As a teacher there are a number of ethics that needs to be followed in order to be a responsible and well-organized teacher. There are five main practice that my mentor has pointed out to me. The first would be the classroom management. As I have had the chance to study an entire module based on classroom management, I understood what Ms. Chin was saying. Besides the arrangement of the classroom, she said that a teacher should always be the “boss” of the class. I understand that we are shifting to a more student-centered for teaching and learning to take place more effectively but I believe that there should be some element of teacher-centered in the classroom to ensure that the students do not get overboard of the freedom they have in class. My mentor said “being the boss of the class means that the students know when to listen to instruction and when they are allowed to talk in class for discussions.” Managing the classroom should also include the skill of comparing students work. This is not to put down those who have a bad work but to provide examples of what good work looks like. It allows the students know what is expected out of them. This skill takes time to master but with years of being in the teaching line it will become a daily skill as said by my mentor.

 

The next ethic that was pointed out by my mentor was the cleanliness of the classroom. In order to have a conducive environment to study in, everyone including the students and all the teacher that uses the class should be responsible in taking care of the environment. As I observed, students bring three things with them every day, their school bag, water bottle and lunch bag. In TIS KL students do not keep all their things with them at the table but they are provided with shelves to store their things. In my class there were two shelves designated for students’ things. One is for their school bag and the other is where they keep their water bottles and lunch bags. Thus, they should know where the placement of things are, so that everything in class is organized and there would not be anything blocking the movement of the students and teachers in class.

 

Thirdly would be to practice fairness. It is crucial for all teachers to practice this skill. Young students especially aged six to ten years old are said to be very emotional. They will get hurt instantly if we do not take their effort into account. Fairness can be through student’s work. For example, when they are given a hands on activity to be done during class, as a teacher we should walk around and praise students for their effort. My mentor also mentioned that if you notice anything that the students are doing wrong immediately notify them and ask them to try to figure out what went wrong and if they still do not get it, we will have to assist them through and make them realize their mistake. Provide them with a thorough explanation of what is wrong and show them the correct way. This will ensure that this mistake will not be repeated in the future.

 

Next would be providing feedback throughout the teaching and learning process. In one on my module, assessing learning, we were thought that providing continuous feedback will improve students learning. Feedback should be done by the students and also the teacher. Being able to asses you yourself will enable you to know where you need to improve and which topics you have mastered. As for the feedback for teachers, they will be able to know if the techniques they are using are the right ones for their students. I observed in Year 3 A that Ms. Chin have taught them how to peer asses’ worksheet. When they are given worksheet, they will exchange it with the person sitting opposite to them and mark for their friends. I also realize that they use blue color pencil to mark, so as Ms. Chin. My mentor said that international school highly discourage the use of red pen in marking students work as it promotes negativity.

 

The last ethics that my mentor practice would be organization. This is also a crucial aspect when it comes to teaching. From all the theories that I have learnt, I know if a teacher is not organized, she will not be able to run her class well. I observed that my mentor has a few way in running her class. One of it would be that every morning before class commence at eight in the morning, she gives her students some work to do, such as, cursive writing or group work like writing short story on a piece of color paper and drawing some illustration in-relation to the story. This will all then be displayed on the notice board behind or outside the class. The students get really excited when they see their work being displayed. The smile on their face is just so precious. During class, Ms. Chin would start of by either showing a video based on the topic they are about to learn or she would recap what they learnt in the previous lesson, when this is being done, students will gather and sit in the front of the class. After having taught them the introduction to the topic, she will then discuss on the exercise that they will attempt. Only after she discusses the exercise, the students will go back to their places and do the exercise into their workbook. Her instruction throughout the whole class is so organized that sometimes before she instructs the students, they will know what to do. It shows how much power and respect a teacher has in a classroom.