“The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.”
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I currently work as an English Teacher at Bellerbys College, Cambridge where I teach EAP, IELTS and Academic English in preparation for University. I have also taught at three universities, Izmir University of Economics, Durham University and Leicester University.
As a teacher I see myself as someone who guides, motivates and inspires. I impart my experience and knowledge but I believe that it is not my job to answer questions but to ask them. I believe a teacher should help a student to understand rather than repeat and so the student only really learns when he understands how to think and answer in a critical way.
As a teacher I believe I should teach students to ask questions and look for answers and then when they have found the answer, to evaluate and consider the conclusion they have reached.
True learning doesn’t come from the teacher but through the teacher and from the knowledge and wisdom that is within the student.
Teaching enables me to pass on the knowledge and experience that I have to those that seek it. But teaching, in my opinion does not stop there. It is more than just helping students pass exams, it is about empowering them to help themselves by providing them the tools to develop as people beyond the course they are studying.
“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
― Albert Einstein
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