Philosophy of Education
Famous blues guitarist, B.B. King said it best, “The beautiful thing about learning, is that no one can take it away from you.” I strongly believe that a wholesome education is one of very few things that can never be taken away from you. Everybody has the right to an education and everyone should take full advantage of this incredible opportunity.
As teachers, it is our responsibility to make sure our students are getting the most out of every learning experience. We can do this through purposeful planning, proper instruction, and ongoing assessment. Teachers must plan to support the learning needs of all students as well as build content understanding. Instruction needs to engage students with a purpose and deepen students' thinking. Finally, assessment has to provide feedback and support student’s use of feedback.
Elementary education can be taught in multiple ways, so it is extremely important for teachers to build an understanding of their students so that they are able to plan accordingly based on student’s abilities. A great way for teachers to build understanding is to learn the background knowledge of all their students. I believe, in order to build content understanding teachers must learn the various backgrounds and needs of their students. In order for any sort of achievement to occur in the classroom, teachers must support the needs of every student. I will help my students discover their personal learning style (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic) and plan my instruction around their individual learning needs. I strongly believe that supporting the learning needs of each student is very important, especially at a young age. Assessments are an important part of a teacher’s planning. I believe that teachers need to plan assessments to be used before, during, and after their lessons. Whether formative or summative, assessments are essential because they provide instant feedback for teachers to base where he/she needs to take the lesson next.
In order for my students to succeed in the classroom, I must give proper instruction. Success, let alone proper instruction, cannot occur unless students feel safe and secure in their learning environment. I will create a safe and accepting learning environment within my classroom so that students feel free to express themselves both emotionally and intellectually. I will also establish positive teacher-student relationships with each one of my students. It is my goal to be an approachable teacher. Students shouldn’t be afraid to come talk to me if they have any questions or just want to have a conversation. It definitely makes the learning process easier when students feel comfortable enough to talk to their teacher.
Another important aspect of instruction is the engagement of students in the learning experience. In planning for complete engagement, it is essential that my students understand that every classroom activity is meaningful. To ensure that classroom activities are meaningful to my students, I will connect my lessons to students' previous knowledge, personal interests, and past experiences. I will apply my instruction in a passionate and exciting way. I will show my students that learning can be an exciting thing and it is okay to be passionate about an educational topic. When the teacher is passionate about the subjects being learned, the students will be more engaged in the learning experience.
Another main part of instruction is deepening student thinking. It is important to scaffold student understanding by posing higher-level open-ended questions. I plan to use these kinds of questions in my classroom. I will also use Bloom's Taxonomy to help establish clear and purposeful objectives for each lesson. Clear and purposeful objectives will help me plan and deliver proper instruction that deepens student thinking.
In addition to instructing educational concepts, there are several other things I want to teach my students. I will not only instill knowledge in my students, but I will help them develop a love and respect for themselves and others around them. I will help my students discover who they are as individuals and try to influence them to become active and positive members in their community. I want to help my students become critical thinkers who are prepared for the workforce. I will not only prepare my students for their futures, but I will encourage them to make the world a better place. I want to enable all of my students to reach their full potential as human beings.
Assessment is the final component of my philosophy. Assessments are the evaluation of the students’ ability to learn. Evaluation of student learning will be an extremely important component in each of my lessons. This is where I will be able to see which parts of my lesson worked and which did not. This is also where I will find out if my clear and purposeful objectives have been reached.
Feedback is an essential component of any classroom. I personally think that feedback needs to be instant and constructive. Instant feedback, while the assessment is still fresh in the student’s mind, gives the student the best opportunity to learn from that feedback. I believe that constructive criticism is very important, especially for elementary students. At a young age students need to hear criticism in a positive way, otherwise they will learn to reject all forms of feedback in the future.
I think it is important for teachers to use their students' as a source of feedback as well. If my students were unsuccessful or did not find meaning in the lesson, I think it is necessary to go back and reflect on what went wrong. It is my responsibility, as the classroom teacher, to make sure all students are able to reach the objectives and find meaning in every lesson. This is where the best teachers rewind and re-teach the lesson until all students reach every objective.
I strongly believe that education is the foundation of all of our knowledge. It makes every student unique and one of a kind. Through planning, instruction, and assessment, I can educate my students in a way that best suites them. Teachers must remember that every child has a different approach to learning, but we must capitalize on our students' unique differences, and do the best we can to provide all students with meaningful learning experiences. Teaching is a lifelong process of learning new ideas, concepts, and strategies. Teachers learn from parents, the community, co-workers, and most importantly their students. I believe children have a huge influence on adults in our society. They keep us young and remind us to cherish the little things. Author, Paulo Coelho says, “A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” I look forward to embarking on my lifelong journey of being a teacher.
Famous blues guitarist, B.B. King said it best, “The beautiful thing about learning, is that no one can take it away from you.” I strongly believe that a wholesome education is one of very few things that can never be taken away from you. Everybody has the right to an education and everyone should take full advantage of this incredible opportunity.
As teachers, it is our responsibility to make sure our students are getting the most out of every learning experience. We can do this through purposeful planning, proper instruction, and ongoing assessment. Teachers must plan to support the learning needs of all students as well as build content understanding. Instruction needs to engage students with a purpose and deepen students' thinking. Finally, assessment has to provide feedback and support student’s use of feedback.
Elementary education can be taught in multiple ways, so it is extremely important for teachers to build an understanding of their students so that they are able to plan accordingly based on student’s abilities. A great way for teachers to build understanding is to learn the background knowledge of all their students. I believe, in order to build content understanding teachers must learn the various backgrounds and needs of their students. In order for any sort of achievement to occur in the classroom, teachers must support the needs of every student. I will help my students discover their personal learning style (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic) and plan my instruction around their individual learning needs. I strongly believe that supporting the learning needs of each student is very important, especially at a young age. Assessments are an important part of a teacher’s planning. I believe that teachers need to plan assessments to be used before, during, and after their lessons. Whether formative or summative, assessments are essential because they provide instant feedback for teachers to base where he/she needs to take the lesson next.
In order for my students to succeed in the classroom, I must give proper instruction. Success, let alone proper instruction, cannot occur unless students feel safe and secure in their learning environment. I will create a safe and accepting learning environment within my classroom so that students feel free to express themselves both emotionally and intellectually. I will also establish positive teacher-student relationships with each one of my students. It is my goal to be an approachable teacher. Students shouldn’t be afraid to come talk to me if they have any questions or just want to have a conversation. It definitely makes the learning process easier when students feel comfortable enough to talk to their teacher.
Another important aspect of instruction is the engagement of students in the learning experience. In planning for complete engagement, it is essential that my students understand that every classroom activity is meaningful. To ensure that classroom activities are meaningful to my students, I will connect my lessons to students' previous knowledge, personal interests, and past experiences. I will apply my instruction in a passionate and exciting way. I will show my students that learning can be an exciting thing and it is okay to be passionate about an educational topic. When the teacher is passionate about the subjects being learned, the students will be more engaged in the learning experience.
Another main part of instruction is deepening student thinking. It is important to scaffold student understanding by posing higher-level open-ended questions. I plan to use these kinds of questions in my classroom. I will also use Bloom's Taxonomy to help establish clear and purposeful objectives for each lesson. Clear and purposeful objectives will help me plan and deliver proper instruction that deepens student thinking.
In addition to instructing educational concepts, there are several other things I want to teach my students. I will not only instill knowledge in my students, but I will help them develop a love and respect for themselves and others around them. I will help my students discover who they are as individuals and try to influence them to become active and positive members in their community. I want to help my students become critical thinkers who are prepared for the workforce. I will not only prepare my students for their futures, but I will encourage them to make the world a better place. I want to enable all of my students to reach their full potential as human beings.
Assessment is the final component of my philosophy. Assessments are the evaluation of the students’ ability to learn. Evaluation of student learning will be an extremely important component in each of my lessons. This is where I will be able to see which parts of my lesson worked and which did not. This is also where I will find out if my clear and purposeful objectives have been reached.
Feedback is an essential component of any classroom. I personally think that feedback needs to be instant and constructive. Instant feedback, while the assessment is still fresh in the student’s mind, gives the student the best opportunity to learn from that feedback. I believe that constructive criticism is very important, especially for elementary students. At a young age students need to hear criticism in a positive way, otherwise they will learn to reject all forms of feedback in the future.
I think it is important for teachers to use their students' as a source of feedback as well. If my students were unsuccessful or did not find meaning in the lesson, I think it is necessary to go back and reflect on what went wrong. It is my responsibility, as the classroom teacher, to make sure all students are able to reach the objectives and find meaning in every lesson. This is where the best teachers rewind and re-teach the lesson until all students reach every objective.
I strongly believe that education is the foundation of all of our knowledge. It makes every student unique and one of a kind. Through planning, instruction, and assessment, I can educate my students in a way that best suites them. Teachers must remember that every child has a different approach to learning, but we must capitalize on our students' unique differences, and do the best we can to provide all students with meaningful learning experiences. Teaching is a lifelong process of learning new ideas, concepts, and strategies. Teachers learn from parents, the community, co-workers, and most importantly their students. I believe children have a huge influence on adults in our society. They keep us young and remind us to cherish the little things. Author, Paulo Coelho says, “A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” I look forward to embarking on my lifelong journey of being a teacher.