Essay on Teaching Philosophy Statement

Sometimes I wonder if my personal political ideology will be a challenge to my teaching; as much as Americans try to boast about getting involved with and supporting their community, that wars with their personal piece of the American dream pie. To have their own success, particularly financially as that seems to be the direction for most, doesn’t mean sharing their personal wealth with the less fortunate in the community. Understanding that I tread precipitously close to the edge of socialism and communism, I still don’t see much in the way of society as a whole here in the U.S. sacrificing their personal gain [financially] for the advancement of the poor. Not only these chapters but study after study, article after article, can make a clear connection between wealthy suburbs with wealthy tax bases supporting the best schools with the best facilities and the best teachers producing the best students. So why can’t the money be redistributed more appropriately? Why don’t Americans want to share their fortune with the lesser? It’s because that is not the American dream: what’s theirs is theirs and will only serve to make them more successful. If others cannot succeed with what they have or what they can do, that is on them. The lack of a

The education system in the United States has expanded over the years to prepare individuals for the demanding labor market that constitutes our society. It has shifted from the development of mere intellectual scholars to the development of intellectual scholars competitive enough for a work force that now requires a degree for entrance. As this system of education has expanded throughout the country, so has the reproduction of inequality. To explain the manner in which this system has been structured to achieve a gap of inequity among society’s affluent and disadvantaged members, conflict theorist Karl Marx claims that, “School institutions are intentionally designed to integrate individuals into an unjust society” (Brand lecture, January

Poverty within a family or even a school can drastically hinder the level of education that can be given. For example, the Oklahoma schools budget cuts. Due to the decline in money, some teachers won’t be rehired leading to bigger class sizes, meaning less one on one time between students and the teacher. AP programs can be potentially cut, causing advanced kids to then sit in classes with kids who don’t care, therefore they have to learn slower. But budget cuts isn’t the only example. An education disposed inside the walls of a prestigious private school is more equipped than one presented inside the walls of a governmenttally owned public school. In his article, “The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools”, David Kirp, professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, writes, “public schools in such communities have often operated as factories for failure”. While his is talking about neighborhoods labeled as the lower class, no one can truly say that schools located in poverty, remotely receive the same education as school that are considered middle class. The statistic that proclaims the “average student loan debt nears $27,000” is alarmingly grim. This very statistic could potentially turn countless students away from succeeding a high education, just because they don’t have stacks of money to waste. It’s discouraging that money can limit the success a student can obtain in their

When reading the Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire the banking concept of education stood out to me the most. It made me envision the oppressor as the teacher and the oppressed as the students. The teacher stands in front of the class and has all the power compared to the students. Just like the oppressor, the teacher makes all the rules and decisions for the students without them having a choice about the direction of the class. Additionally, the teacher is seen as the one with all the knowledge while the students are the ones that need to be thought how to conform to what their teacher is teaching. This reminds me of how America uses the school system or media to push agendas that benefit the dominate society. For example, when all you learn about in history class is about the amazing things that White people have done while excluding the rape, murder, theft, and genocide they tend to look at minorities as inferior or as slavery as a benefit because now Blacks get to enjoy

What resulted was an educational system that accommodated our strong technological prowess. Since 1980, however, there has been a turnaround in which technological advancement has surpassed our level of education. From 1960 to 1980, our supply of college graduates increased at almost 4 percent a year; since then, the increase has been about half as fast. The net effect is that we’re rapidly moving toward two Americas—a wealthy elite, and an increasingly large underclass that lacks the skills to succeed. This division tears at the very fabric of our society. Nevertheless, there’s little national urgency to fix its underlying causes. Unlike a terrorism or a bad economy, poor educational achievement creeps up on us rather than creating sudden catastrophic dilemmas. Right now, if you were running for office, would you be more concerned with unemployment or education? It is this negligence that leads too many people to suspect that poverty is the population’s looming fate, and that schools can make only a small difference, and that therefore we’re unable to fix this problem, regardless of its

The education of the youth is, without much dispute, a highly important issue within the U.S. This nation was founded on equality and opportunity, two beliefs that have seamlessly transitioned into American education, or so it seemed. In these articles by Gregory Mantsios, Jonathan Kozol, and Jean Anyon, the same education Americans claim to hold so high comes under question. These authors provide excellent insight on the negative relationship between social class and education. However, they fail to address an important element that ultimate responsibility falls on the individual for his or her own education, regardless of social class.

Through my experience working with kids and my courses at Austin Community College and Concordia University I’ve established a philosophy of education that I plan to use in my future classroom. Being entrusted with shaping young minds, but also sculpting these children and lighting their way is a huge responsibility that I intend to take the utmost care with. Diving feet head first into teaching and letting it consume me, I plan to fall in love daily with my students and the profession that I feel god has called me to do. Teaching will forever be my calling and my plan is use everything that I have learned so far and continue to learn to help my students become the person that God wants them to be.

The U.S. public education system exists within the cultural construct of a capitalist economy, which has an inherent motive to monetize everything and ascribe value based on economic worth. When things and people are perceived as commodities they are not valued for what they actually are, in and of themselves. Natural resources, citizens, even children, are reduced to, and defined as, profit generators. This objectification is the result of being manipulated by a system that is built and thrives on inequality and exploitation. It limits our freedom, sows seeds of social discord, conquers and controls through division, and conscripts us into supporting actors for the elitist power narrative. John F. Kennedy said “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.” How is it possible though to create a democratic pedagogy within this disempowering cultural context?

“The statement of teaching philosophy (also called the teaching statement or teaching philosophy statement) promotes reflective practice by encouraging instructors to describe their teaching methods, to justify why they use those methods, to analyze the effectiveness of those methods, and to consider how they might appropriately modify those methods in future courses.” (Schönwetter et al., 2002) Stake holder motivation, engagement, cognitive associations, and personal values are the principal elements of education. The attainment of knowledge, standards mastery, and the ability to reason come second to a student 's overall well-being. Elements of behaviorism, essentialism, progressivism, existentialism and

Cultural illiteracy can be divided into numerous factors that narrow its complexity and make it easier to dissect, one of those factors being the school curricula that fail to highlight aspects of certain subjects, sending students out of the doors lacking knowledge on pertinent topics. School has failed countless children, dooming them to the same penury as their parents because of “a fragmented curriculum.” Economics, a class that should be vast and encompass the entire social class spectrum, hardly discusses the hardships those in poverty face and the reasons they may have ended up in that situation. And because economics does not teach students that poverty can strike unexpectedly and even the hardest workers may suffer its fervent force, statements like “it’s their fault they’re poor” become accepted. The

My philosophy of teaching is rather simple- teach how to multiply. But I do not only mean how to multiply numbers in mathematics. My philosophy of multiplication looks like teaching others to teach others how to teach others. As the saying goes, we are life-long learners. For this to be true, we must also mean that we are life-long teachers. To learn, we must be taught. We are all teachers and we are all learners, the only differing variable in this equation are the passions that guide our teaching and learning. We need one another to teach and learn effectively because we all have unique passions and abilities. This simple fact is what inspires me to teach. We are all in this together. I want to teach in a way that encourages life-long learning. I want to teach in a way that inspires others to teach. I want to teach with humility and with an understanding that my students will teach me far more than I could ever wish to teach them.

Did you know that one of the major factors that plays a role in Americas education system is the economic status of students and their districts? For many low poverty rated neighborhoods, governmental funding is hardly enough to sufficiently support an entire schools academic needs. Because majority of schools in the US are funded through the property tax of its neighborhood or district, schools in poor neighborhoods receive poor funding. Since funding is distributed depending on the surrounding areas property tax, schools in rich neighborhoods receive the greatest deal of economic support. The economic gap within the system can affect a students’ learning experience and create a bad image of education. Also, poor students encounter more problems on a daily bases than wealthy students which makes focusing on school that much harder. When growing up, my economic status wasn’t anywhere near the best. I had to worry about things like: how was I going to get my clothes washed, how were we going to pay the light bill or how was I going to eat if I didn’t make it to school. School was

Education has been told to us as the key to a better, developed and civilized society. With proper education, there can be no limits to an individual’s achievements in life; but on the other hand, lack of access to education is a major building block to a primitive, backward and uncivilized society. A bad education system designed not for learning but only to keep children who can not afford private education in schools is a recipe for oppression as it widens the gap between socioeconomic status, gender and age. It trains people to be a part of a capitalistic and oppressive society by reinforcing classism, racism and sexism (Lipsitz, Lozenski, Ford, 2014).

Public education in America aims to benefit communities by teaching the democratic principles and common values of society through equal opportunities for learning. The education system in the United Sates has created unbiased processes which are open to all individuals and give them a chance (Dai, 2013): equal opportunities do not create equal outcomes. Conflict theory views education in capitalist society as a means of maintaining social inequality and preserving the economic, and political power for the dominant population; the underlying hidden curriculum serves to indoctrinate the accession of working classes into the lower positions in society (Turner, 1975). The struggle for power, wealth, and excellence has been built into the public institutions of capitalist society, and continue to maintain disparity between the classes (Collins, 1971).

Education is something that most can receive for free at a young age, but once students graduate from high school, free education is no longer provided to those who desire and need it, yet more employers are looking for those with college education, and even worse, college is more expensive than ever. This year, “only 34% of American jobs require a high school diploma or less, compared to 72% in the 1970s.” (Carnevale & Smith, 2017) Education is a right that everyone should have, and it is that way until after high school, when it matters the most. Education also supports the growth of civil society, democracy, and political stability, allowing people to learn about their rights and acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to exercise them. However, these things along with other important information that comes into adulthood such as taxes are not even being taught in the curriculum of high schools and therefore not preparing the students for some of the most challenging yet ordinary tasks they will have to deal with in their adult lives. Instead, they must either learn these skills themselves, from someone they know, or be among the few who are fortunate enough to get a class with a teacher kind enough to teach them. The American education system is failing in numerous areas, causing us to fall behind other countries, and further delaying the advancement of our society.