Teaching Philosophy : Learning Philosophy

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Creech Teaching Philosophy
The illustrator George Evans once said, "Every student can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way." Every child has the capability to learn, and as an educator it is my responsibility to know my students well in order to teach them well. Children are engaged and learning when the curriculum is designed with them in mind. Fitting curriculum to a student requires knowing his or her background, family, abilities, interests and difficulties. This requires being well versed in multicultural competencies, being aware of the fallacy of meritocracy, and having radical empathy. Classrooms are becoming more diverse, and teachers need to understand that students have lives outside of school that may differ from their own. These lives affect how they think, study and learn within the classroom. Therefore, conducting home visits provide a wealth of information that couldn’t be obtained from classroom interactions alone. Students are more likely to respond to my efforts as a teacher after I learn who they are as people and demonstrate that I care about their education. When curriculum is meaningful to students’ lives, it generates genuine interest in learning. By thoroughly knowing my students I will also be able to place expectations high enough to properly challenge them.
Knowing and teaching children well first requires knowing myself well. As a teacher I am a gatekeeper, and therefore I have an immense impact on students’ futures. This can be on a lesser scale such as denying a student the chance to research their own answer, or on a higher scale such as unintentionally perpetuating racial or gender inequalities. Educators must be devoted to teaching every child. This is why before stepping foot into a...

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...how best to educate the student with critical pedagogy, teachers must recognize that there are multiple learning styles. This is why I believe in a third educational theory known as Multiple Intelligences. Dr. Howard Gardner developed this theory in 1983, and it outlines eight distinct intelligences that are displayed by humans (thomasarmstrong.com). Schools tend to focus on linguistic and logical mathematical intelligences while ignoring the fact there may be other ways to teach students and for them to display their knowledge. Considering each student’s learning style, lessons should be varied to ensure all students have an equal chance to comprehend material. The other six intelligences include spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist intelligence.
My philosophy entails constant reassessment and improvement upon myself.

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