By this review, we whave already covered Teacher Talk, The Textbook, Assessment and Teaching Resources. I, myself, am quite surprised, and slightly alarmed after reading my journal entries and have noted several changes in myself, especially an openness to embrace teaching, which to some extent, terrifies me.

Most notably, I am still concerned about students being so focused on exams that their learning attitude is marred by caring more on how to answer exam questions than the learning process. I understand that exams and assessments are a necessary gauge of progress, but that's not all learning is limited to. Plus it provides very fertile ground for cheating if students feel pressured to do well "by hook or by crook". An exam grade, after all, is neither a measure of a student's worth nor does it define who they are. Rather, it is merely an account of time spent in the class, which i have taken to mean is a measure of whether the students have gained anything new for themselves in the classroom. Exams and exam results matter, yes, but once again, learning is much more than that. So I thought about it, and concluded that one way to counter the student's exam-centric attitude is through the teaching style. By allowing students to see for themselves that they do not need to be exam-obsessed and still be able to learn, I hope to change their view and attitude towards learning; perhaps by not depending entirely on the textbook and including other resources in teaching - whic brings me to the main issue that showed me something exciting about the world of teaching.

The world is a wealth of resources for teachers. Almost anything can be a teaching tool. Its just a matter of how you use what you choose. Its these little extras with which the teacher brings to life the subject. It also reflects how much s/he cares, since it really requires extra effort as well as provide a personal touch. I hate to make sweeping statements, but there it is. It is essential that teachers choose the right props for their lessons since this affects how the students receive the message the teacher is trying to convey. I see this style of teaching as telling the students something new rather than droning on and on in front of them. This also means being creative: looking at the world differently, thinking on your toes, being prepared for just about anything and quite possibly prompting a paradigm shift in learning attitudes. Suddenly teaching seems almost dangerous. After all, we are talking about moulding young minds here.

Now, before i go off with my new zest for teaching, albeit my idealism and naivete, I still have to learn to juggle and balance planning lessons, marking students work, meeting curriculum requirements, producing good results on top of maintaining my relationship with the students while inculcating a more positive learning attitude towards learning not forgetting to make time for myself and my personal life.

Did i just put my personal life last on that list?

Oh no.