The views about the current education needs from a current teacher.
For the past five years I have worked as a teacher. I found this passion at the ripe age of 21 and never looked back. I started teaching private lessons during my university years and then I started working as an IB Teacher of Math and Economics at the International School Of Bucharest. I have been teaching hundreds of students so far, for thousands of hours. I believe I can pronounce my opinion regarding the education needs and inefficiencies that I witness on a daily basis.
For the sake of keeping a direction of my post, I will discuss only the marketplace of school education, i.e. K-12. The reason for the title of my post “I am giving an education experience, not education” is that the lessons I create and the interactions I build with my students are based on this philosophy. I am not in the classroom to give information to students. Google does that better. I am there to make sure the information is consumed within a positive experience. To draw an analogy, think of yourself going to a restaurant you like. You don’t go there to eat your steak only, right? You go there to enjoy the experience of eating that steak in that restaurant. It is the dining experience that matters, not the dinner itself.
A similar logic applies to a lesson in a classroom. The lesson itself must be an experience that depends on the energy of the teacher, the clarity of the content, the good vibes in the room and the practice that everyone gets to do. This is far more than just telling them what to study. And it is far harder too. I have been amazed by how much students are willing to work when the environment in the classroom is full of positive energy. I personally aim to make every student of mine happy. I want them to succeed while being happy and developing themselves as human beings. I do not want them to suffer from stress. I do not want them to have depression because of school. I believe real progress can only happen with passion and good energy.
There is a huge misconception within the education sector that students only care about a high GPA. That they only need to graduate and then they can take care of their lives. I couldn’t disagree more. Students are developing themselves during the school years. They are craving to see passion and find their own passions. They want to see applications in the real world of the things they learn. They want to see enthusiasm. They want to enjoy their time at school. Learning should never be a chore. If students are missing excitement, then the teacher should wonder why.
I am writing this message to invite other teachers to consider their approach to teaching. I am writing this message for other teachers to prioritize students’ happiness, not just their grades. I truly believe that one of the most important professions in the world is that of a teacher. A teacher has the capacity to shape students and build the future generation. Build the future engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs and change makers. Creating an education experience that students look forward to should be the aim of every teacher. Making sure that students say “thank you” after the lesson should be the aim of every teacher. I personally thank all my students for the effort they put in the lesson. And believe you me, they like being appreciated like that. Believe you me, that they reward me back with engagement and hard work in the room.
I appreciate you for reading this. My name is Andrei Galanchuk and I want to improve the education experience of every student in the world. If you would like to get in touch with me, we can connect on Linkedin.
