My Teaching Self : My Personal Philosophy Of Self

As a student of education, I have been able to gather many ideas and opinions about practices and ideals I want to implement in my future classroom. My philosophies about education are still being formed and continually change with every class I visit and with every educator I encounter. My ideas, admittedly, come from random experiences and intangible texts, but as I gain more experience in the field through my courses, my philosophies about teaching will become more clearly defined. These few ideas I have now will undoubtedly be added upon as I enter student teaching and my professional career, nevertheless, they are concepts of which I hope to never lose sight.

When I was gaining my Bachelor’s Degree, the key statement throughout my journey through the education program was “I will continue to be a lifelong learner.” As I finalized this program I have reached this goal, and this will continue throughout my journey as a teacher as I become involved with more and more school and district based county activities through which I can use the theories, methods, and strategies I have learned throughout this program. In general, it is best, as Goldhammer (69) stresses, to avoid critical dissection of teaching. Too much criticism and

From the moment I walked into the doors of Gertrude Fellow’s Elementary School as a five-year-old kindergarten student, I fell in love. I went into each day excited and ready to learn. This passion for school continued throughout my high school and college years. It is part of what drives my love for education. School was always an environment to be myself, explore new things, and to even make a few mistakes. As a young child, I thought everybody felt the same way. I was confused when peers said they hated coming to class, or couldn’t wait to go home. I couldn’t understand why anyone would hate something I loved so much.

Identify the 6 elements of a personal teaching philosophy. Then, using the six elements, draft your own personal philosophy of teaching (Look at page 27 and identify the elements of a personal teaching philosophy and then write what you think is important about each of them).

My views of school and education have changed dramatically over the years. It can be said that my preconceived notions of teaching and education were initially based on my personal experiences as a student. I viewed teachers as simply individuals who had one primary goal: to give me all the necessary information such that I pass my final exams and receive my diploma at the end of my degree. Therefore, I hope to not emulate these ideals in my students. My goal is to instill in my students that grades should not be one’s primary factor to succeed in school. In essence, learning is more important.

The student is the key element in the education process and teaching is in the heart of this process. The mentor should direct the student in his journey of study, and give him/her a clear space for creativity. My primary goal will be to help the students to think about their own thinking so they are able to recognize shortcomings and correct their reasoning as they go, as well as develop their skills, to be independent scholars.

Last week, we reviewed and discussed the fact that teachers need to continue to learn if we are to inspire our students to become lifelong learners. Roland Barth provided insight to how teacher growth impacts students tremendously. Barth stated, “Teacher growth is closely related to pupil growth.” (Barth). It is essential that teachers began to realize that what they did yesterday may not work today; therefore, they must

Education is about learning and teaching. Education has formed part of the human societies for decades and teaching is said to be one of the oldest profession. Education is all about developing knowledge, skills and values. Through this statement, I am going to explain my teaching philosophy with the help of philosophers.

Over course of their education, students quickly adapt into the frame of mind that will allow them to find success through their educational career. Beginning very simply, assignments must be in on time, and in addition, they must be perfect, because we know that perfection leads to an ‘A,’ and an ‘A’ is equivalent to superiority. This is the only way to find success in a system that so encourages competition. With this, however, also comes severe pressure that weighs down on students like a few dozen anchors, keeping them from drifting one way or another. The options for the struggling student are not often to try harder, but with the increasing disapproval, they are to give up because they are not going to amount to much more. Their grades pinpoint them as expendable beings, unintelligent, and all they do is impair the schooling system. Their childhood dream of being a teacher is eradicated by this simple progression of discouragement. Richard Rodriguez, in his essay entitled The Achievement of Desire, also acknowledges the factory he’s been run through, and the negative way that it has affected his development in life. He speaks of the detachment from his home life, which he believes to have been the direct result of both education’s intensity, and to his essay’s namesake, the desire to achieve. As it is, school will only allow us to thrive upon predetermined thoughts and ideas, ensuring that we disregard the freedom to achieve a success more abstract than what can be

Teaching is a noble profession which has been in practice for ages. Everything can be taught – from a simple way of living to teaching someone to build a house, for instance. When talking about teaching and learning, we usually tend to think about academic learning where there is a teacher in front of a class, teaching the students. The process of learning deals with acquiring alterations in the existing knowledge, abilities, and ways of life or predilections through experience, practice or exercise. Unfortunately, the teacher is not the only one concerned in the teaching and learning process; the students are part(s) and parcel of this too. Education, for me, contributes greatly to the construction of the identity of a person who is also

When thinking of teaching I feel excited realizing that God has given me the opportunity to teach and the gift to do it. When I was 22, I was working as a nurse and enjoyed it immensely, but then got married to a teacher. After that, I found myself in educational institutions. I then decided to take up teaching and enrolled myself in a teacher-training program. This was without any passion or thought merely out of convenience. When I completed it I was asked to teach teacher training students. I enjoyed teaching at this level. My next position in teaching kindergarten kids impacted me for life. I was assigned to a small Seventh-day Adventist school. The enrollment was very low and they thought that they would have to close the school in a few years. I began the school year with only six students, however in a few months word got out about the way I was teaching and enrollment increased to 44 students. The school gave me two TA’s who assisted me all day. I enjoyed teaching these little ones. Watching them grow and develop made me happy and fulfilled. This has been 26 years ago and I am happy that I am still in touch with for students from that class.

For any profession, you need to continuously seek knowledge to see growth and better yourself in order to be great at what you do. This is especially true for education. Our society and students are forever changing meaning that their way of learning will continue to change as well. Like Pat Riley said “If you’re not getting better you’re getting worse”; thus, it is important to be engaged and committed to looking for ways to improve the classroom, myself as a professional or to learn new strategies.

Teaching is a lifelong learning process. There is always something to learn when you are teacher. The world is always changing, along with the curriculum and educational technology, so it’s up to you, the teacher, to keep up with it. A teacher who is always willing to go that extra mile to learn will always be an effective, successful teacher.

It is critical that a teacher be ever learning and provide students with relevant knowledge. There are two questions: how do teachers become ever learning and what is relevant knowledge? There are four identifiable philosophies that answer these questions: Traditional, Progressive, Existential and Critical Theory. However, they are often taken to the absolute and extreme. I firmly believe that taking both the main valued approaches from the Traditional and Progressive Philosophies provides strong disciplinary focuses and knowledge integration. The combination of the two philosophies allows for a positive insight to all educational philosophies. Keeping the mind open to these philosophies allow for flexibility and stability in the classroom for schools, teachers and students. In my position statement I will discuss what values from Traditional and Progressive philosophies complement each other. I will also recognize the Existential and Critical Theory philosophies along with their positive aspects. Through this statement I will explain how I believe the philosophies have applied to my life as a student and how I see them being applicable to my classroom in the future.

In taking this course there is one overwhelming fact that has become clear to me- Teaching is an ongoing process in which I will be te Student,as much as I am the Educator. My philosophy on education has greatly expanded from doing all that I can to help children learn, to a string of many ideas, and thoughts, which will shape my classroom. These are what i will discuss in this reflection.