Reflective Essay: Teaching at the St. Elena High School.

Overall, I think that everything was organized pretty well. The schedules were straightforward and the rules were clear. It was also convenient for us teachers, because during the time that we would be at the school and waiting for our time to teach, there was a room where we could all stay in and just get to know each other more. We also had a thirty minute break for us to leave the school and eat at the fast-food restaurants nearby. If I was in charge, I think I would remove the need for teachers to submit lesson plans. Instead, the teachers should give quizzes every now and then, and the actual quiz papers with the scores are what would be turned in to Pathways. I think this would be more effective because speaking from the experience that my partner and I had, we never really actually followed every single lesson plan which we wrote up. For instance, on the lesson plans we would write down the lesson and exercise problems; however, when we actually get to the classroom the students usually already know what we are going to teach, and so we have to teach them a new or more complex things than what is written on the lesson plan. Also, the exercise questions that we write on the lesson plan are usually either too easy or too hard, and so we change them anyway once we begin teaching. One thing that I have learned about this institution, Pathways, is that although at first what they assign us to do seems so much of a hassle to do, in the end teaching is actually fun and rewarding.

For me, human dignity is simply defined as respect for one's self as well as self-confidence. I don't think that the situation of the students in the area affected their dignity as persons. Although the students are more financially challenged compared to most of us who study in the Ateneo, I don't see why their situation could affect their dignity. At the same time, the situation in the area did not degrade my human dignity, but instead it even strengthened it because of the fact that I know I'm helping others.

I have values and principles which I am centered around. I value things such as friendship, compassion, and generally helping others out. With these values, I really liked being able to help the students who are more financially challenged than me, by teaching them what they could use in the future to get into a good college. I have learned quite a lot about serving others and my sense of community has increased. I learned that serving others is not only good for those whom I teach, but it also feels rewarding for me. Honestly, I actually enjoyed going on to the computer and typing up some of the quizzes and the final test which we were to give to our students. I found it fun, and at the same time I liked the idea about being able to challenge my students with some of the math problems. Also, my sense of community also increased because I realized that there are so many other people out there, especially students, who are just like me and whom I can interact and make friends with.

Overall, I really enjoyed the entire Pathways experience. It has helped me in so many ways, and I also know that I have helped others too. It has increased my confidence about being able to teach a class by myself, and even as I taught, I also reinforced what I learned when I was high school. During the last Saturday, I realized that I would probably never see my students again and I was saddened at the fact that I would miss them, the school, and the entire experience.