Teaching Philosophy
My personal teaching philosophy will be based off of my role model teachers growing up. For example, my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Juster, was a woman who I will never forget and whose influence made me chose the profession I am working towards today. Like her, I want to stimulate my students into finding their own strengths and desires so they feel more successful not only in a school environment but also in a larger civil community as well. I want my students to see me as a facilitator of learning, rather than a tyrant who harshly judges. Students learn best when they are comfortable and I will allow them, in fact encourage them, to take risks without judging their creativity.
Learning cannot occur without stimulation and some amount of genuine care for a subject. Although probably the most difficult task, I will pay most attention to making my students care about what they are learning. I believe classroom experiences should extend into the students real lives. There are always exterior influences that overpower the importance of education, and I want to show students that they need to realize the benefits an education can give them later in life. In literature, this should come more naturally than other academic subjects because we can learn many great morals and consequences through other people’s stories. I will be enthusiastic and a great entertainer to my students, treating them more like a T.V. audience than a ...
Harper Lee uses Scout’s young minded perspective and willingness or lack of to learn and observe people's lives. Scout first learns from Atticus that she needs to walk in other people's shoes to understand their decisions and attitudes. “Jem stayed moody and silent for a week. As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem's skin and walk around.”(Lee, 77). In this passage Scout tries to use the advice Atticus has given her. She ends up not bothering Jem, which in turn strengthens her trust in her father's advice.
...y protect their tribe or community, women maintained peace and order in the absence of the men. In reading Beowulf, the portrayal of women could be as servants to the men. In reality, this was just the custom of the culture, and as seen throughout the piece women are addressed with respect and praise on many occasions. Women that received isolation and opposition were those that stood on their own without men to do the “dirty work” of violence. With regards to this, one can assume that women of this time period were seen to hold purity, delicacy, and compassion. In serving men and remaining home, men protected women from the inhumanity in war and loss of beauty in grace. This could all be seen rather than women having the mere role of insignificant slaves. In the Old English tale of Beowulf, the customary position of women in society is in respectfully serving men.
Toni Morrison was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, a novel whose popularity and worth earned her the Nobel Prize in literature the first ever awarded to a black female author. Born in the small town of Larain, Ohio, in 1931, to George and Ramah Willis Wofford, Morrison's birth name is Chloe Anthony Wofford (Gates and Appiah ix). Morrison describes the actions of her central character in Beloved, as: the ultimate love of a mother; the outrageous claim of a slave. In this statement we find an expression of the general themes of Morrison's mainly naturalistic works. One of these is the burden of the past or history (i.e. slavery and being black in a predominantly white controlled society). Another is the effect on the individual and society from distinctions of race, gender and class. A further theme still is the power of love, be it positive or negative it is a powerful transforming presence in her characters and novels, one through which many find redemption and freedom.
The women in Beowulf are barely discussed and seem to exist solely for the use of the men. They are weak and portray none of the legendary qualities that the men display. Wealhtheow, the Queen of Danes and Hrothgar's wife, is the only female character in the epic that talks. In a speech to her husband, we are able to see that she is a strong woman, who is able to speak her mind. She tells the king that it is good that he adopted Beowulf, but reminds him that he already has two sons. However, her speech is made while she carries the drinking goblet to all of the men in the room, "Wealhtheow came in,/ Hrothgar's queen, observing the courtesies./ Adorned in her gold, she graciously handed the cup first to Hrothgar, their homeland's guardian,/ urging him to drink deep and enjoy it because he was dear to them" (612-618). When she is given the opportunity to talk, she only praises the men and plays a role defined by their society.
...die but it was the wrong scroll and was about Luke instead. Percy could have just gave up and watched Olympus get destroyed but Anabeth convinces him to keep fighting and not to lose hope. Although they had a fight over it Percy did the right thing and didn’t let the fake prophecy fool him.
Atticus is a major influence on Scout’s identity. He tells Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (33). Atticus’s counsel teaches Scout to never judge someone until she is aware of their reasoning. This guidance helps Scout to interact with the people around her. One example of when she used Atticus’s advice is against the lynch mob. She convinces Mr. Cunningham to leave by talking to him about what he cared about. This interaction shows how an individual’s connection to family members affects his judgement and, therefore, his character. In addition, Atticus expands on this advice later in the novel, stating, “The one thing that...
The women characters in Beowulf show that during the time period in which this was written, the roles of women were clearly defined. While, the author's views on women may never be fully revealed, it is made apparent that he believes in male superiority, and disobedient females ought to be suppressed. Like Wealhtheow, females were to exert minimal power and influence, but should always keep the drinks coming.
While the women in the poem are not all dignifying, they are strong and keepers of peace. The woman, known as the Peace weaver, is one of the notable female characters in Beowulf. And peace weaving is one of the best defined roles of women during the Old English period due to the wars. Although she is never identified, not identifying her as a wife or daughter,
Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a neo slave narrative about how a former slave, Sethe living with her daughter Denver in a haunted house. Then Paul D, a former slave comes and lives with Sethe and exorcise the ghost of the house. Everything then seems to be normal until a young lady emerges from the water called Beloved and then she starts to live in with Sethe and then mysterious things then start to happen because of a horrible past. In Beloved, Toni Morrison uses symbols and motifs by using biblical allusions, religion, the importance of names, and what it meant to be free from slavery.
Atticus is a great leader of his family, teaching his children morals and life lessons. He makes them better people by showing them how to deal with the trial and people making fun of them. Atticus teaches Scout how to respect other people. First, Scout learns to respect Atticus, then to respect "Boo" Radley, and finally to respect a whole race of people, negroes. He makes it a common practice to live his life as he would like his children to live theirs, and thus displays the attributes of an honest, respectable, and kind man. Throughout the trial process, Atticus shows Jem and Scout that true courage is standing up for what you believe in and that all human beings, despite their race, deserve respect. "You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This quote shows that Atticus wants his children to get along with people, and so other people will respect them for whom they are.
Beloved is a novel which digs deeply into the lives of four, post-Civil War, African American people. The novel has many things which could be deemed unacceptable but it is necessary to read as high school students in order to expand our views on life as we know it. The novel may have some idiosyncratic issues but they are unfortunately things that occur in our modern day world.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
Once you learn about feminism, it is impossible not to notice the misogynistic undertones in just about everything. Beowulf is no exception. The entire work focuses on a man and his trials and tribunes, but throughout, there is a minuscule and unflattering representation of women. From the queen to the monstrous final battle, there is no woman represented in the same way the male characters are. In the work Beowulf, in the battle scene with Grendel’s mother, the unknown author uses a representation of women as the other, phallocentrism, and misogyny to show that men can vanquish other men and if a woman dares to intervene, he will destroy her as well.
Education is the means by which a student gains the tools for a successful future. Through education, a teacher is not only teaching facts, but also teaching life skills. Education teaches students discipline, responsibility, and many other life skills. As a teacher, I hope to instill these skills in my students. I also hope to help them develop as adolescents. Education should allow students to fully understand and discover themselves, in addition to giving them the ability to survive in the real world. Education involves respecting every student's race, sex, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and religion. Education should teach the students to think on their own, and to accept and embrace their individuality.
Cicero said, "What noble employment is more valuable to the state than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?" He was correct in saying this because the young people of today will become the world leaders of tomorrow. The educators that instruct these children are important to this society because they will help shape the lives of these young people.