Teaching Philosophy Statement

Ashlyn stated that what attracted her to the profession of teaching was several things. First, Ashlyn stated “I love working with children and I have always known that teaching was what I wanted to do as a career.” (A. Edwards, personal communication, September 12, 2017) She also stated that being a teacher gave her the opportunity to truly make a different in children’s lives by being in an environment that truly strives on making a difference in children’s lives daily. Ashlyn said, “Making a difference in children’s lives is so fulfilling and

Even though I volunteered in different schools, I never had the opportunity to ask about the real feelings of a teacher. During the interview, I learned that there is more than just teaching in becoming a teacher. This is because she told me how one of her hesitation on becoming a teacher is the time one dedicates for the job. She told me that when one is teacher, one must prepare lesson plans, come to school early to prepare for the day, and even stay longer to grade papers. She said that her typical day starts at 7:30 am to prepare materials and school instruction starts from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. Then, even though the class ends already, she needs to create lesson plans for the entire week. She said that all these things are part of a teacher’s job, but they do not get paid to do these things. Therefore, I learned that being a teacher is not easy because there are a lot of extra responsibilities beyond the job description and that being a teacher extend beyond the classroom. Additionally, her answer made me reflect on whether I want a job, where I have to work more than the “work hours.” However, despite this workload, what amazes me was when she said that if she could go back, she would still choose to be a teacher because of her passion to make a difference in the lives of the

I see students as the next generations’ heroes in so many fields. In my vision, I have to inspire students and prepare them with confidence, knowledge, experience and skills. Which means I encourage, communicate, guide, teach, and assess students in order to enrich their infrastructures.

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

I believe that with motivation and guidance, children of all backgrounds can harbor success in the educational world and receive the skills they need to have a successful and prosperous life. It is a teacher’s duty to encourage lifelong learning, consider individual learning styles and aptitudes, and self-reflect on how to improve. My experiences as an engineer, a person of color, a pre-service teacher, and a STEM advocate have culminated together to form my educational values and philosophy.

I always thought I would be a teacher and I would make differences in lives and it would be the greatest experience in the world for me, yet being a teacher wasn’t enough, I had a need to expand my education. I decided that perhaps I needed a new career, however, I felt certain education remained my passion. I began to explore new areas of education and I realized I still want to be a member of a classroom, a school and curriculum. I aspire to guide those leading our classrooms.

After interviewing Laurie Kaffka I realized just how much I wanted to be a teacher. I am good for this career because I am very patient and love kids tremendously and would love to help them succeed and be the very best they could be. I know this career is not for everyone and I will constantly get criticisms and have to adjust to the ever changing curriculum. Despite all the negatives this career path entails it is still what I would like to do with my future.

My decision to be a teacher did not come easily to me. This choice was dependent on a reflection about what I was passionate about and how I could make a difference. I have chosen to become a teacher, as I believe teachers have the ability to provide future generations the stimulation for one of the most significant roles in life; to become a lifelong learner. Many teachers that I have had during my education have had a positive impact on my decision to grow and develop the skills that are fundamental to pursue a successful teaching career. My aim is to be a part of an honorable profession with the optimism that one day I will become an efficacious teacher who can provide future teachers with inspiration, as my teachers have provided for me. Through personal educational experiences and peer-reviewed academic literature, I am able to shape my approach to my pre-service teaching, as it will influence my future practice. As a teacher, there is not just one singular approach to educating students; there is a need for flexibility, diversity, adaptation and reflection.

Going into the teaching profession has been my passion for quite some time now. Although teaching can have many different stereotypes and misconceptions, I still choose to continue towards this career. Every job has it’s own stereotypes and misconceptions. I currently work at a school, which has offered me a lot of on the job training for my future career. My current job has allowed me to see the different stereotypes and misconceptions that come along with the teaching career field. I am fortunate to already be working in my career field so I can prepare for the future stereotypes and misconceptions when I am a teacher of my own classroom.

To say that "I am extremely passionate about working with children" would be an enormous understatement in regards to my personal experiences, ideologies and self-proclaimed purposes in respects to working in public schools. Being passionate about ones every day line of work is a huge deciding factor for most of us when it comes to “what we want to be when we grow up.” Conversely, it was quite simple for me, you see the rewards of teaching truly lie in the outcomes of one’s teaching. Knowing that from the first day of school, what I do and how I do it will have a domino effect on hundreds of lives throughout my career as an educator. In hopes to not only work in a field that I both admire and aspire to be a part of, I am also driven to one day be that teacher in which my students can look back and say “Miss. Chadwick really motivated me to be a better learner, artist, writer” and hopefully “a better person.”

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.

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.

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.

This past semesters has been an eye opening experience that has changed my views on teacher. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be a fourth grade teacher. However after being placed in a second grade classroom my views have changed. I liked the idea of teaching fourth grade because my fourth grade teacher was my inspiration in life. When I was in Ms. Petro’s class I enjoyed being able to watch the students progress over time. Being able to see the drastic improvements in little children is very rewarding and that is why I want to continue to teach lower grades. I have learned that being a teacher requires a special someone, a person who knows that sometimes you will have to deal with tough situations leaving you exhausted and feeling like you are not able to help more. But at the same time, being a teacher allows one to be a visionary for the world and those who surround you.

My teaching philosophy is to create an environment that stimulates learning so that students gain the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to become proficient professionals. While teaching foundational knowledge is important, there are other essential skills and abilities that students must acquire in order to successfully transition from being a student to becoming a physical therapy professional. These skills and abilities include thinking critically as well as interacting and communicating effectively with patients and other health care practitioners. I emphasize to students that it is imperative to realize the impact of developing a therapeutic rapport with patients while providing quality, patient-centered care to optimize the healing process. Therefore, when deciding what to teach, I not only consider the content presented, but also how I can foster discussions with students so that they can apply information based on varying contextual factors. I also attempt to provide students a framework for how to achieve professional excellence, which I aim to model as I fulfill my roles and responsibilities as a teacher and provider of clinical instruction. This framework is rooted in five central tenets: