I once believed teachers to be the ambassadors of knowledge, guiding students along a path towards content and careers, our positions as leaders established by degrees framed and hung on walls; however, I have come to realize that we are all vessels of knowledge overflowing with experiences. Mother Teresa once said, “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” Each voice in the classroom, each comment made by a student or peer is like one of the many drops she mentioned. It is for that reason that my teaching style is modeled off the Socratic seminar. The Socratic seminar is a formal discussion based on a text in which the leader asks open-ended questions. Within the context of the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others. They learn to work cooperatively and to question intelligently and civilly.
The stories my mother told of her time spent living in Japan have stuck with me through adolescence and into adulthood. Pictures of landscapes and people snapped during my brother’s visits to the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong decorate my walls. Now that I have graduated from college, and will soon hold my teaching license, I long to experience living and teaching in foreign countries, primarily Asia. In these regions, the people embody a culture and lifestyle I admire. As you can see from my resume, I have much experience teaching in classrooms, and have had the eye-opening opportunity to teach in a foreign country.
Please let me know the most convenient time to set up an interview to further discuss my experiences and teaching style.