Statement of Philosophies of Teaching and Learning Essay

All of my life I have enjoyed helping others. I have also loved the classes I have had with a really good teacher. I think it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help someone and to know that there is someone there to help me when I need it. I want to help teach the future leaders of this country, as well as those content with just being themselves and staying out of trouble. I honestly believe in Rosseau’s idea that children are born good and that things in society contribute to whether or not they are troublesome. I want to help these children remain good. Although I plan to teach at the high school level, I still believe these “bad” children can be helped with the proper attention and care.

I believe I have something to offer, that I can make a difference in children’s lives togetherwith a desire to work with children from underprivileged backgrounds. According to Marland (2007, p. 16) the pre-formal phase of teaching is observing teachers in your world eventually plays a vital role in shaping who you will become as a teacher. This applies to myself as I have been a scout leader for over 25 years and there is a parallel between teaching and leading a pack of scouts. I also was a kindergarten assistant for many years at my children’s’ kindergarten and this shaped my desire to complete formal qualifications to become an early childhood teacher.

For me, the decision to become a teacher is more of a way of life than a career. I have always loved school, practicing at being school marm from a young age, and voraciously devouring every shred of education offered me in my career as a student. If it were possible, I would be a student for the rest of my life. And then I still would not have learned enough. As a teacher, I hope to instill this appetite for knowledge in secondary students. They are, after all, the future leaders of the world, and what better place to expand the minds of the generations to come than here in Appalachia where education programs, especially the sciences, which I plan to teach, are poorly funded and children’s dreams

Education is defined as the lifelong process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and values through either formal means, such as schooling, or informal means, such as firsthand experiences or vicarious experiences gained through reading books or discussions. Every person that is or wants to be a teacher has his or her own educational philosophy. We all have our own views, methods, and curriculum that we were taught when growing up. A lot of people may have the same teachers in school, but all of them learn different things from that teacher.

I believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially.

I believe students learn best when they are motivated to learn. If the students are not interested in the material presented, they will not remember any of the information that is being taught. Not all class work needs to be a game or a good time. However, students who see school as a place where they can have fun will be more motivated to pay attention and do the work that’s required of them. An interactive classroom environment is also essential for effective learning. When students actively participate in classroom interactions they are more likely to pay attention as well as absorb material.The teacher’s role in student learning is to motivate his or her students to learn. The main goals I have set for myself is to develop students reading and writing as well as other things

You could say teachers have the most important career of all: they educate children so that they can go on and have careers of their own choosing, they are kind, compassionate, empathetic, and positive. Teachers have existed since the beginning, whether it was in a classroom or in a house. Informal teachers, our parents, taught us about the world and how to survive it. They taught us how to get food, how to create our home and which paths to avoid. Teachers come in many different ways, teaching us many different things and inspiring us to learn and sometimes to teach others. This is what I have decided to do; be a Spanish teacher.

A good teacher is like a candle ? it consumes itself to light the way for others.? This is a quote stated by an unknown author about what it means to be a good teacher. Not just anyone can be an instructor of the world?s future leaders. There are numerous qualities that one must possess in order to hold the title of an ?outstanding teacher.?

Learning is the ability to obtain new information, strengthen current knowledge, explore values, and acquire skills that benefit everyday life. Learning is continuous; it is not restricted to any specific time, nor place, religion nor culture. Every living thing has the opportunity to learn.

I believe that education extends far beyond the classroom walls, and involves many more people than students and teachers. People should be learning wherever they go, and should continue learning long after they’ve graduated from high school or college. Education isn’t something that can be quantified with tests or report cards, but is instead something that people carry with them. It’s a survival pack for life, and some people are better equipped in certain areas than in others. People with a solid education are prepared for nearly anything, as they will be able to provide for their own physical, emotional, and aesthetic needs.

Every teacher has a different method of teaching. The teachers that I have had in my school career have been no exception. In this way, each teacher has set an example for me, as a future teacher, to follow or not to follow as I see fit. With the examples from my teachers and in continuing my education, I am developing my own method of teaching. I plan to use a combination of teaching methods in my own classroom. My method will be an eclectic approach because I will be using components of more than one philosophy. I will be using essentialism, behaviorism, progressivism, and existentialism.

Education is the process of learning that can take place anywhere and at any time. I believe that creativity and activity as well as books and lessons are essential to the learning process. As a teacher, I hope to instill in the children a sense of knowledge and self-worth that will remain with them throughout their lives.

Because a good education is essential for any person to function in society, the main goal for all public educators should be to give students an education that prepares them for life, college, or the work force. Public education must teach the basic skills that all individuals need to be productive in whatever path of life they take. School should have programs that are geared for students that intend on going to college and good vocational programs for the students that feel college is not the path they want to take. When I become a principal I will try to have more vocational programs in my high school.

Especially when students have to read a long and difficult article before classes, they are looking for the lecturer to guide them to read the article instead of reading out the key points of the article once. While some teachers continue to read out the contents put on the lengthy PowerPoint, I have observed that ‘better’ lectures try to engage students by allowing students to discuss the contents or interact with students to help students to understand the contents better. In my view, particular during tutorials, instructors should allow students actively questioning and discussing on the contents presented from time-to-time. Instead of firmly hold on teaching schedule, I believe a better teaching and learning approach is to allow students to understand deeply, of course, materials taught during lectures and tutorials. Only by actively engaging students to participate, not attending and sleeping, in the class, active learning then

In the field of education there could arise many philosophical ideas of each individual teacher. Many of the past philosophies have been and still are used in today’s education programs, such as the Socratic method. My philosophy will also contain some of the many philosophies of the past and possibly the future. I will state the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of public education, method, and curriculum according to my own philosophies, which also may be based the philosophical ideas of previous individuals.