Reflections on the MA Experience
Aiko Thompson

Graduation means different things to different people. For some of us, it is the glorious end to countless hours spent on course work and research in preparation for this day. For others, it is a stepping stone toward greater professional development and opportunities. For me, graduating from Teachers College is part of a long insightful process that I hope to continue throughout my teaching career.

Today we have graduates from Groups 6 - 11. I am from Group 8. I finished the course work at TC more than 3 years ago, so it has been very difficult for me to dig beyond my most recent memory of agonizing over the research project and to reflect on my more enjoyable days at TC. Yesterday, we graduates got together for graduation practice, and it really made me realize how much I miss TC - TC was like a family, and I am happy to say that a few of us have continued a strong friendship.

I am sure that all of us gained something different at TC. Today, I am going to focus on the student practica; the sharing of ideas and materials; and using what we gained from TC in our classrooms.

When I started TC, I had only been teaching EFL for a little more than a year, and I was not sure of my teaching philosophy nor how to approach my teaching in an objective way. What made TC stand out from other programs was its emphasis on student practica and observing other teachers' classrooms. At TC, I gained a lot more insight into my teaching by first realizing that there was no clear cut definition for "good teaching." In John's class, we were often confused about the purpose of observation, and some of us may never have felt any purpose. However, one thing I realized was that we usually stop our classroom assessment by saying things like "this worked well in my class" or "the students hated that." We often fail to REALLY SEE what we and our students are actually doing. In other words, before we can make judgments and interpret what happens in the classroom, we have to be able to DESCRIBE what is happening. We often overlook that might be seen through video-taping and peer observation. For example, I remember observing a TC peer, and she tended to sing her instructions to her students. When I told her this, she was very surprised and had been completely unaware of it. Thus, being observed often gave us a fresh new perspective on our classrooms.

Sharing ideas and materials with my peers was also practical and refreshing. One idea I got from a TC peer was the use of student information cards. I use these index cards with the students' photos to help remember them and know them as more than just a name in my attendance book. It was a simple idea, but it has helped me associate my students' names with faces and to assess them more easily. In addition, I learned about creating a syllabus and matching the course goals with the materials and assessment methods. In my teaching experience, I am often told just the name of a course and that is it: No concrete goals, no concrete materials, no concrete assessment method. It is really amazing that students can finish a course without really knowing what the expectations were. I have since tried to be very careful about creating a syllabus and clearly explaining my expectations to the students.

At TC, almost everyone was enthusiastic and encouraged each other. My first public group presentation was done with the encouragement of Kip Cates who teaches the Global Issues course here at TC. Without his support and the motivation of my peers who participated with me, I would have never dared to think that I could present any material that was worthwhile. I realized that giving ideas and feedback openly is such an important part of the teaching process.

Even though it is not always easy, we must continue using what we gained at TC. Now that I have several years of post TC teaching experience, it is unfortunate that some useful approaches to teaching like OBSERVING and VIDEO-TAPING, and the SHARING OF IDEAS, are not more prevalent. For example, I have NEVER been observed at any school. It seems that most teachers do not want to be observed out of fear of being JUDGED or because of their INSECURITY about their own teaching.

We can all relate to those feelings, but at TC, observing was not judging. I think once we moved beyond that obstacle, observing became much more insightful. Although some teachers share ideas informally with each other, there are few venues where teachers get together specifically to share their materials and get feedback on a regular basis. Not utilizing peer comments and feedback is like teaching in a vacuum. At TC, we were able to be creative and try out new ideas with peer feedback.

I hope that the TC graduates here today remember to continue taking a fresh look at their teaching and encourage others to do so, too. In addition, I urge us to continue to share our ideas and to support each other. You really worked hard to get to this day. Be proud.

I would personally like to thank my Auntie Viola Sugahara and Ida Gomez-Sekiya, former New York TC students, for introducing me to my husband.

Congratulations graduates! We did it!