Critically analyse your experiences and beliefs about teaching and learning to identifysignificantmilestonesthathaveshapedyouridentityasaneducatorintheprimarysectorLearningstrategiesandcompetencesat different stagesofmypre-serviceandin-servicedevelopment, assistedandself-conductedlearning, valuesandperspectivesofformal, in-formal and non-formal learning in my life-cycle as a teacher have moulded my existence asa teacher from the very moment I joined the service as a trainee teacher till date. This journeyhas had its ups and downs. I still remember the day I received my appointment letter. It wasoneof thetoughest decisionfor medodecidebetweenpursuingmydreamas graphicdesigner student and joining the public service as a Marathi trainee teacher. inally the wordsof wisdom of my father overtoo! me and I embar!ed on a new journey. " journey that not atall easy. Learning Marathi was li!e learning Marathi again as I had stopped it very long agoand I got recruited as it was a scarcity area. #hat followed was a journey full of ups anddowns, failures and success. rom a complete neophyte to being a diploma holder in Marathistudies was $uite an enthralling achievement for me.The first milestone for me was for me the initial teacher education. The second was obviously my first experience as a teacher during the %&'.The third was the first experience as a teacher in a classroom on my own "nd the last milestone was the search of my identity as a professional or as a teacher.The initial teacher educationTheinitial teachereducationwasaverypleasant andchallengingexperience. (leasant inalmost all classesexcept Marathi.#hilemyotherclassmateswerealreadyconversant inMarathi, I was learning the alphabets. Learning the phonics from the language lab at M)Iwasaveryeducative. *uringtheteachereducationperiod, ourlecturersintroducedustotheatre and I immediately fell in love with it. Through theatre, I was able to learn Marathibetter and as time flew, I was conversant in Marathi. "ftertheoneyear%&'session, regulartrainingensured. Ireceivedmyfirst secondbestactress award at the national drama festival. My Marathi had improved dramatically and Iwas able to participate wholly in the class. My lecturers were very happy with my essays,especially my logical thin!ing. My first experience as a teacher during the SBEI was posted at Melrose government school during my first %&' session. +rossing the barrierfromstudent toteacher was a verytouchingandenrichingexperience. "s prospectiveteachers we were supposed to be e$uipped and be coherent with !nowledge and s!ills thatenable us to cope with school challenges. ,owever, what we were being taught was $uitedifferent fromhowwereintheclassroomreality.ortunatelyIcameacrossmyprimaryschool teacher was my mentor at that specific time. "s I was already ac$uainted to him, it didnot ta!e me much time to adapt to his classroom management s!ills and techni$ues. Throughhisguide, Iwasabletograspthesubtletiesofclassroommanagement. Theobservationperiod lasted two wee!s only and we had to continue with our training once this was over.or the second %&' session which lasted one whole year, I was posted at -amnarain -oy)overnment %chool. I had a fellow colleague was doing ,indi at the same time as me. Thistime, I fluent and confident to teacher Marathi. Theatre had moulded my language and myvoice pitch and tone had improved dramatically. I received my first jury award at the nationaldrama festival. "rts was always one of my favourite subject and with my colleague.s help wepainted the school logo prior to the sports day celebration. I was delegated as the host for thesports day and this only boosted my confidence and self-esteem.The first experience as a teacher in a classroom on my own"ryan /edic "ided %chool was the first school where I was posted as a teacher and joiningsuch a high profile school at the initial phase of my career was very daunting. The studentsover therewere different andwor!ingwiththemwas bothsurprisingandchallenging.,owever, there were senior colleagues who were very helpful and I still can not forget theirguideandexpertise. Thethought ofstandinginfront ontheclassforthefirst timeasateacherstill ma!esmyheart gofaster.Thefearofthat Imight beunabletoanswerthe$uestions of the students always haunted but fortunately, such an embarrassing moment didnot ta!e place. I was transferred to -oches &runes )overnment %chool eventually. -eachingthere on time was the toughest part of it though I had some wonderful student who are still!eep in touch with me. I applied for transfer to a school in my vicinity due to transport issuesand I was transferred to )rande -iviere %ud 'st government school and 0livia -+" later thatyear.Search of my identity as a professional or as a teacher%hould teacher education emphasi1e caring, communicative s!ills and response to diversity,or should it focus on deepening the academic content !nowledge and response to diversity orshould it focus on deepening the academic content !nowledge- disciplinary !nowledge andacademiccuriosity2This was the$uestionwhichI begunas!ingmyself. I decidedtocontinue with my education as I applied for a diploma in Marathi studies at M)I after havingupgraded both my school certificate and higher school certificate results. The need to excel inmy wor! and search of inner identity continued. I was awarded with second best actress inMarathi several time till I awarded best actress in &hojpuri at the 3ational drama festival. "year was remaining for me to complete my diploma when I started the advanced certificatecourse in 'ducation. Meantime I become the mother of a wonderful baby girl. I also enrolledin a*iploma in *ramatic "rtsat-TI the same year to pursuefurtherwith my dreamofteaching theatre one day. It was not at all easy for me to study three different courses at thesame time of loo!ing after my new born child. 3evertheless I managed in all my roles asteacher, mother and student. I succeeded in all the courses and I am still breast feeding mythree year old child. *ramatic arts has enormously helped me in teacher Marathi through role play by introducinginclusive pedagogy in my class. I am currently in pursuing my final year in my &ed (rimary'ducation and simultaneously started the Teacher *iploma +ourse. The search of my identityas a teacher and the desire to be a good Marathi teacher from someone who did not !now thebasics of Marathi language initially has enlightened in the field of !nowledge and I plan tocontinue with my master.s degree only to excel in the educational field.