Dr. Joserose S. Jyothibhavan
American Samoa Teacher of the Year
Tafuna High School, Pago Pago
Grades 11-12, Chemistry, Specialized Science, Physics

My teaching philosophy
“Acquire the transcendental knowledge from a Self-realized master by humble reverence, by sincere inquiry, and by service. The wise ones who have realized the Truth will impart the Knowledge to you” (Bhagavad-Gita Gita, c4 s34)

Teaching will be effective only when the teacher is conscientious, committed and consistent. Effective teaching could be compared to effective gardening. A conscientious and committed gardener applies diverse methods and nutrients to plants consistently, but the plant has to absorb the nutrients and utilize them to manufacture its food and grow. “The question to ask is not whether you are a success or failure, but whether you are a learner or a non-learner”. I believe that a teacher is like a gardener who knows about the proper nutrients and nourishes his plants with proper and diverse nutrients. A teacher assesses the learner’s growth by utilizing the teacher's lessons to open out his knowledge.

Learning can only be facilitated by different instructional aids and a teacher is one of the aids available to a learner. A teacher can make a learner aware of concepts, techniques and facts related to a subject. A learner has to recognize these facts and concepts and utilize them to broaden his or her perception of the subject.

Learners differ in their learning abilities and styles, like the differences in the growth rates of plants. Some students may learn by listening to lectures, whereas others learn by participating in hands-on activities, such as laboratory experiments. Reading books and interacting with others is a learning method for some learners. A teacher's job is to assess, identify and facilitate learning for diverse learner population.

Teaching has been a learning process for me. My knowledge about identifying different styles of learners has improved a lot through teaching in different educational systems, both British and American. Preparing for my classes has taught me things about teaching science that I had not learnt in my formal education. My teaching experience taught me better time management and work organization. My delivery skills have also been fine tuned because of teaching. The satisfaction that I derive from the achievements of my students, and their overall development as socially responsible human beings, are my greatest rewards as a teacher.

I have realized through my many years of teaching experience that a teacher-learner relation is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both teacher and the student.

My philosophy in action
The teaching style that I have evolved comes from my passion for learning. Identifying different styles of learners in different subject areas of science is important for me because it helps me to formulate and plan a lesson. Lecturing, using a chalkboard, is one means of teaching that I use in my classroom that I have found to be helpful to students taking lecture notes. Demonstrations are also a part of my teaching method, in order to make learners understand a concept or reinforce a concept they have already learned. Moreover, students in my class learn new concepts by conducting group experiments and interacting with one another. Relating content areas and problems facing a local community is always my priority. I educate students through experimental research projects. In the case of learners who still find it difficult to understand a subject, I put in extra time to teach them.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
I believe my greatest teaching accomplishment is to implant a lifelong scientific vision in the minds of my students, by inspiring them to pursue science as a major subject in their higher studies. For the last seven years, I have helped many students in my school participate in the Pacific Science Symposium, National Science Symposium, and International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), after competing with their counterparts from other schools on the island. Currently, many of them are pursuing higher studies in science degrees with academic scholarship in American Universities. This, I consider my greatest teaching accomplishment as a science teacher.

The most critical issues facing educators today
The goal of education is the formation of the human for the fulfillment of his individual and social responsibilities. Education has now been accepted as a form of national investment and as being closely related to the economic and political growth of a country. This has bred dissatisfaction with the content of education in most countries.

The issue of educators is relative. It is directly related to the socioeconomic infrastructure of a country or a community. Thus, whenever we talk about issues, we have to identify the individual and social responsibilities of the community. I think the most critical issues facing educators today are students’ indiscipline lack of motivation and the parental attitude towards education.

Ways to resolve this issue
I think we can resolve this issue, to some extent, if we hire conscientious, committed and consistent teachers who love the teaching profession. In addition, by involving the community in training to show parents how to motivate students. Having low expectations of students can cause them to have discipline problems.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
Teaching is more than a profession; it is a passion to create a new world.

One lesson every student should learn
“Education never ends”

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