My Perceived Image as a Literature Teacher

Today on 25th of March, I faced something new that I needed to put on my other higher order thinking cap to solve the question raised by Dr. Edwin. The question was “How do you perceive yourself as a teacher and as a literature teacher?” and it made me stare at the letters in my notebook blankly for a full three minutes, or more. It struck me then that I never thought of giving myself an image of what kind of teacher I am becoming and based on my recent state of knowledge and experience, I realized that I am lacking of certain values and experiences and therefore, not fully equipped to be sent off by UPM to teach.

Another issue was determining the image that suits my perceived teacher-to-be values, which took me another minute to think. Later I came out with the image of ‘an ironed shirt’ which I felt quite appropriate for me. The lecturer accepted my idea as I asserted that it would represent me as a teacher that is well-prepared and ready to be worn by those who need me to cover certain parts, for me it is the part where literature is concerned. When the shirt is buttoned up and covers the torso completely, I perceived that as me achieving my objectives to cover the necessary knowledge and deliver optimum input for my student’s benefit. Besides that, an ironed shirt is surely clean, crisp and fresh which would suggest my fresh ideas and approaches I wish to apply to my future students.

Dr. Edwin had some opposing opinion about me saying that those who wear ironed shirt would gain more respect than those who don’t. Well, I was not implying that the statement goes to everybody but that was how I perceive myself, gaining respect from my students due to my authority as a teacher and an icon of discipline. And finally I do hope that I would be able to use all the experience about reading and studying literature in college into the teaching and learning environment in school.