Reflection Task I
Why
do I want to become a teacher/instructor/research assistant/MA student?
This
question above has been and is actually still filling my brain with a number of
question marks and a huge amount of uncertainty. The White Stripes song,
however, says “…Problems in hand are lighter than at heart”. Shall we together
follow their advice and focus on our options rather than choosing to constantly
contemplating on them? I suggest we should.
Upon finishing doing the readings of
this week’s session, I have to say that I got a deeper insight into the
positive and negative sides of each option. For instance, the article called “Applying
to MA Programs in the U.S.” by Tülay Örücü has reminded me of the financial
difficulties I could experience if I chose to pursue a MA Degree in the States.
She has pointed out clearly that we should be prepared to take TOEFL and GRE
examinations, which are also rather expensive ones. However, in order not to
lead us into despair, she has defined this process as a “doable” one, even
though it has its own difficulties. The second article on studying abroad
called “First Steps to Graduate Studies Abroad” was prepared by Nazila Shafiei.
Nazila advised us to be realistic in our desires and wishes, in this way; we
could prevent many disappointments from happening. This means, before starting
out our journey, we should have a clear mind on what we really want to study
and if it is the right time to do it. Upon taking these advices by these two
ladies into consideration, I came to the conclusion that wishing to pursue a MA
Degree abroad might not be the best option for me, as I need to mind my budget
and I have to think more on which field I really want to study. That’s why; we
can cross out the options of following a MA Degree and studying abroad off the
list. As I still don’t have a clear mind on what I really want to study, I
guess the option of being a research assistant is also at least for a while out
of question. Now, we have two options left. Either I will choose to follow a
career as a teacher at a state school, or I will choose to be an instructor at
a private university. The blog entry by Bahar Acer called “Teaching at a State
School” helps us a lot to know how it is like to be a state school teacher in
Turkey. She mentions that her first days at her school been very tough for her
since she had a rather small working environment and the school had a lack of
equipment. But later on she got used to it and she advises us, in order to be
able to get beyond the judgmental perception of the learners that English is
impossible to be learned or taught, we should be ready to change the
traditional and boring ways of teaching English. Instead, we should seek
possible creative ways such as vocabulary boxes or mimic activities in order to
be able to make a difference. The second text on working at a state school
called “Being a State School Teacher as a METU Graduate” is written by Fatih
Gün. I guess this line by Fatih was the most striking one in the whole text: “…don’t
forget to leave behind most of the stuff you have learned at METU as you will
have almost no chance to use them in your classes”. Via this line, Fatih
invites us to be realistic, and considering the current
social/political/financial state of Turkey, he seems to have a point. And our
last blog entry is on being an instructor at a private university called “One
Year as an Instructor at a Foundation University” by Saniye Demirtaş. In this
entry, Saniye informs us that her young age became an advantage for her as she
got charge of the first graders at her working institution. They created good
bonds and an interactive learning environment together. She has also added that
as a METU graduate, she has never felt she was incompetent in any kind of
situation. She always knew what to do and how to do. Taking the positive and
negative aspects on being a teacher at a state school or being an instructor at
a private university, I could conclude that I regard my path in the second
field. The working conditions of a state school can be most of the time rather
harsh, and creating the difference which is expected from you might be rather
challenging. Although being able to do it is rather meaningful and honorable,
unfortunately I don’t regard myself “mature” enough to face the difficult
living and work conditions I will most probably face. That’s why; I guess
working as an instructor seems to be the way I will follow right now, at least
for a while.
Thank You!
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