Carmen Acua Ipinza Miss Martha Epperson Advanced Practice III 12 June 2009 Learning from Experience

Analyzing the experience of two teachers, we discover that a combination of personal traits and educations practices was a key factor for successful teaching. Perseverance, hard work, good organization and positive disposition turned out to be excellent characteristics in a teacher. Moreover, in the case of educational practices and tactics, how teachers take into account childrens particular needs, how they concoct activities that motivate them to participate, and how they create conditions for meaningful learning to take place seem to be very influential for the results obtained within a class. Therefore, if we compare their testimonies, it is possible to understand what personal and professional elements are worth to be considered for the improvement of our own performance as teachers.

Although professional training is a relevant factor in teachers practice, individual dispositions are also influential. In Miss Emma Lewinsohns case, her positive attitude, perseverance and hard work reinforced her class. She had to be able to find creative ways to teach using various appealing materials and attractive activities. As a result, she was able to sort out her sutudents indifference and reluctance to learn. Katherine Schulen also achieved important progress despite all the difficulties she had to face in her first years. Furthermore, her enthusiasm and empathy engaged her students to get involved in their own learning.

Finally, a trait they both shared was the emotional connection they achieved with the students. While one of Lewinsohns students narrated a moving story, Schulen deeply enjoyed the affection children showed for her. Consequently, these teacherss attitude and the affection they gave and received were more important to achieve the desired connection with the students than the professional training they had.

Taking for granted students needs and characteristics undermines the normal development and progress of the students learning. Rather than labeling them without a prior analysis of their particular attributes, these teachers were not afraid of changing their plans so to improve the results obtained by matching the activities to the students characteristics. Miss Lewinsohn decided to take a different and more modern approach to a classic of English literature, The Great Gatsby. For Miss Schulen what was coveted was to create activities coherent with the students age, interests and with an appropriate level of complexity. Because she was putting all her efforts to create engaging activities, students participated more and discussed actively. Integrating variables such as the students age, interests and particular needs becomes even necessary for every teacher.

The testimony of the teachers shows the importance they gave to their students experiencing contents so they could give them meaning and elaborate new concepts and ideas from their prior knowledge. One of the activities Miss Lewinsohn designed asked students to create something that brought their dreams and expectations into the classroom. Like Miss Lewinsohn, if Miss Schulen had not allowed children to express themselves meaningfully, her students would have never had the opportunity to adapt some classic

readings to their cultural reality. Engagement, improvement and enjoyment are just a few of the positive results obtained from these measures.

After analyzing these stories we conclude that, just like children learn from experience, teachers can also learn from sharing anecdotes, good ideas and activities that were successful. However, it is also important to share the difficulties and challenges inherent to teaching. Therefore, if we want our classes to flourish and our students to consequently improve their learning we might as well take into consideration the experiences of other teachers like Emma and Katherine. Embarking on the great adventure of teaching can become easier if we trust in dialogue and the interchange of experience.