Reflectiveness

            Most teachers and students find it hard to reflect because they do not want to admit that they did something wrong. Many times, it is through reflection that one can see and then improve. For me, reflecting is hard because when I reflect, I tend to dwell on mistakes or compare myself to others. It took me a while to even be able to reflect on my work. For example, I have been playing piano since I was five, and my parents sometimes recorded my recitals and it was cute to watch little Emma play her ditties on the piano. As I grew older, I got more serious and I absolutely hated watching myself on tape because I watched myself make mistakes and that is hard to do. But then, my teacher helped me realize the value of watching yourself perform because sometimes you don’t realize that you’re doing something wrong until you see yourself do it. This is very true to my playing and even now I will record myself and listen to find ways that I can improve.

            Reflection is at the heart of the teaching process because if one does not reflect, how do they expect to get better? As I said before, sometimes one doesn’t realize they’re doing something wrong until they reflect. Reflection also allows one to put themselves in the others’ shoes. Teachers can reflect on how their teaching affects their students and how they can better help the students learning, which should be the ultimate goal of the teacher.