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One of the most important tasks a teacher must consistently take care of is the process of self-analysis. That is, educators ought to periodically review themselves in a critical, honest manner in order to best instruct their students. That isn’t to say they ought to beat up on themselves; the purpose is so that they can strengthen their teaching abilities and, in doing so, create a better class, one that students will really benefit from. Let’s say you explain the past perfect tense to the class, and they are really having a tough time understanding it, but you are unwilling to allot more time to the explanation of the concept because if you do so, the class might not have time for the fun role-play activity you planned for the end of class. Naturally, by sticking to the time you’ve budgeted, you do get to the activity with ample time; and yet it of course ends up being a bad thing, because the students don’t know the grammar or syntax and so they can’t actually participate in the game. This is bad for the students, because they don’t learn and are stressed about it (they feel as though it’s their fault), and it’s bad for the teacher as well, because things didn’t go like they were supposed to (according to her lesson plan). It’s easy to go home after such a class and simply want to forget about it. And yet, you ought not to forget about it, at least not entirely. Rather than hoping it won’t happen again, the downcast educator might look at it with a self-critical eye, and an optimistic eye, and allow a lesson to be learned from the less-than-perfect class. Maybe the problem is that the teacher over-plans, or maybe it’s that her plans are great but she sticks to them too rigidly. In her desire to stick to that plan she spent time and effort on, she forgot that her primary role is to educate, and if the students don't actually learn the lesson, whether or not the activity gets done is completely besides the point. This is one of a number of lessons that might be learned from such a situation, but so often in life people would rather not think about their errors and, by refusing to contemplate them, doom themselves to future errors. This is what is meant by self-analysis: allowing yourself to be honest with yourself in order to grow as a teacher and as a person. Too often we want to coddle ourselves, but self-criticizing with the goal in mind of bettering ourselves is the most rewarding act we can participate in as individuals. So, all in all, self-analysis is key for any teacher who wishes to be a good one. Educators should never dig in their heels at the slightest idea of change, because they’ll forget that their priority is the students rather than their pride. That's why it’s so crucial for teachers to be honest with themselves, periodically—and one soon learns it is not a painful process, but a helpful one! As they say, you cannot grow if you're not uncomfortable.
