Educational Philosophy
My love for education has been with me ever since I began attending the public school system when I was five years old. Since then I have anxiously awaited the commencement of each academic year. An absence from an academic building during the afternoon and summer left me feeling empty. But how did I spend my time? I spent it playing school! I would appear as if I was a natural born teacher from the beginning.
As I continue with my profession, I continually remind myself of the ideals that I have set for myself as an educator. I know that teaching is a demanding profession, but I am confident that I have qualities that will make a classroom enjoyable and a learning experience.
First and foremost, I want to be a role model for the children. That starts with having great rapport with the students, so that they feel as if they can come and talk with me. It means listening to and understanding them, and teaching them in a manner that they understand.
Another important key to classroom and learning success is the sense of a community. This will create the sense of a democracy in the classroom. Students and the teacher will have a say in what happens. This is one aspect that allows a teacher to act as a facilitator while the students create their own understanding. This is also a model that will help students feel comfortable with the curriculum.
Once this is accomplished, another important thing I hope to achieve is to change many children’s seemingly negative image of school. Creating a positive classroom and fun learning environment will help achieve this. The multiple intelligences will be implemented into all of my lessons, and this includes manipulatives. There will always be adaptations for any students with special needs. Consequently, there will always be more than one way to approach a project that assesses a student’s understanding. This goal will also be reached by applying concepts to real life problems.
I also believe that everything you do in the elementary grades is a building block for the future. I want to make sure that my students have a firm grasp of the concepts that will be necessary for lifelong success. These basic ideas never diminish; they just change over time. That is why there is always an inventive way to readdress these issues as one moves through the grades.
Continuing on the theme of a building block, I see education as being a never-ending journey. I plan on continuing my professional growth while I teach, so that I am knowledgeable on current topics and ideas in the field. Along with me, I hope that other adults grow, and specifically, the parents of the children. I will encourage them to be active in both the classroom environment and with their children’s studies at home. They know their children the best, so they can help me learn and understand them. As a result of our activities, the students, the parents/adults, and I, as the teacher, can all learn together.
A fun, warm, caring, and guiding experience is what I hope to bring to my classroom. I
want to help the students grow. I want to prepare them for what is to come socially and
academically, and I have many inventive ways of achieving this. I want to help instill a
greater sense of respect for themselves and one another in them, and teach them how this
respect and cooperation can create a better world. I want the students to recognize the
importance of academics, as I did when I was young. I want to be a positive influence to
the students; serve as a role model. I want to be to them what Mr. Douglas was to me in
third grade, Ms. Usiatynski was to me in seventh grade, what Mr. Biswanger was to me in
twelfth grade, and what my mentor teachers, Ron Waterbury and Donna Grayson, are to me in
college and my adult life. I want to make a difference in their lives.