My Education Philosophy
Teachers. A word that is often taken for granted, over looked, and criticized. A word that describes a person who constantly gives, shares, and guides. A word that encompases more roles than any one person should ever have. A word that is responsible for molding the future.
Being a teacher is more than just creating lesson plans, teaching subjects, making tests, and grading papers. Being a teacher is about harnessing the beauty in each and every student that crosses your path. Being a teacher is about teaching from the heart and not just from a text book. Being a teacher is about adapting learning for the individual in a way that not only makes sense, but stimulates the mind to form ideas and thoughts that were never believed to be imaginable.
My teaching philophy reflects that of both progressivism and experimentalism. Progressivism is an educational theory that focuses on the individual while relating the curriculum to that which best reflects the experiences, interest, and abilities of the students. I strongly believe that as a teacher it is important to plan lessons that have the ability to arouse curoisity, imagination, and encourage students to reach to a higher level of knowledge that has never been touched before. This can be practiced by the incorportation of field trips, interactive games, pictures, videos, and simulations into the daily curriculum. Progressivism also encourages the interaction between students in a classroom. I think it is very crucial that students develop how to cooperate together, create together, and tolerate eachother. Doing so will not only prepare students for future relationships, but also help promote well rounded individuals.
Experimentalism is an educational theory that foucses on the simple fact that the world is a place that is constantly changing. Experimentalism is about continually seeking to discover various ways to improve the society by starting in the classroom. This theory involves focusing on development and learning through experiencing the world we live in. I believe that teaching through social experiences and solving problems is essential for creating well developed students. It is important for students to understand how to solve or avoid common problems that they may be faced with in society.
A small excerpt from the poem, "Seashell by Karen Linden,"
reads:
You are probably wondering why you have been given a seashell. It is a gift to you
to help you reflect on another gift you are about to receive -- your students.
Let's take a few minutes to consider what the shell can tell us about
them.
Maybe your shell is fragile, delicate, and easily broken.
So are your students. Handle them kindly and with care.
Maybe your shell looks beautiful.
Each student in your class has a special beauty.
Discover it and help others to notice it
and appreciate it...
Maybe you noticed that your shell has pieces chipped away or broken off.
Some students have had difficult experiences that
have chipped away their positive self-image and broken their spirit.
Help to rebuild their self-image and rekindle their enthusiasm...
The shell you have in your hand is unique.
It was carried to shore by the ocean just for you.
What will you do with it now that it is yours?
Each student in your class is unique, too.
Each one is in your hands now.
What will you do with your students now that they are yours?
Students are like seashells. Each one is different in their own way and each has traveled a different path and washed onto the shore. In my future classroom my goal is to adapt my curriculum in order to reflect the needs of all students. I will do this by incorporating teaching materials which exercise all learning styles. I plan to have various centers in my room that aid to multiple intelligences. One center will focus on visual learners (picture smart): containing videos, pictures, and models. The second center will focus on auditory learns (music smart) containing music, audio clips, and instruments. The third center will focus on hand on learners (body smart) containing: models, hand on materials, and aspects that involve kinesthetic learning. My goal is to have a center for each intelligence.
Being a teacher is more than just creating lesson plans, teaching subjects, making tests, and grading papers. Being a teacher is about harnessing the beauty in each and every student that crosses your path. Being a teacher is about teaching from the heart and not just from a text book. Being a teacher is about adapting learning for the individual in a way that not only makes sense, but stimulates the mind to form ideas and thoughts that were never believed to be imaginable.
My teaching philophy reflects that of both progressivism and experimentalism. Progressivism is an educational theory that focuses on the individual while relating the curriculum to that which best reflects the experiences, interest, and abilities of the students. I strongly believe that as a teacher it is important to plan lessons that have the ability to arouse curoisity, imagination, and encourage students to reach to a higher level of knowledge that has never been touched before. This can be practiced by the incorportation of field trips, interactive games, pictures, videos, and simulations into the daily curriculum. Progressivism also encourages the interaction between students in a classroom. I think it is very crucial that students develop how to cooperate together, create together, and tolerate eachother. Doing so will not only prepare students for future relationships, but also help promote well rounded individuals.
Experimentalism is an educational theory that foucses on the simple fact that the world is a place that is constantly changing. Experimentalism is about continually seeking to discover various ways to improve the society by starting in the classroom. This theory involves focusing on development and learning through experiencing the world we live in. I believe that teaching through social experiences and solving problems is essential for creating well developed students. It is important for students to understand how to solve or avoid common problems that they may be faced with in society.
A small excerpt from the poem, "Seashell by Karen Linden,"
reads:
You are probably wondering why you have been given a seashell. It is a gift to you
to help you reflect on another gift you are about to receive -- your students.
Let's take a few minutes to consider what the shell can tell us about
them.
Maybe your shell is fragile, delicate, and easily broken.
So are your students. Handle them kindly and with care.
Maybe your shell looks beautiful.
Each student in your class has a special beauty.
Discover it and help others to notice it
and appreciate it...
Maybe you noticed that your shell has pieces chipped away or broken off.
Some students have had difficult experiences that
have chipped away their positive self-image and broken their spirit.
Help to rebuild their self-image and rekindle their enthusiasm...
The shell you have in your hand is unique.
It was carried to shore by the ocean just for you.
What will you do with it now that it is yours?
Each student in your class is unique, too.
Each one is in your hands now.
What will you do with your students now that they are yours?
Students are like seashells. Each one is different in their own way and each has traveled a different path and washed onto the shore. In my future classroom my goal is to adapt my curriculum in order to reflect the needs of all students. I will do this by incorporating teaching materials which exercise all learning styles. I plan to have various centers in my room that aid to multiple intelligences. One center will focus on visual learners (picture smart): containing videos, pictures, and models. The second center will focus on auditory learns (music smart) containing music, audio clips, and instruments. The third center will focus on hand on learners (body smart) containing: models, hand on materials, and aspects that involve kinesthetic learning. My goal is to have a center for each intelligence.