Problems facing new teachers

To the point of being a teacher candidate, one needs exceptional dedication and commitment to studies. That is people often stick to their philosophies in a bid to achieve the desired goals. There are many obstacles and hurdles which must be faced before receiving the crown. Only those students who persevere to the final lap can stand tall and be proud of themselves. Otherwise, those who lose hope in the process are bound to regret their uninformed decisions because the benefits of a complete professional development are limitless. The principles of a teacher can include any act of objectivity which can be used to promote success. Example include; determination to meet targets, focus on student’s development, moving in the right direction, and doing what one is passionate about (Cahn, 2011).

On the concept of philosophies, it is worth noting that the effectiveness of an education system is dependent on the nature of the interaction between a teacher and students, as well as the association among the students themselves. Therefore, it can be said that classroom relationships are either teacher-centered, student-centered or socially-centered (Cahn, 2011). Philosophies which are teacher-centered involves teaching of basic skills which are actually needed in society. In addition, I relied on my values such as love, leadership, happiness, and respect to ensure that the learners were not scared at all during my lessons. It was also important to rely on social interactions and questioning in order to promote children participation in classrooms. While implementing these philosophies, I borrowed major ideas from renowned philosophers like Socrates.

The lessons learned from Socrates were very influential in formulating my foundation for educating kids. However, I am a very flexible person who is ready to adopt changes and implement strategies which can best suit my students. Whenever people have different abilities and skills, their inputs can be combined to promote community development. Going by the philosophies of Socrates, it is important to properly guide a child through school than just forcing them to train or survive. Education is seen as a gradual process whose limits are boundless while training or survival are only designed to overcome situations in the meantime (Noddings, 2018). Therefore, the only way that an individual can realize full success is through the acquisition of foundational knowledge and skills as taught in schools.

One interesting concept in Socrates philosophies is that he relied on questions as a way of engaging his audience. While it might be necessary to require financial resources to fund learning activities, it is not necessary that the process must be luxurious to a point that it is no longer affordable. My education journey started at the tender age of 5 when my parents enrolled me in a local kindergarten. Adapting to the system was not easy because I appeared to the youngest student among my classmates. I knew that it would be a great challenge coping up with the system but there was no option rather than to stay. My parents would take me to school at 9 AM and come for me at 3 PM.

The competition was very high and I can state that it is the very reason why we remained focused on the senior grade. After joining college, I got interested in pursuing education because I wanted to train children. The experiences associated with teaching are actually enjoyable and I cannot deny that I being in a classroom with children aged between 2 and 4 years is the best feeling ever. These children are ever jovial though they might be dramatic at times. All one needs to do is to properly understand the needs of children and the appropriate philosophies which can be applied to facilitate learning. Unlike high school or early childhood centers, college life is characterized by numerous expenditures on both basic needs and secondary wants.

For instance, food is a very essential item in one's life. The college was only providing a basic diet which was not even proportionate with the kind of charges imposed. Worst still, the school cafeteria and kitchen were ever full of students such that it would not be easy to get the services as in a prompt manner. To overcome these challenges, one needed to have a sufficient amount of money to buy food or prepare just prepare some delicacies in the halls of residence. It was not easy borrowing the items from friends or just staying there without them. None of these options was welcoming thus pushing students to apply for part-time jobs or constantly call home even if one understands that such needs cannot be satisfied.

Now, the academic part of college was also interesting. Each of the classes was designed to equip the students with useful knowledge and skills which would be applicable later in our careers. There were 12 classes and each one was being evaluated independently. Form this course, I learned how to influence children to have a positive attitude towards learning and also developed hands-on experience in managing classroom activities. My professor was very supportive during this course because he always monitored my progress and performance on a regular basis. Another importance of this course is that I learned how to handle children with different capabilities. I was trained on how to guide a class of gifted students and slow-learners so that both of them can equally benefit.

If a teacher is not clearly focused on the abilities of children in the classroom, it can happen that the gifted students can overshadow the slow-learners thereby hindering them from benefitting in such a class (Tyler, 2013). Evidence-based learning is important in the sense that it improves the conceptualization skills of children thereby giving them the ability to critically evaluate issues before making decisions (Cook et al, 2012). Teachers who successfully pass EDDN 640, the Education of Young Children: Principles and Methods are believed to be competent in child development theories. As such, I was ready to conceptualize various theoretical frameworks which could assist me in motivating my class to perform better. I was also determined at exploring various talents and abilities of the children so that they can benefit in all spheres of education.

In addition, the course is recognized for its practical application of methodologies which are beneficial in terms of evidence-based research (Woodhead & Faulkner, 2012). Other essential elements of this course included assessment and monitoring of students’ performance records and the patterns of results as demonstrated by the standardized tests (Woodhead & Faulkner, 2012). Therefore, it is an implication that teachers who completed this course would be able to design tests which are fair to all students and also use a marking criterion which favours ideologies more than just the exact final answer. In addition, this course was useful in learning program design and structuring of instructions for students. The idea is particularly helpful for students with disabilities and cannot learn through normal criteria. For instance, children diagnosed with autism or any other detrimental disorder require close attention and specialized modes of learning because their cognitive abilities are often interrupted.

As such, I had to balance my time so that I could participate in both components of the course. I chose to conduct my practicum in a classroom composed of children aged 2. During my participation in Field Experience, I decided to allocate 50 allows for General Education while Special Education lasted for 100 hours. Field Experience was very important for me to conceptualize various aspects of a classroom. I learned about the physical arrangement of a class, emotional balance within a classroom, and evaluation of children intelligence. The first challenge often entails class management. Newly graduated teachers are faced with the difficulties of engaging their students, especially in special education programs (Fry, 2007). As such the underwhelming experience may drain the energy and enthusiasm of a teacher who was adequately prepared to motivate his or her class.

In order to overcome this challenge, there needs to be a proper induction program so that new teachers can be formally introduced to students whereby they create a rapport before the actual lessons can begin. Secondly, new teachers face the problem of inadequate professional support. Lastly, there exists a problem of emotional challenges when new teachers are trying to adapt to new environments (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). By coming straight from college to start this profession, it is quite challenging in the sense that teachers are separating from their colleagues to start a new life with children between 2 and 4 years. For new teachers to overcome this challenge, schools should introduce emotion management programs for their staff. Conclusion From this discussion, it has been confirmed that teachers often experience different problems at college.