Storytelling has long held an important role in history. People have passed down stories from generation to generation. It has served as a way to explain and understand the world. There are many different types of stories, which are told for many different purposes. Stories help explain different phenomena, cultural beliefs, attitudes, traditions, and much more. Storytelling has many key values for both the individual telling the story and the people listening to the story being told.

Through this Storytelling festival I learnt so much as a foundation phase student teacher.I learnt that through storytelling you can send the massage without even speaking the same language as your audiences. We went there to present our story in English and those children learn English as their second language. They do not really understand English as their second language that much, but I when I started to tell the story everyone was listening to me as if they do hear what I was saying. This made me feel proud of myself, because I was nervous that I had to tell a story in the language that I also afraid of communicating with, but I have to go there and tell it to small children. As it said that “Language is not a barrier when telling a story”, I am glad that I have witnessed that.

I have also learnt that storytelling is the best way of teaching. When telling a story children really listen they really do pay attention. Rather than introducing a lesson with telling the learners the topic, you can tell them the story to grab their attention. Then you can ask them questions based on the story that are related to the topic. I will be a storyteller not a teacher I want to tell so many stories that will be reminisced everyday of people’s lives. Presenting a lesson is boring to me as teacher, then how boring is it to the audience? So I will tell stories and make learning a fun way of getting information and gaining knowledge. 

My teaching Philosophy (Teaching creates all other professions)

Teaching is a significant and worthy profession that requires a lot of work and true commitment. As a teacher you learn every day and you always experience laughter, love, healing and sharing every time.  I believe that in a teaching profession you are not only a teacher, there are times where you will be a counselor, a parent, a manager and a role model all at the same time.

My aim as a teacher in the making is to create an atmosphere that emboldens curiosity, determination and make sure that I become the best teacher in the world. Our classroom is a place where learners should feel important, respected, cared for and believed in.  I want to be that teacher who makes it possible for her learners to reach their full potential, ask questions, learn from their mistakes, give and receive feedback, create and try their best.

The good teacher must know her subjects and how to help learners learn those subjects. I know the good teacher must have a deep appreciation of how knowledge is created in the discipline, how it is organized and how it is linked to other disciplines. I will use my knowledge of the discipline to expose my learners to modes of critical thinking, encouraging them to analyse, apply, synthesize, and evaluate all they read and hear.

A good teacher cannot begin or continue to inspire learning without being a learner. The good teacher must constantly learn what is new in the discipline. In fact, the good teacher often helps to create new knowledge. To live this belief, I must continuously examine my teaching methods and find new ones. To remain connected to my learners, their lives and the schools in which they will practice their professions, I must be a student of society and the constantly changing worlds in which students live.