Teaching as a Vocation and Mission

Under the heat of the sun, and heavy rain, I have to go to school in a regular schedule not just to teach and observe my faculty duties but to be a bridge that students understand their goal, integrate values in their heart, and walk towards a brighter future. In these ways, I consider my purpose why I live and exist. Teaching is not just to instruct or to inhabit or even imbibe learning but it has to pass on being an example and a motivation which are vocation and mission.

Teaching is a gift which is an opportunity for a teacher who passed a licensure exam or someone who is now on the field of classroom, school, etc.. This gift is a chance which not true to all since teaching is not just a skill or an ability but an identity for someone who is gifted to. All can instruct, command, lead or direct but not all may teach. It means that teaching is not seen giving instruction but being also conscious whether a student really learns.

After graduation, on a second semester of a following year, immediately I became a college instructor. Immediately, I discussed systematically and formally. Strictly, my communication was pure English. I even scolded students who would yawn and sleep. I never knew that I never know how to teach. I just brought my standards to the students. The students would say 'wow' to the high words but they never learn anything. It was because I never consider that teaching should be lowering down of the self just to feed children essential things that matter to them that is why there are pedagogy and andragogy.

By this experience, I realized that teaching needs to move a student not to be affected by the present condition. It is to go back on a point that teaching should give an identity reminding that it is a gift. It means that though I don't instruct, students can learn just seeing how I behave. In this case, when we consider teaching as a gift, we see that it is a calling reminding us before going to the classroom to plan and see to it that in the end of the day, a student has something remarkable not a hate because of annoyance because students are poor and stubborn.

Considering teaching as vocation founding from its being a gift inspires a teacher to reflect and look at the positive things that student may understand the meaning why they learn. Learning always starts from a teacher not from a student in a way that the gift of teaching needs to be understood on the why I teach.

That is why if the reason why I teach is centered on money, salary, payment and other matters not related to the students' attainment of lesson and values, teaching becomes an Artificial Intelligent program injecting instruction or data.

If teachings is seen as vocation, it motivates to an act love without any return. When teaching is done out of love, it becomes a mission. Being in mission is not being religious. It means that an action being done is voluntary and there is no return.

If I am to observe some public and private school teachers, some are excited to go home immediately after the time. Yes, they work but the idea is paying in return not advance and overtime. Some devote themselves to teaching also as they die for it that is why we can't generalize.

Teaching is a mission because it should ignite motivation that what I do is for the good of the person I care. When we care, we become more responsible that mission is always a response rather than paying in return.

Teaching is a Vocation as I consider it as a gift from the purpose of my existence and it is a mission that I do it out love and care not looking at the benefit of it for my self but for others especially on the students' valuable and good future.

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