Teaching Aspiration

My teaching philosophy came from my teaching experience in an infant school in the UK and my university life. The working experience as a teaching assistant built a strong foundation for me to picture what a supportive and constructive learning environment looks like. The educators there used the reasoning-based assessment method to unearth the students’ underlying presumptions, for example, about mathematics and behavioural reward scheme to guide students toward better social conduct. That made me question the effectiveness of my education and the general situation in Hong Kong. Not until I studied at my university did I realise the fundamental difference in attitudes towards studies between two education systems upon meeting with peers in the same programme from different walks of life. In the following, I will further explain the development of my teaching philosophy of a student-oriented approach.

My university learning experience differs from many of my peers who enrolled in the programme straight after graduation from secondary school. I studied at the community college and struggled to figure out my interest area and future career path after graduation. In the end, I chose English Education as I decided to pursue something I liked and sacrificed my original career path related to science. Then, I noticed that most of my university peers possessed a different learning mentality. Especially while doing group assignments, the sole focus of my peers was to finish the assignment instead of exchanging insights about the subject knowledge they learned from the course and reading.

The performance-oriented mentality can be explained, I believe, by the low engagement rate among the local students in their secondary school. Most of the learning at my secondary school happened in direct one-sided lectures and paper-based revision exercises. The students were not encouraged to be curious to search for more information online or be proactive in solving real-world problems. The learning habits persist after our secondary education and nurture individuals into citizens with “high marks but low ability”, as termed by local newspapers.

My life has been massively changed by the ability to read English and communicate with foreigners.  I firmly believe that English is an effective tool to explore other parts of the world and, in return, understand who we are in relation to others. Most importantly, I endeavour to empower my students with that tool to be successful and impactful to society through technology and self-directed learning. By cultivating a proactive learning habit in secondary school, I believe the students would be able to take a step further in their areas of interest in the future. Therefore, as a teacher, I aspire to empower my students by nurturing in them adequate English proficiency, as well as the curiosity to explore the world. By thus doing, I hope my students will develop into adults with genuine interest in learning and the passion and ability to contribute to the society, unlike my former classmates who only worked to satisfy others.

This essay shows a high level of mastery of English and comprehensive reflection of educational cultures and education systems. However, the content is more like a personal learning history, whereas teaching philosophy should be future-oriented, about what one plans or aspires to do.