Teaching Philosophy Essay examples

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.

With today’s changing world and the economy the way it is, it is not uncommon for people of all ages to enter the college setting. In fact, two-thirds of students entering the college setting are classified non-traditional (Brown, 2007). Bill (2003) found that there was an 11% increase of non-traditional student enrollment from 1991-1998 displaying 35% in 91 and 46% in 1998. These numbers have since increased according to Jacobson & Harris (2008) showing that half to 75% of undergraduates consist of the non-traditional student sitting the reasons for reentering the college setting to be economic. What exactly defines a non-traditional student and what services may they need in comparison to the traditional student.

“Let’s create an AIDS/HIV-free generation”, which is not only a slogan that was proposed by President Obama but also a goal that I would like to achieve on my future career path. My practicum project at the Department of Health and Human Services was to generate dataset of new AIDS/HIV cases in Houston/Harris area required by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and then to use ArcGIS software to make a map describing the new diagnosed in Houston area. The final products can be spatially lined to other sources to enhance understanding of social determinants of health affecting populations impacted by HIV. This practicum experience let me realize that AIDS spreads so quickly is because most people have insufficient knowledge or misconception about the disease and prevention. Becoming a pharmacist to provide prevention service and educate people to improve their health and wellbeing is how I want to reach the goal of creating an AIDS/HIV-free generation.

Literacy embraces reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Integrating all of these into a literacy program is key. Teachers must provide endless and ongoing opportunities for their student to read, write, listen, and speak.

By tailoring lessons designed to fit each student I am able to better help them understand what they are learning. For instance, having a child very interested in kinesthetic or auditory styles of learning I can easily integrate academics while also stimulating a passion for lifelong learning.

Read the article Diagnosis Coding and Medical Necessity: Rules and Reimbursement by Janis Cogley located on the AHIMA Body of Knowledge (BOK) at http://www.ahima.org.

I did not always know I wanted to be a teacher. For me, the profession that I would ultimately choose to spend the rest of my life doing did not come as easily to me as it did to some of my peers. I did, however, know from a very young age that I have always wanted to help others. I also knew that I really enjoyed being around two types of people: the elderly and the young. It was not until my senior year of high school when I became a teaching assistant to a kindergarten class that I realized I wanted to become a teacher and help the lives of many. I have experienced and witnessed many different kinds of teaching philosophies, some that have worked increasingly better than others. The unstated philosophies of teaching I have encountered through kindergarten to this point thus far have shaped my personal philosophy on teaching. As a teacher, I will strive to spark enthusiasm for positive learning, acknowledge and support learning differences and needs, provide students with a strong foundation for lifelong learning, and make a difference in the lives of my students.

I will need to consider the resources I use to ensure they meet the needs of the learners. It will be important to use a wide variety of resources when I am teaching, the main reasons for this is to accommodate different learning styles but also to help learner stimulation and interaction.

We need to start thinking of our students as sentient beings capable of an incredibly diverse spectrum of individuality, rather than yet another cog in a never ending machine. For years, we have been oppressed by desires of others, as well as their established social norms. We have become slaves to the way we perceive our society to work, That we must complete work by deadlines, that we must become another's idea of a human being. This world has been established that most all people must complete tasks they never wanted to do. However, it has become that the younger generation of the population has taken much of this obligation. For each day for a student is begun before even the sun chooses to rise, Then, leads to eight hours in an establishment created of dark brick, promising years of pain and suffering through massive workloads of things that may have been intriguing, had they not been presented in such a dull and uninteresting manner. Once this task has been completed, we return to their home where hours of chores and homework await them. Then, each night, they climb into bed, each day bearing more difficultly than the last. This cycle continues for years, the only escape from this cycle being graduating from another brick establishment that has taken all money that one could ever hope to have, and attempting to find a job that might be what you want to do. It is time that we break out of this miserable cycle. This life was meant to be enjoyed by all and to be enjoyed to the fullest. This idea has been broken and shattered beyond recognition, but it still remains. The idea that we can be exactly who we want to be, without having to sell our souls to do so still lingers on, shining, yet unattainable just as a star. We simply must be the glue that binds the broken pieces of this

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

My education has covered a wide array of topics like child development, abuse and mental illness in families, and diversity within parenting and families. This education is essential when working with students, as they are so often faced with issues outside of school that may impact their ability to focus in school. For example, they may have issues at home with family that preoccupy their minds and prevent them from learning. They may be stricken with poverty and worry about where their next meal is going to come from, or they may have an illness that prevents them from coming to school every day and they fall behind. These issues are ones that have been discussed extensively in my classes. Among many other things, I have learned that when working with people in any capacity you need to consider every aspect of their life to successfully help them.

Lucille Lange, a school administrator from Bogota explains: “Students are leaning to think independently and need to realize that the right to express themselves comes with responsibility and consequences.” (2011). Students opportunity of free expression, their personality, and individualism is unable to develop to its fullest capacity.

Aristotle once said, “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” Teaching enables students to gain the intelligence needed to excel in life. I believe that a teacher’s philosophy of education is a crucial role in his or her approach to leading students on their educated path. A philosophy of education is the set of beliefs that every school and every teacher stand behind. The certain philosophy that one chooses provides the answers to many vital questions, such as the purpose of schooling, a teacher’s role, and what should be taught in the classroom.

All students have a different learning style and can benefit from hands on or real life activities in the classroom.

In Russell’s discussion “The Value of Philosophy,” he asserted that the true goal of Philosophy wasn’t a tangible, or even reachable, goal. He says that Philosophy won’t lead us to any definite answers, because once you acquire solid knowledge of a subject, it instantly becomes another science. Instead that the greatest value of this study comes from the mental freedom you get when you begin to question the status quo and not just accepting things as they are. He also says that questioning these everyday issues will not lead to a solid answer through the use of Philosophy. But those doubts will inevitably open you up to the infinite possibilities that are available in the world that neither you, nor myself would