Teaching - one of my passions.

Please if you ever think about going into teaching make sure you do it for the right reasons and not because there does not appear to be an alternative. The future of children depends so much on the passion and enthusiasm of their teachers.

I trained to teach the younger children aged between 5 and 7. I can truly say that I learned as much from the children I taught as they did from me. Just watching their faces as they understood or experienced something new was incredible. They say ‘out of the mouths of babes’ when referring to particular things said that have been particularly funny or patently honest with no pretension behind the words. Children say it as they see it, they are truly honest in what they say. The way they see the world has not yet been destroyed by others putting thoughts into their heads as to how they should see the world and why.

Teaching young children is more about opening their awareness to what is around them and seeing what they make of it without enforcing our own beliefs. Children learn more by having fun and doing things practically, interacting with each other, and learning from each other, than they do if they are sat down with pen and paper and instructed what to do next. I loved watching the progress they made throughout the year, the way they grew, their understanding of things and the way they helped each other understand. Teaching is very hard work but really one of the most fulfilling careers.

I think as a teacher one of the most frustrating things was the fact that we are not looked upon as professionals. Bearing in mind that the majority of my colleagues had a degree along with their education certificate it would seem that this did not matter, we were just seen as ‘teachers’. Of course everyone has been to school and as adults everyone with children knows much better than the teachers, right? What many people do not realise is what we learn about during our time at University, how we look at the psychology of children, the process of learning, how to break down what we know into small steps to help children make their way up their ladder. No wall can stand without foundations and no child can learn without taking all the steps needed in order to reinforce what they know and understand. Having said all that as I said before it also needs to be fun for children, they need to be inspired and excited to look into the world around them and want to learn more about it.

One of my most profound memories was from my art tutor in university. Of course all of us whether taking a degree in Maths, English, Science, Art, etc. had to learn everything about all things that encompass a primary classroom as well as how to teach young children. Our art tutor had given us an assignment to come up with a display for the classroom, relevant to any subject. Having an artistic element, and with my degree being taken in Art, I was so happy and went home to really enjoy this assignment. My creation - for want of a better word - was for young children and an introduction to the frog life cycle. I made it fun and colourful but included what they needed to know.

On the day that our assignments were put up on the walls I had several of the other students coming up to me and saying how great it was and they wish theirs was better. I have to say I was totally flummoxed, I did not understand why they could not do the same. I spoke to my tutor and he said to us all that this was a perfect example of where the learning process in art had or had not happened. What I did I took for granted and in all honesty did not really think about it except to enjoy it. I was able to put things together easily and not even think about colour etc as I instinctively knew what went where. However, as my tutor said, this was not always instinctive and that I had learned it all from the basic steps up to where I was at that moment in time, whereas most of the other students had not been taught those basic steps.

This was what we needed to think about when teaching young children. Introduce them to the basics, small steps, colour, tools, paper, paint, the way to use them, allow them to experiment and each year they would know more and gain more confidence. They may never be the greatest artist but they would have a thorough grounding in art in its many forms. He also reminded us that this was applicable to all subjects for young children and not just in art. If children were not given the basic steps, however small, then they have no chance of learning the next steps.

The foundation of learning begins when children start school and each year progresses onwards as they learn new skills based on what they had learned previously. As our tutor said it is a bit like trying to build a house without foundations. The foundation of learning is one of the most important aspects of a child’s chance to take in the many aspects of life and all of its many facets. As teachers we are responsible for opening children’s eyes and hearts to all that is around them and giving them the opportunity to learn in a multitude of different ways. We do not all learn in the same way and that is what makes us wonderful. We cannot be good at everything but we are more than likely to be very good at something that we are passionate about. Children should be encouraged to find that passion within their learning.