What are some of the elements to be embedded into your teaching?

The five elements that are embedded into my teaching are knowing that all tauira come with different abilities, valuing ourselves as teachers, having reciprocal respect, good digital citizenship and tolerance and understanding.

TAUIRA COME WITH DIFFERENT ABILITIES.

The beginning of a school year, tauira come into the classroom with different abilities and different stages of educations, and that’s okay. It is our job as their educators in school to help develop that abilities. 

VALUING OURSELVES AS TEACHERS

As teachers, it is so important that we value ourselves as teachers in knowing that we know wat we are teaching is right and for us that is enough. We are always able to develop ourselves professionally and personally.so we are can improve our way of teaching. Going to RTLB meetings and Autism courses was valuable knowledge for me in knowing how to work with troubled children in the classroom.

RECIPROCAL RESPECT

Teaching respect is a whanau responsibility but developing that respect and encouraging it in classroom is a teacher’s job. I believe in showing respect toward tauira will be reciprocal. I saw this is in my placement. When the teacher has the students respect, that student is trusted to do certain jobs around the classroom.

GOOD DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

With today’s children, they are using technology more than ever. Either using a tablet or computer at home and school. It is both the teachers and the whanau responsibility to make sure that tauira are using their devices with respect for everyone online.

TOLERERNCE AND UNDERSTANDING

With classrooms being more and more diverse culturally, it is key to have tolerance and understanding in a classroom. It is amazing to see the different cultures that are celebrated. I saw this during my placement. One day the entire school celebrated a Culture Day. The students came to school dressed in traditional costumes and had the ability to share what their dress means and when it usually worn. Having that understanding allowed respect and tolerance towards each other and their different cultures.

What are the important values for teaching that you carry with you?

So far, I have realised that each individual child comes with their own unique style into the classroom. It is my job to allow each child to be open and comfortable in sharing who they are in a safe environment.

It is important that I will provide an engaging and stimulating environment for all children to be life-long learners. Also, to provide empowerment to each child. This motivates their learning capabilities. 

A value that is important for teaching is to value ourselves as teachers. As teachers, it is vital that we come to school every day in knowing that we are capable to growing the young minds of tomorrow. As a teacher, I wouldn’t stop wanting to learn the next best thing that could help my students. I would want to continue to develop myself into a teacher that will strive for continual personal and professional growth.

What do you offer the profession?

Some people don’t get to experience a classroom environment as an adult after they finish school. Only experience they have are from many years ago when they were in primary school.

I was lucky enough to have the experience of being a teacher aide. I got to see how teachers teach, in the class and behind the scenes. Not many others have. I come with empathy, which I believe that it is an important value for all teachers to have. Over the couple of years that I have been exposed to the teaching profession, I have created my own philosophy.

I come into this profession knowing and believing that all children come with their own individual personalities that make them who they are as a collective in the classroom.

Why have you come into edcuation?

It started back in my early days in high school, around year 7 or 8 in my social studies class. My social studies teacher was the start of my introduction into teaching. He was cool. He was the one that first inspired me to come into teaching, just not high school. Only because I remember what I was like. The education profession took a back burner when my high school had a careers night, which changed where I wanted to go.

When I left law school, I got a job at the school I attended in primary. I stayed there for a year and a half, which further pushed me into getting my teaching degree. While I was a teacher aide, I wanted to become someone who would inspire many children to be good learners, whether it was in sports or academics. For most of the time I was working as a teacher aide, I was told consistently to stop wasting my time as a teacher aide and move on to get my teaching degree. Being told that on constant basis, showed me that I was noticed a lot more than I thought. So I made the decision to go back to school and get my degree in teaching and came to Te Wananga o Aotearoa

Introduction

Kia Ora koutou,

This is all about my education philosophy 

Over the next couple of weeks, you will get to have an insight into my education philosophy and how it was formed

A little about me is that I wasnt born here in New Zealand. I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. That place place right at the bottom of Africa.

This is the country I was born in and spent the first 7 years of my life before my parents made the decision to move to New Zealand to give us children a better life and more opportunities.

Now that I've been living here for most of my life here in New Zealand, I'm embracing my New Zealand culture. This place will always be my home.

Ko Mangere toku maunga

Ko wairua toku awa

Ko Emirates toku waka

Ko tamaki makaurau toku iwi

Ko Michaela Duarte toku ingoa

No reira tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.