Palmer writes that we are trained to “think the world apart,” dissecting it into either-ors, but we need to learn to “think the world together,” embracing opposites and appreciating paradoxes.
The principle of paradox can guide us in thinking about classroom dynamics—and in designing a teaching and learning space that can hold the community of truth.
 
In what ways have you experienced “suffering” as a student teacher? Has your suffering had any redemptive quality to it; that is, has it made you heart larger? What would help you deepen the redemptive quality of the suffering your experience in your work?

Well, when I hear the word suffering, I think of a difficult or painful situation.  It gives me the idea of enduring or allows something to happen. In these three years that I have been a student teacher, I can say that I do have had some difficulties, but I can’t say that I have suffered a lot because of this. One way I have experienced suffering is because of lack of time, sometimes I need to do something and I can’t. For example I sometimes lack time to prepare a lesson plan in the way I would like do it. Because of time I have to adjust it. Also it is like a suffering when you know that you have to do something, but you can’t, because you don’t have enough time.  Also, it kind of frustrated when you didn’t reach the lesson objectives, and you feel bad because thing didn’t turn out. Suffering has redemptive qualities; because when bad things happen to us this redeem us or save us from making the same mistakes. Suffering helps us to see things in a different perspective, so that we can make our work better, so that is why I think suffering has redemptive qualities that make our larger.

Name some of your key gifts or strengths as a teacher. Now name a struggle or difficulty you commonly have in teaching.  How do you understand the relation between your profile of giftedness and the kind of trouble you typically get into in the classroom?

Well, I think some of strengths as teacher are that I am patient,and  a quiet person and I like to think before speak, so that I can act in a calm way and show patience to my students. When something happens in the classroom I try to listen to students complaints and I also try to be patience with them. Also I tried to inspire confidence to my students by being a trusted person and by being flexible when possible. A difficulty that I have, it’s the enthusiastic that is something that it is sometimes challenging for me, because if I am enthusiastic in the classroom my students going to get bored.  Another struggle is with the time, sometimes I am not aware of the class time and as a result my students miss activities, so that is one thing I will to work on.  The relation between giftedness and trouble are related, because we all have strengths those are our gifts and weaknesses are troubles, so we aren’t perfect and the good and bad things we make are part of our identity and integrity as person, so we always going to be good at doing certain things but in others not, but the courage that we show with dealing with whatever circumstance will make the difference in our teaching.

Describe a moment in teaching when things went so well you knew you were “born to teach” and compare it to a moment in which things went so poorly you wished you had never been born! Name the gifts that made this good moment possible—not the techniques you used or the moves you made, but your qualities.

When I was in the second year of my teaching practicum, I remember that on the last week, I was teaching and at the end of the class some students approach to me and told me: teacher, we want you to give us classes next year, because we have learned with you and you´re really nice with us.

I felt good, because I could notice that I made things the best way possible. In that moment I knew I was born to teach. But, on the contrary, on one occasion the teacher didn´t come one day, so I had to be in charge of a section that I had not taught before. That section was the worst misbehaved, so it was challenging, because the students didn´t know me and they were disrespectful with me and didn´t pay attention. So, at that moment I wished I had never been born. The gifts that made that good moment possible I think were patience, confidence and interest in others.

Palmer discusses six paradoxes of pedagogical design (pp.73-83). Choose one to focus on.  Share examples of teaching environments you have experienced where this paradox is honored.  Have you ever been in a classroom where only half of the paradox was honored while the other half was ignored? Describe what that classroom was like.

I like the first paradox that is the space should be bounded and open. I have observed in several classrooms where this paradox is applied. For example, in a classroom I have had the opportunity to be in; I have noticed that the teacher uses this paradox. She has boundaries i.e. parameters or standards of conduct that student must follow. Sometimes when students are making noise she just count to three, and students know that they have to be silent. In that way, space is bounded and learning and teaching can take place, but at the same time, the space is open, because the students can express any doubt they might have or they can share their opinions about the topic. Also, they can speak so long as they talk about the class or another topic, but always showing respect.

What questions are you living at this stage of your life—from “How can I get up in the morning? To “ How can I become a good teacher? Are the questions you are now living the ones you want to live? If not, what questions would you like to be living? How might you hold these questions at the center of your attention?

Well,  I feel that at this stage of my life, I am happy the way I have lived my life. The force that makes me get up in the morning is the purpose that I have in life. Every morning, I thank God for the opportunity to be living, for having my family and for developing a career that I like. To have a sure hope for the future makes me also want to going on with my life, and that motivate me to do things good. I also think in how I can be good teacher, because I personally feel it is a great responsibility to be a teacher  and that we don´t have to take it for granted, because we are working with people, and they deserve to be taught in the best way possible. That´s why I am always thinking how I can be a good teacher and how I can  improve my teaching day by day.

1.    Write personal statement trying to express what is at the heart of your life as a future teacher.

What is at the heart of my life as a teacher? That´s a question that make me think about my desires, goals, motives and feelings. Sometimes it is not always easy to identify what is at our heart, the person that we are inside, our identity i.e. who we are, so if we want to be a teacher we should do it regularly.

When I began to study this career, to be honest I didn´t really know why I wanted to become a teacher, because at that time, I was inexpert and younger than I am now, but everything changed when I began to know more about teaching, and also when I began to do my teaching practicums at school. I realized that I like to teach, because when I teach, I feel good. Although sometimes is challenging to face different situations within the classroom, but I think that if you like to do something and you strive to achieve it, we can be successful. I personally want to become a teacher, because I think that to be a teacher is not a well pay job, but you feel satisfaction when your students tell you that they learnt something new, something that maybe can be useful in their lives. Also I can share what I know with others, though at the same time it is a great responsibility, because you can´t teach things are not true or inaccurate. That´s why I think teaching is a serious commitment that should not take for granted. I want my legacy as a teacher be a good one, because I do not want to be remember as the mediocre teacher or the boring one. Instead I think that I have to do things well since the beginning and keep myself on track not lose motivation because I want always remember my heart as the author says. To do that we can be always innovating, and also think about the legacy that left in us our former teachers if it was good one, we should take advantage of that and imitate those good things. Also the book mentions about mentors, we should take always their advice into account and improve what we are not doing well in that way we can remember our heart. Moreover, we have to meditate always on who we are and keep our identity and integrity.

 2. What does it mean to rely on your selfhood rather than methods?

To rely on our selfhood is to trust in who we are that is our identity. To trust or rely on what we are able to do that is our integrity. To know our identity  means to know all the forces that constitutes our life those things that make us who we are. Once we know who we are, we can form our integrity. Integrity is the kind of person we are, what we feel fit with us and what doesn´t fit.

When we rely on our selfhood rather than methods that means that we don´t depend on something that is written in a book or what a method says to face or solve everyday problems. When we know and trust our selfhood we connect ourselves with the subject and at the same time, we connect our students as the author says.

I think when that teachers become monotonous and use only a specific method all the time, they are like machines or robots that are program to do things automatically without taking into account students feeling and needs. When problems arise when dealings with students they don´t know what to do, because they have not developed their selfhood. They don´t think beyond the matter, because they rely more on method.

The situation is different when we rely on our selfhood rather than methods, because we help our students to connect with the subject by thinking in their needs.  We make classes interesting for our students, because we combine the technical aspects with what is at our heart i.e. we feel a genuine interest in them. I believe than if we rely on our selfhood teaching will be better and our students will be connected with us.

3.  Reflect on your earliest encounters with teaching.

I expressed previously that I like teaching, I first feel drew to it, when I began to do my teaching practicums I felt that I liked teaching I felt that I  was good at teaching not perfect, but I felt satisfaction to share with others what I know.

The specific thing that drew me to teaching was to think about each student as individual. To think in their future that maybe something that I teach can be useful for them. I think that inspire me

Something that I really like on my career is that we learn a variety of methods that empower our teaching. Also we are prepared in different aspects of professional development those things make us like teaching day by day.

I don´t have a favorite teacher, because I think about all the good teachers I had have and I think in their good qualities, so that I might put those qualities into practice in my own teaching. That´s why I am not focus in one specific teacher.

4. Jane Tompkins discovered that her goal as a teacher had been to put on ´´performance´´ thus distancing herself from students and subjects.do you identify with her self-criticism? If so, do you share Tompkins´s diagnosis of fear as the driving force behind this distancing? In what ways other than performance do teachers set themselves apart?

Well, put  ourselves on performance, it  is like be a fake and mediocre actor who is worry more about his outward appearance rather than learn his scripts and do his best to make a good performance. Sometimes teachers are like that kind of actor, they are more worry about what their students think about them if they are smart or if they are knowledgeable or not. That kind of teachers only make a performance in the classroom, but they don´t feel anything at all.

I agree with Tompkins when she says that teachers put on performance because of fear. That´s true because that kind of teachers don´t rely on their selfhood or identity, so they don´t enjoy teaching, because for them teaching is not part of their life i.e. is not the heart of their life. So as a result they set apart and distant themselves from their students, because they lack the courage to teach.