TO BE A TEACHER: Some Thoughts about Andragogy Value time. View teaching as a process of discovery. Ask people what they want to learn – capitalize on their interests. Discover what others already know before starting to teach. Work for simplicity – boil down lessons into a few key points. Don't be afraid ahh mistakes, but do take the time to reflect & learn from them. Consider learning activities as building blocks that can be arranged in many possible ways. Constantly ask, "What's being taught?" and if a clear answer doesn't come, reevaluate. Be optimistic & believe in your students even if they don't believe in themselves. Experiment. Keep classes creative. Focus on top priorities & don't expect to accomplish “everything”. Teach with passion. Regard teaching as something you love to do, not merely as something you are paid for. If you aren’t excited about teaching, do things differently. Encourage students to participate in ways that allow them to “teach” each other. Be alert to unexpected opportunities. Encourage excellence – don’t force it. Have a life. Get outside ah classrooms regularly. Stay fresh. Let your students talk much ah dah time. In your zeal to teach "the lesson" don't forget to teach your students. Covering material is important – but discovering it is even more so. Melissa: Can good teaching ever be reduced to a prescriptive list of dos and don'ts? Liao: Probably not, but that does not mean that such lists are not without value . . . ===================================================================================== from _Crassroom Voices - Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Education_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: A poem about teaching principles. KEYWORDS: teaching philosophy, teacher development, teaching principles, instructional tips Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) Begun: 1997 in Shizuoka, Japan / Finished: 2018 in Yokohama, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST http://www.tnewfields.info/CrassroomVoices/edu.htm TOC http://www.tnewfields.info/CrassroomVoices/index.html NEXT > http://www.tnewfields.info/CrassroomVoices/tv.htm TRANSLATIONS Bŭlgarski: http://www.tnewfields.info/de/kultur.htm Español: http://www.tnewfields.info/cultura.htm Nihongo: http://www.tnewfields.info/jp/bonjin.htm Zhōngwén: http://www.tnewfields.info/zh/pingyong.htm