My Teaching Philosophy

By

Katie Law

 History, Philosophy, and Trends

Dr. Merryellen Schulz

September 27, 2004

My Teaching Philosophy

     When I think about how I view teaching many different philosophies come to mind.  Each philosophy makes good points and bad points but I cannot agree with just one of them.  As I look in the future and see myself as a teacher, I wonder if I am going to have the right philosophy.  I feel one of the most important qualities I can possess is the ability to nurture and care for children.  Each child is going to come from different backgrounds and it is my job to make them feel comfortable and safe so they can learn.  They need to know that I am going to do everything in my power to keep them in a safe environment and help them any time they may need it. 

     Such as the philosophy of essentialism, I believe another important quality is that each and every child has the right to a fair education.  Academic knowledge and character development are two important essentials of education, just like the right to a fair education.    I disagree strongly with the term tracking.  I don’t feel that it is necessary to point out, in front of the other students, that a certain someone is not as good of a speller or reader as another.  Why should they have to go out of the room and embarrass themselves?  I don’t believe they should, but if it does occur I will do everything in my power to make them feel like they fit in.  I feel it is very important to be available to the students if they ever need help.

     I feel that I am part progressivism also because I feel that students should be actively engaged in the classroom as well as having many parent interactions within the classroom.  They need to know that I, as a teacher, am not trying to do their job, but just trying to do mine.  Contact with parents is also something that I believe firmly in.  Each parent needs to know how to reach the proper contact when they have a concern or need something.  I want to have a classroom that is open to parents to come in and talk or check out what their child is doing and how they are improving.  It is also important for a parent to know when something is going wrong with their child in the classroom.  I feel that if I have a problem with a student then I need to notify the parent immediately. 

     Respect is another issue that needs to be addressed.  It has to work both ways between students and teachers or it is no use at all.  This is why I feel that I am part of a social reconstructionist.  I believe that my role as a teacher is as a facilitator that gives and expects respect.    The students will learn more and behave better when they know they are respected as people and not just as children.  The behavior will turn out for the better when they know that they cannot get away with acting out.  Classroom behavior and guidance is critical in being a successful teacher.  Guidance is the fundamental basis for the entire classroom and school day.  Behavior problems cause time lost that could be put to learning.  Disruptive behavior not only disrupts the students, it also disrupts the teacher.  I feel that in order to get through the school day, students absolutely need to know where I stand on certain situations that may happen in the classroom.  Instead of waiting for the incident to happen, I plan on addressing it before so they know the punishment and it comes as no surprise to the rule violator. 

     The final quality that I feel needs to be stated is positive reinforcement.  This quality fits in with the existentialism because I want honest interpersonal relationships with my students.  They need to know what they are doing well and what they need to work on.  It is a very essential that students are praised when they do something well.  I definitely don’t want to be in a negative classroom and I feel that students will perform better when they know they are improving. 

There are so many qualities and philosophies that aren’t addressed above but are also important.  As stated above, I cannot choose just one philosophy because they all have their positive and negative points, the ones mentioned fit best with my personal philosophy and the ones that best describe me.  The ones I stated above are the most important to me and I am going to apply these qualities to my classroom.