In addition to being a facilitator, I believe I have additional roles such as a mentor or counselor that I must fulfill in order to become an effective teacher. I must present myself as a good listener and be able to give good advice to students in need. Without efficient interpersonal skills, I am not better than a TV monitor and my purpose in the classroom would be questioned. I know that students are unique and like fingerprints, no two individuals are alike. Therefore, I will treat them according to their unique personalities. I also consider that every student is capable of learning despite their color of their skin or economic status. I make it a rule to ignore stereotypes and regard each student with a "tabla rasa" or clean slate and I will not make predetermined judgments about them.
I also believe that both nature and nurture influences cognitive processes. In light of this fact, I think that students can be influenced by their genetic makeup and much modern research in genetics and neurobiology attests to this. I also firmly assert that students are also heavily influenced by their environment. A student living in a poor neighborhood may not be as learned as his or her rich counterpart but that does not necessarily indicate that the rich student is smarter. I believe that knowledge is fundamentally a cluster of ideas; and, therefore I will encourage students to analyze and to think rather than to just regurgitate information. All form of knowledge is power and can be achieved through two channels, the 'a priori' and 'priori' knowledge which are experiences of self and experiences of others. I consider knowledge that is gained through personal experiences and from the thoughts and experiences of others accessible in printed literature or media is equally important.
