I like to observe. I like to think. I like to reflect. And I like to inquire.

I am going to paste my previous post here. This was my first ever post on this blog; it’s title: Beginning Teacher Inquiry. Very creative, I know. But I think it captures the person that I am and my thoughts regarding teaching.

This is going to be my first blog post as a teacher candidate and I think writing about my current feelings regarding all my experiences so far in this program will be a good place to start.

There are still many unknowns. It’s somewhat similar to the “dark tunnel” example I came across in one of our course readings (a chapter from Spirals of Inquiry). Right now, I am in a dark tunnel.

Day by day we are given additional knowledge about teaching, children’s psychology and development, social justice, and curriculum. And I see these new knowledge as puzzle pieces that have been given to me. Clearly, I have not collected all of the pieces yet, and I still have a long way till I collect all the pieces. To my understanding, this part is just an easy task. The most difficult, important, challenging, and perhaps the most scary part of it all, is the assembling of these collected pieces.

With such bad visibility in the dark tunnel, knowing these upcoming challenges makes me feel somewhat anxious. However, this anxiety is not a negative one but rather a positive one. It’s almost similar to the feeling of opening up presents, or even that amazing thrill I get while riding a roller coaster. It’s scary, but very exciting.

There are many questions I have wondered during my past experiences working with children but never found an answer to or had the means to investigate. I see these puzzle pieces I have collected and will be collecting from now on as a key to unlocking many doors – be it the door to the questions I have asked myself before, or the doors to upcoming questions, or even a new door that could lead me to a new kind of curiosity.

I may be surrounded by numerous unknowns right now. But one thing I know, I am extremely excited and eager to find out where my tunnel leads me.

Now that the program is coming to an end, and I have collected so many puzzle pieces, I am starting to assemble them. It’s partially complete, partially incomplete. I don’t know when I will complete this current puzzle, I don’t know if I will ever complete this puzzle. But one thing I know, if I do ever complete this puzzle, there will be another puzzle waiting for me to be assembled.

To teach, you have to know to learn. To learn, you have to know to inquire. To inquire, you need courage, patience, and curiosity. As Albert Einstein once said:

Here are links to the puzzle I am working on:

What are the significant cultural differences in young children’s learning styles?