 

I was attracted to the idea of ​​sharing with people what I've learned, help others and really take care of the needs of my students. 

Within me I was attracted by the idea of ​​providing not only knowledge  but also  through teaching we can develop values ​​in students. 

Personally during my years in school I was always surrounded by excellent teachers who influenced me so positive when choosing this career. 

Especially my English teacher was the person who encouraged me to love the experience of learning a new language. 

What I remember most vividly from my teacher was her  dedication to work, she really cared about the needs of their students. Each class my classmates and I really enjoyed and learned. 

Regarding the subject she taught she really focused on the principles of language learning, it was a very comprehensive process because we had the opportunity to develop the four basic skills (listening, speaking, writing and reading).

She used to implement various strategies to teach as well as various resources that made her classes more interesting. 

Something that I remember even the classroom was very different from the others, my classmates  and I were in an environment where we had good relationships because  she was very respectful, she  also gave us  good advice and we had the opportunity to develop fully.