A wise man once said that the only purpose for freedom was to find the truth. Otherwise mankind will always be chained to its own lies, its own prison. Freedom and Truth are without a doubt why learning became irresistible to men and women. Learning is also power, power of knowledge beyond other people’s knowledge. The more you know the further you can go, the closer to the truth, the higher above other people.That’s learning. And we’re always seeking for more unless we want nothing else from life. We’re seeking for enlightenment as opposed to seeking for sleepiness.
Teaching on the other hand is part of the learning path. The path that for centuries masters and pupils have reproduced. Philosophers, Martial arts fighters, blacksmiths, artists, great thinkers and gardeners. They had all yet to become great teachers to achieve the master title, to become an inspiration. A master with no students could never become immortal, could never be a master.
Teaching humbles a man. It brings down you ego, it teaches you to become a servant of that knowledge. When teaching you become a vessel, you are a vehicle of thoughts and ancient gathering of the art you teach. Nothing more, but nothing less. Once you understand how many men and women have passed on their learning so that it can finally reach you… wow! It really is an amazing thing. Just think of the beginning of humanity, learning how to communicate and developing new languages, fighting wars and conquering new territories, traveling throughout snow and oceans and spreading the words that in this very instant you get to teach to an eight-year-old missing two teeth, trying to say ‘thanks’. It’s inspiring, it’s a privilege.
A teaching philosophy for me means understanding your inspiration. Mine has a lot to do with culture. My undergraduate program was International Business. I made the decision of studying this after my exchange program in Memphis, TN in the United States. There, I learned so much about the English language, but also about this culture that welcomed me and taught me so much! That’s what a language really is for me, connection. It’s more than just beauty coming out of people’s mouths, more that the unbelievable sensation of understanding someone who is so different to you, it’s my plug to a culture. Every object and place and person that belongs to this community is now closer to you when you speak their language. Teaching it can only make me a multi-port plug for other people.Maybe this is why you will see me around halls and in classrooms talking about Halloween, or Thanksgiving, sharing about food and places I have had the opportunity to travel to… and some that I would love to visit. My teaching becomes more of a broadcasting of a culture than a grammar or repetition class. I want my students to feel they are somewhere else,
to go to this place with me and experience a different world when we are in class, learning. If I could recreate a place like this for my students I would – and also for me, what a fun thing to do.English is the language of our now, and people not only learn it to go to Disneyland but to be able to communicate around the globe, like everybody else is doing it. But, I am a true believer that the more in touch you are with a culture thru its language the better understanding and communicating you can reach. Wouldn’t it be better if our students get the feeling that we like to speak English to each other? I walk around my workplace and hear everyone speaking Spanish. Come on, join me on this, let’s try to build a Cultural Center instead of just a language center. A place where we can meet for culture understanding, for world understanding, not just the verb to be.
