Teaching Philosophy
Education is the foundation of each person's knowledge, skill, talent, and understanding. Each and every person in the world has benefited in some way from the act of another person teaching him or her something, whether it is inside or outside of the classroom. Truly, people learn a great deal from experiences outside of the classroom, but a school provides the means and foundation for education, and everybody takes away more than facts and answers from it. A school gives someone the opportunity to think, challenge him or herself, solve problems, and search for answers. It is where people discover how to learn on their own and, in doing so, they can take this with them into the "real world," since learning is a never-ending process.
Teaching for me isn't an act of lecturing and dispensing facts, answers, and an endless amount of information. Rather, it is an interactive process where I can give my students the greatest opportunity to think on their own and begin to learn how to discover answers on their own. As a teacher, I am concerned with providing the tools for learning, rather than the facts and answers to problems. My students need to be actively engaged in their own learning process and in the discovery of answers. Learning is a continual process through life. My goal is to provide my students with the appropriate tools so they can take them into the world and continue to use them after leaving my classroom. They should never be without the tools to discover, solve, and experiment in their own lives. If they should ever, at some point in life, stop in their pursuit to discover a new idea, then I have not one my job successfully. It is my job as the teacher to get my students to find the answers to questions they do not know.
Just as I say I never want my students to stop learning, the same applies for myself. Teaching isn't just a profession for me; rather it is a foundation for learning. Teaching allows me to continue learning new concepts and ideas. There are so many new discoveries found everyday, and teaching allows me to share these new ideas with my students in the classroom to not only enlighten them, but to enlighten myself as well. Teaching allows me to grow with my students and is never a static job.
School is an institute for educating children and adults that wish to gain success and become
Throughout my experience in the public school system, I have heard the line, “What do I need to know this for anyway?” about 1,057 times. It is not uncommon to hear students complain about the worth of their education. Regardless, there seems to be a unanimous agreement that the youth needs education to succeed in life. What is education anyway and what does schooling accomplish? In his book, “A Time to Learn” George Wood provides a definition of education as “making wise citizens and good neighbors who can think deeply and intelligently about issues of self and society, take care for and respect others, take care of their family needs, and contribute to the welfare of others” (Glickman 48). Is school necessary for developing this type of educated citizen? If not, how is it we measure success and how is school important in attaining that?
In most of the modern world, education is a staple of life. It is considered a mark of civilization, as it is thought that a person needs to be educated to be successful. Education is how people learn the skills required to live a full, happy, and meaningful life. Today, those skills seem obvious; you learn math and science to understand the world around you and to deal with financial and business problems. English, language, and History are taught for communication and the lessons they provide.
Teaching is not a simple task and it is not trouble-free, but I feel it is the most rewarding of all of life’s opportunities. I see teaching as a way of helping an individual expand. That expansion is not limited to knowledge, however. I want to expand a student’s mind, personality, understanding, worldview, and personal drive as well. If I help a student learn to read, that is teaching. If I assist a child in tying his shoe, that is teaching. If I practice with my brother while he works on his touchdown throw, that is teaching. If I make someone a better person, that is teaching in its most immaculate form. By expanding an individual’s ability to have an open mind and to accept people and their differences, I have made them a nobler person. If a student sits in my class all year with the literature and grammar going in one ear and out the other, but she still leaves with a better understanding of herself and a broadened scope of the world around her, I have succeeded in expanding her to some extent.
If someone had asked me 13 years ago, when I first started my career in Education, what my long-term plan was, I would have surely responded that I planned to retire as a classroom teacher. I returned to college to pursue teaching as an adult, and was sure, at the time, that I would always be satisfied in that role. The truth is I do love my job. I love seeing that light bulb go on! As many teachers do, I spend many evenings and weekends researching and planning and going way above and beyond my expected duties in an effort to make a difference for every child. But time passes, people grow, and experiences change people in ways they didn’t see coming.
Schools are institutions that people go to be educated and to
The overall purpose of education is not only to teach students about the set curriculum, but also to teach them to be individuals and creative thinkers. As a teacher one has to go farther than just to teach, you are a role model, a doctor, and most importantly while still having control you are a friend. I feel education is important because as a society we need to learn and grow from what we know. In today's society, a person without an education cannot make a name for themselves, and cannot get ahead in the world. Education is there to teach us about the past and prepare us for the future. Education is a leading part of our lives, and needs to continue to be.
There are many reasons people decide to enter the teaching field. Some enter because they enjoy working with people or children, others because they like being off during the summer months, and still others because of their love for a particular subject. Although all these reasons are valid, I feel my reasons are much simpler. The bottom line is that I love kids and enjoy working with them. My desire to make learning a more positive experience for them has only increased with time.
I believe teaching is a privilege and a serious profession. There are few other careers in which you have as great of an effect on other people. The responsibility is great and I take it very seriously. At the same time teaching can be fun and intellectually stimulating. As a teacher, I will have the opportunity to explore and define a subject area that I have committed my career to---Science. What better way to show my enthusiasm for the subject than to teach it? Additionally, I know that there is nothing more rewarding than reaching a student through my teaching and having a profound influence on their curiosity. Good teaching should extend beyond the classroom, and it will if students are inspired to continue their studies on their own. Honestly, I believe that there is no other job that is equally as rewarding.
Through my own experiences, and as enforced by others' opinions in the profession, I have found that teaching is one of the most rewarding careers. Not only are you placed in the position of instructing and guiding children and young adults through the life long learning process, but you are able to give back to the schools and communities which have supported your early education and experiences that opened you up to a bright future. In becoming an educator, I hope to someday share the knowledge and lend the helping, supportive hand that I was once given, allowing students to formulate their own perspectives of the multicultural society and world around them. Teaching is a career I have been interested in pursuing throughout high school, and as my experiences and study in the field expands, I feel that my desire to teach will grow stronger and develop more soundly.
Learning is a part of everyday life and teachers are to credit for it, whether it is teaching a sing-a-long or a life lesson. Teaching is a very important career that allows children a chance to better themselves. Knowing that a child will walk away with a better understanding and feel good about them gives me a great sense of accomplishment. With my love of children and the qualities I bring to the classroom, I feel that as a teacher I can make a difference.
Teaching Philosophy The most important impact I want to have on students is that they remember me as a teacher who cares about their education. I want to leave an impact on each child’s life. My motivation to teach comes from a desire to help others and see student’s excitements as they learn new concepts. I believe teaching is my way to make a positive difference for each of my students.
Education has always been more than just math, science, English or history to me. Educating is about teaching and learning those academic subjects, but it is also about teaching what is means to be a good friend, son or daughter and just member of society and learning how to take these academic and social skills to new levels in a learner’s life. School is a place for everyone to learn, both teachers and students, about one another’s backgrounds and interests, but it is also a place to teach and learn how to become equipped for aspects of the changing world.
The first main reason that I have chosen teaching as a profession is because I believe that it’s continuous rewards will help me to lead a happy and fulfilled life. For example, teaching young children is one of the few jobs in which you can give and receive hugs on a daily basis. Children have an innocence and a passion for knowledge that I find amazing and I do not feel complete unless I am around them. Teaching will help provide this fulfillment for me every day. Also, teaching is a job in which it is ok, and even encouraged, to laugh each and every day. I feel that this is important for a person’s well-being and I think that it helps to keep people young and alive. I feel that in many other professions the day-to-day routine would become monotonous and boring, and I do not think that I would live a truly happy and fulfilled life unless I could be around children. I feel that a classroom provides many unique and dynamic opportunities every single day and I find that very appealing. Also, I am a very relationship-oriented person and I feel that I will enjoy building unique relationships with each child. I plan on knowing every child as thoroughly as possible because I feel that this will help me to be better at my job.
Teaching is a daunting task that I do not intend to take lightly. Becoming a teacher has been a dream of mine for several years. I always knew that teaching would be the career for me, especially when I began working in the school system as a substitute secretary. I loved working in the school environment; coming in contact with children everyday made me realize how much I would enjoy teaching a classroom full of students.