I am Clemente B. Gonzaga Jr.

I am taking a Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in

English because I want to teach children who have the potential to become future
educators one day. For me field study 1 is a wonderful experience, it taught me a lot of
things, especially the things that I've learned here during my observation. When I started
my observation I was nervous because even though I knew what to do and what not to
do during observation I was still nervous because I didn't want to make mistakes and I
didn't want my facilitator to have a bad first impression of me. My expectations before I
went to my first day of observation were that I would have a good impression of my
facilitator and after I finished my duties weekly, and also that I would have a bond
together with the students of my facilitator, to know them then to share my experience
with them. But that didn't happen because I focused on observing how my facilitator
would approach before starting class and how he would handle classroom situations
when there were students who were making noise, not answering, or not participating in
his discussion. On my first day of observation I was a little shy because I would be facing
people I didn't know but since observation was part of my subject I had to be confident to
finish it. I immediately saw that the school was hot of course but I felt welcome because I
was back on the campus where I started this school. On my first day I learned the right
approaches before and after class discussions, how to handle situations in a classroom,
and many more. My first day was important to me because I felt like I was a future
educator because I had the feeling that I was already at this stage of my life where I was
slowly starting the steps towards becoming a teacher.

I am observing in the first year of college and the subject that came to me was purposive
communication. Before class, I observed that our teacher would make sure that all the
chairs were in order and that all the empty chairs in front would be seated by him, and
then he would start discussing the lesson. There are students who listen to the teacher,
there are students who have their own world, and there are students who don't really listen
to what the teacher is teaching. When the teacher notices that no one is listening to him,
what he does is give guide questions, and then he will ask the students who are not
listening to his lesson. If the student does not answer the teacher's question, he lets them
stand until they answer. That way, I observed that it becomes more effective because they
know the consequences of not listening. The students answer through what they have
taken down notes or sometimes from their own experiences. I also noticed that their rules
in the classroom are quite strict because it is to maintain the order of the classroom.
Besides teaching, my facilitator usually taught online classes after teaching his face-to-
face class. My teacher in observation usually uses modern visual aids like using a TV and
projects his powerpoint using the TV.

The challenges that came up during observation were time management because my
schedule was after my school day and my school day was when I went home because
it was evening so when I got home I started finishing my assignments so I could rest
because the next day I was leaving early to go to the observation. After every
observation I always felt tired but I always went home with a smile because I knew that
my day of observation was over and I could only finish a little bit more and now I have
finished it and I am happy. I overcame my challenges during observation by handling
my time management wisely. During my observation my colleagues and I helped each
other to accomplish all the tasks given to us by our facilitator. After my observation I
learned that being a teacher is not easy, you have to do everything to succeed. The
best thing that happened to me during observation was when we gave a gift to ma'am
because ma'am mentioned before that she gives certificates to her observers and in
return for the kindness to us ma'am, we gave her a simple gift. One of the things that
made me understand more is that teachers are one of the most important keys to
everyone's success because they are the ones who guide their students towards
success. I am proud that I was able to finish my observation even though it was
difficult but it was worth it because I learned a lot. During observation I became more
confident in dealing with students and because of field study 1, I also learned the
proper ways to teach. Now I am preparing myself to be a good teacher like my
teachers.
Someone asked me before if it's worth it to be a teacher and I told them that yes for me
it's worth being a teacher because I can help the kids to guide them to their success. I
found that being a teacher is hard because there are so many things you need to learn to
be an effective teacher starting from knowing what can and can't be done during teaching
in class and other important things. But being a teacher is fun because I learn a lot of
things and I have a bond together with my students in the new future. I also observed
during my observation that a teacher makes a lot of sacrifices and that he has to juggle
family matters and school work because this is part of his duty as a teacher. I also
observed that a teacher cares about others by taking care of and guiding his students.
While observing I was inspired by how much I saw my facilitator even though he was
tired, he was still smiling. My facilitator helps her students by giving them courage
because during prelims, ma'am had a student with a disorder and I saw how much
ma'am helped the student. And I wondered why with so much they were doing, why did
she continue and I had a feeling that maybe they continue because they believe that the
young people they are teaching will achieve something good. When some students ask
me during my observation what grade I am in I always say that I am in my third year and
it gives me so much happy feeling because I feel pride saying that because I know that
I've been through many challenges since my first year. I always tell myself that you can't
give up now please, just a little bit more will be finished.

The most important thing I learned in field study 1 or during my observation was to know
the true meaning of being a teacher and what are the important benefits of being a teacher
in our lives. During my observation I saw that something changed to me like my
perspective towards being a teacher changed because I thought before that it was easy to
teach but now I realized that these things are not easy. I'm excited to be a teacher to go in
front of the class and also I'm excited to have the title LPT because it gives so much
privilege for me it's just my opinion. Now that I completed my observation I still have the
feeling that I still want to learn many more because I feel like I can learn a lot of things
during observation besides the approach, strategies and many more. I promise to myself
that when I graduate I will apply all the things I really learned here during observation.
When the time comes that I am a full teacher I want to be a teacher who has nothing in me
and gives inspiration to every child. Of all the things that happened to me during my
observation, I am very grateful to my facilitator because he was there to show us the
things that we can use before we become a real teacher. Maybe one of the things I will do
is improve myself more, I will study better so that I can always be prepared. I remember
one of the memories that I will never forget is when we were proctors during the prelims.
That time I feel like I am really a teacher because I go around then and check if there are
students who are cheating and during that time that I was a proctor, I'm happy because it
was my first experience and memorable.
And to answer the question, is being a teacher worth it? Yes, being a teacher is worth it
because seeing the children grow and taking a step towards their improvements is a big
hope for me that I am being an effective educator.

DTR