Foundations Newsletter

It’s final exam week once again, and exam invigilation is just about the only thing between me and the winter break.  While strolling up and down rows of tables and glancing at the faces of students, some concentrated, and some petrified, I have noticed more than a few familiar faces from my past classes.  Generally we would acknowledge each other, and at some times she would look the other way or act indifferently.

As I look at the students who I have taught previously in these exams, I do tend to come to a realization that somewhere along the education continuum, I have somehow meant something to each student that I’ve taught.  After all, the evidence seems to be there right in front of me that she has progressed in her education somehow by my influence.  While I have no research or data about the impact of the Foundations English or Math teacher in the future success of a typical HCT student, it is therapeutic to express gratitude or ‘positivity’ to see students challenging themselves at an advanced level.

Before I become too conceited, it’s also important as a teacher to learn to celebrate our ‘strengths’ and to self-reflect and move on from our ‘weaknesses’, many of which we tend to magnify.  The idea of social constructivism, where individuals build knowledge through social interaction with others tends to highlight the important role of teachers in the classroom.  I would like to think that each student that we teach, has somehow gained something meaningful from the ‘learning experience’ that we deliver to them in each cycle that we teach.