Philosophy+of+Education

[|POEPaper.doc]  Personal Philosophy of Education Everyone has a different reason as to why they became a teacher and what they want to bring to their classroom. Their philosophies are influenced by the good and bad teachers they had and situations they have been in that make them want to change something. A teacher should do whatever it takes to have the students striving for more and wanting to complete their goals. I believe the key to good teaching is giving a positive learning experience to each student and give them a learning environment that they can succeed in. How you teach is just and important as what you teach; and a good teacher is able to teach to all the students needs. In my opinion it is necessary to have a good relationship with your students where they are comfortable enough to ask questions and not afraid of your reaction. I feel that as a future teacher I have a lot to bring to the classroom. My reason for teaching is because I want to give all my students a positive learning experience and have them wanting more. At a young age, you learn the basic things that carry you throughout your life, and I want for my students to really grasp these concepts. Without them, you really couldn’t get through everyday life because they are basic skills. As an English minor, I would like to bring writing into my classroom and inspire my students to have the same love of writing that I do. Writing helps people in various ways and is often used as a tool of self expression. My goal is really to have every student realize how they learn best and what their personal strengths are. I think that I would make a great teacher because I have always had a love for children and find it easy to teach them. This was much like what my cousin said in her interview; “I always knew I wanted to work with children” (Educator Interview, 1). Even when a child needs a little extra help, I try to relate it to them and make it as simple as possible. When you see that light bulb go on in a child’s head, when they understand something, it is the most rewarding feeling. Students play a major role in their education and I believe that if you give them the right support and assistance that they will succeed on their own. Every teacher has goals to what they want to bring to the classroom and I just want to provide my students with a fun and positive learning environment where they can succeed. Since I was young, I have always known that I wanted to teach. I spent time playing teacher or games where I would be in control and the leader of whoever I was playing with. One person that really made me want to become a teacher was my third grade teacher Mrs. Fenwick. Mrs. Fenwick was the worst teacher I have ever encountered; all her students thought she was an alien and even my mom thought there was something off about her. Every day of third grade I would come home crying because she had found another way to make me look stupid in front of the class and humiliate me in any way possible. I would be forced to read behind her desk, which was off in the corner, so I was hidden from the rest of the class. She made my third grade year a miserable one and in no way taught me anything. My mother did all of my homework with me and was basically my teacher that year because without her patience I wouldn’t have gotten anything done. Another person who played a major role in my wanting to become a teacher was my cousin Susan Sirrs, who I conducted the interview with. From grades one to four, my cousin lived with us out in Calgary because she went to teachers college out there. This really was when I realized that I wanted to do what she did. There were many opportunities where I got to go into her classroom and help her set up for the school year or observe and help out. Every opportunity to go there that I had, I would take. The cool part was that she taught in one of the schools I had attended so it was fun to go back and see and inside view of it. Susan has many of the same morals and values as I do and in interviewing her I got a very good idea of what I want to become as a teacher. “Remember every student that enters your class comes with their unique talents, strengths and concerns” (Educator Interview, 6). I think that this is the best way to describe what to expect when walking into a classroom. The student and the teacher should both be the involved in teaching and being taught. I think that as a teacher you tend to learn quite a bit from your students without ever intending to. At the same time, I believe that you need to give the students responsibility in their own learning. Students will learn responsibility and how to motivate themselves if you provide them with the opportunity to. Another important idea to consider in a classroom is “Let your students teach each other” (Chartock, 58). According to //Attention Class!!! 16 Ways to Be a Smarter Teacher//, you should let your students learn from each other, because you aren’t the only person that can teach them. Giving students the opportunity to work in groups is a great way to get them learning from each other. Some students feel more comfortable talking and asking questions to their peers and working in groups would give them the opportunity to do so. The best way to teach is to teach from your strengths and to the strengths of your students. My strengths are reading and writing and I hope to use those in my every day classroom to get students to learn. According to the //Philosophy of Education Survey// we took in class, I am an essentialist. An essentialist basically means you put an emphasis on knowledge in the classroom. “The Curriculum of a school should be determined by information that is essential for all students to know” (POE, 1). It only makes sense that your curriculum would be based off of the necessary bits of knowledge the students need to know. I want to teach younger students in the elementary schools because of the influence a teacher has on a student at such a young age. My bad experience, makes me want to create a positive learning encounter for future students. “There exists a core of knowledge that everyone should know” (POE, 1). The reasoning for teaching in this field is also because these are the essential years of a student’s career. These years are where you learn what will follow you throughout your life, the basic everyday skills. “A good school’s standards are challenging, not threatening, energy-producing rather than defense-producing” (Chartock, 306). This is an important idea to keep in mind when going through the curriculum and deciding how to teach to it. What you teach shouldn’t be something for the students to be afraid of, it should be something they look forward to learning. I want to teach my students that they can achieve anything if they put their mind to it; that if they work hard they can achieve whatever they want. My biggest goal in being a teacher is coming to class everyday having my students excited and wanting to learn more. I realize that this won’t be the case every day, or every year for that matter, but it is what I hope to have for a majority of my teaching career. “ A Teacher should help students to find out what’s already within them rather than to reinforce or shape them into a prearranged role, which someone else has decided upon in advance” (POE, 2). I really agree with this statement taken from the //Philosophy of Education Survey// we took in class. The best way to teach is to your student’s needs and talents. When you do so, you are going to have the most success in your classroom all around. “Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions” (Teacher Appreciation, 2007). This has been my belief for the past couple of years because the value of teachers in today’s society. My goal is to get my students to believe in themselves so that they will work to accomplish their dreams. Every student needs to find their unique talents and skills as to make learning a more enjoyable experience. Part of your job as a teacher is to help your students figure out what those strengths are. Works Cited "Teacher Appreciation Quote." __Teacher Appreciation__. 05 Nov. 2007 .