Teaching
Teaching: My Purpose, My Passion
The joy of influencing positive social change and planting seeds of awareness in others is a calling I can't ignore. Education is the tool I use to combine my talents, passions, and purpose, creating lasting value for those around me.
It feels like a child’s first visit to Disneyland—pure, exciting, and full of potential.
Teaching in Action: Creativity Meets Impact
Approach
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How do you ensure that all students are engaged and learning in your classroom? I foster student agency by engaging them in open conversations about their interests and learning goals, ensuring they take ownership of their learning. This approach promotes intrinsic motivation and sustained engagement. By aligning content with their passions, I create a dynamic, self-directed learning environment.
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How do you incorporate creativity and innovation into your lessons? I integrate hands-on activities and real-world problem-solving, encouraging students to explore and innovate. This approach cultivates creativity and allows students to apply learning in practical, imaginative ways. It ensures that learning is both interactive and adaptable to various needs.
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How do you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners? I assess individual learning styles and collaborate with homeroom and special educators to personalize instruction. This allows me to provide tailored learning pathways and appropriate scaffolding for all students. It ensures an inclusive environment where every learner can thrive.
Teaching Philosophy
Education does not transform the world. Education changes people. People change the world." – Paulo Freire. I believe education is a transformative journey where inquiry-based learning, task-based activities, and reflective circle times become catalysts for growth and awareness. By weaving humanistic pedagogy into my classroom, I empower students to think critically, create boldly, and connect deeply with their learning. For example, through collaborative projects exploring global challenges, my students develop empathy and agency while crafting solutions. Teaching, for me, is planting seeds of possibility—each child leaves with the confidence to thrive, creating a ripple of change in the world.
Transformative Connection
The classroom buzzed with energy, but one student always stood out—not for his participation, but for his silence and the storm cloud of anger that seemed to follow him. He was older than his peers, having repeated the second grade, and struggled to grasp lessons. His frustration was palpable, and it seemed to weigh heavily on him.
As a homeroom teacher in Thailand, I knew that understanding him would require more than academic strategies; it would demand empathy and patience.
I moved his desk directly next to mine, not as a punishment but as an invitation—to connect, to observe, and to guide. Slowly, his walls came down. Through casual conversations and quiet observations, I learned that his life outside the classroom was filled with challenges too heavy for an eight-year-old to bear. His anger wasn’t defiance; it was a shield.
This realization was my turning point. I enrolled in courses on Mindful Emotion Coaching and The Psychology of Learning to equip myself with tools to support him and others like him. I introduced mindfulness exercises, teaching the class to navigate their emotions with self-awareness and control. Our homeroom sessions became spaces where values like resilience, empathy, and perseverance were woven into the fabric of our daily interactions.
In time, this boy’s transformation was nothing short of remarkable. He began to excel, his confidence growing with every small success. In my science class, he emerged as one of the top performers, a testament to what a nurturing environment and intentional strategies can achieve.
Reflecting on this journey, I see how students are mirrors, reflecting not only their struggles but also their potential and our ability to guide them. They inspire me to evolve, to seek knowledge, and to serve with purpose.
How many more lives could we transform if we chose to see each student not as a challenge but as an opportunity to connect, guide, and inspire?
