My name is David Matthew Phibbs, but
please, call me Matt. I am currently working on my Single Subject Teaching
Credential at National University. I am not teaching at the moment, but I hope
to be in the next year, once I am done with my student teaching/credential
requirements.
I chose the teaching profession
because I am a life long student, and because the people who have had the most
impact in my life, other than my parents and sibling, have always been
teachers. I have retained a strong friendship with a few of the teachers who
most affected me over the years and for many years they tried to convince me
that I should teach. For a long time I ignored their suggestion and I tried to
pursue a degree in Art and also a career in that field, but my heart just
wasn't in it after I learned what I'd have to do to make that work, so for a
long time I was lost. It took me 6 years to finish my Associate's Degree, and
another 3 to finish my Bachelor's. This was mainly due to the fact that I was
working full time those 9 years, having living situations problems, and
recovering from drug addiction.
Eventually I realized that the thing
I have always been most passionate about is learning because there is always so
much more to know! So, after finishing my Bachelor's in English (Creative
Writing) and having my living situation fall apart once again I decided that it
was time to put my schooling to good use and become a teacher. Another reason I
am trying to become a teacher is because I have had so many 'bad' teachers
historically and I think that I will make a good one because this experience
has taught me what NOT to do.
According to the free personality
test found @ http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi/questionnaire/, my
personality is most closely aligned with ENFJ, "you are someone who seeks to develop and promote personal growth in your
friends, family or colleagues. You sometimes have a sense of their potential
which may extend beyond how they see themselves. You also seek to develop the
potential within relationships or the team. However, you don't push so hard
that it creates conflict, because keeping the harmony in your relationships is
also important."
So, how did my
personality affect my choice of content area? I do think that I can see the
potential in people that I have a relationship with and I believe that this
ability will be important when relating to students. I value my own personal
growth as well and I also value harmonious relationships, especially in a group
setting. I usually frown at these kinds of personality tests, mainly because
they are so short, it is sometimes impossible to choose an answer that fits my
own feelings, and because humans are more complex than a set of 30 questions,
but the results of this test seem to apply to me in many ways.
How does or will my
personality affect my relationships with my students? I hope that it affects my
relationship in a positive way. I value people for their individuality and if I
can help them achieve their potential by teaching them a few skills that will
help them along the way then that makes me happy. I would describe my
personality as youthful, being as I don't think I've ever fully 'grown up' and
I hope that this will help me relate to my students. I like modern music,
modern fashion, modern movies, pop-culture, video games, comic books, and of
course modern literature, so I hope that these interests will work as a bridge
to my students because I am (theoretically) interested in the same things they
are.
How will my
teaching and learning style affect my teaching and my students' abilities to be
successful? I don't believe in the theory of multiple intelligences, mainly
because I believe that everyone has multiple intelligences, some are just
stronger in certain areas than others are. I enjoy audio, visual, verbal,
textual, and experiential phenomena when it comes to learning and I think that
lessons that incorporate all of these elements are the most effective. However,
from experience, I believe that class discussion has the biggest potential to stimulate
classroom learning because it allows students to make connections to their own
life through example, wrestle with the material (especially if it is of an
ethical nature), and also connect the subject to other curriculums. I plan to use every strategy
and tool in my possession to teach my future students and hopefully this will
assure their success.
Cheers!
