My teaching philosophy

“Education is a way for one to better understand the environment he or she is living in and creates a better way to life” L.C Mhlanga

 I am Lungile Cleopatra Mhlanga a student at university of Mpumalanga, I have enrolled for B.Ed. foundation phase teaching and I am currently at a teacher education campus (TEC) at Siyabuswa.

As a foundation phase teacher i feel it is my duty to assist in helping enlighten the brains of up growing pupils so that they can see potential within themselves also assist in laying a strong foundation of learning and acquire-ring knowledge and new information.

This will create a culture of learning where children will actually enjoy being at school and the process of learning new things every day. As a teacher I feel I am liable to give children who are less gifted and well gifted equal opportunity to shine in order to boost their confidence.

It is also my duty to make students to feel safe in my classroom in order for them to feel free to ask questions and to make children aware that learning is an ongoing process it does not end, we are all learning in our everyday lives unwarily.

I believe that the process of learning and teaching must not be a one way road, where by the teacher will always pass information to the learners and not require any questions or ask questions from learners.

I have learned that teaching and learning in foundation phase is an active process were by interaction of the teacher and learner becomes visible in learning through play and other activities that require class interaction, if the teacher is not effective and does not engage learners much they will become bored and sleep, a teacher is not a priest he or she must engage learners.

I have realized that a good teacher will inspire curiosity in learners so that children will be igured to learn more and take learning more positively. As teaching is my passion i always criticized the way teachers teach the little ones there for I will try by all means to make teaching and learning more effective.

I will do this by engaging my learners in my lessons and giving them opportunity to speak out and show their understanding, if learners get it hard to understand the lesson I will try to jog their memory by giving them different examples, pictures and objects that support the content to give them a better understanding.

It has come to my attention that if children learn in an active manner they will get to enjoy the subject and grasp every day I teach. To me it is very important to teach using different methods because children learn differently this is supported by the theory of multiple intelligence by Gardner.

The has to be a little bit of sense of humour in our classrooms  because laughter is crucial to young children and anybody else to create a positive learning environment this will also release stress in a stressful environment and allows children to be comfortable.

Children become what we view them to be, if as parents and teachers give children encouragement to do good and reward them for their good behavior, this will promote an attitude of succeeding and this is what I intend to do.

Learners must be able to be open to teachers, accept being incorrect and being rectified, be able to do their work, be able co-operative and work in hand with the teacher also be able to take responsibilities for their actions.

I hope to remove the bad attitude that comes with making mistakes, we learn through making mistakes, there for learners must not be scared to make mistakes because they are forever there.

Optimal learning can take place where teachers and learners are fully committed to aggravating progress, prosperity and success, where the teacher works in co-operation with learner to make learning more effective. The place matters not when these two parts are well united.

I have realized that teaching is not an indoor process but also goes beyond the classroom walls to the play grounds and the outside worlds, I hope to utilize every opportunity given to me fruitfully so that every learner can get an opportunity to learn something, this is to enhance my students mental, social and emotional capacity.

We must take to account that education is not a business but a formal way to make people realize the ability and skills they have in them, some have taken teaching as a way to make money, it is not passion, for that is why it becomes less effective to learners it is because of people who made teaching their profession but was not their passion.

I believe that in one way or another I am brought to this world with a purpose of helping other people, I enjoy making a difference in another person’s life. Knowing that I am contributing to someone’s development make me feel good about myself, seeing my community grow and develop because of my potential gives me a reason to wake up in the morning and makes me to sleep well at night.

Through teaching I can help people as much as possible, I want to go beyond teachers expectations to provide children with relevant and interesting teaching material that will accommodate all my learners because even a world class one way teaching method is not good enough because people differ greatly.

I hold myself responsible to stimulate the child’s intrinsic motivation and help them to achieve more than academic standards that also reveal their inner talent and other skills.

I react positively to change and work towards making positive change in people’s lives and I also want to see more optimistic youth.