My Philosophy on Teaching

Lifelong learning, engaging students with hands-on, motivating learning activities, and creating a safe environment in which students feel safe and capable to make connections, create, and evaluate their own learning will be the philosophy that guides me as I embark on my teaching career.

I believe that teaching is a lifelong learning process. It is the one profession where there is always something new to know and to learn. Effective teachers never stop learning and searching for the ideal. There is always a better technique or strategy to be discovered, used, and perfected. Teachers who make a difference have a passion for learning. They share their enthusiasm, knowledge, and philosophies of learning with the future leaders, physicians, scientists, and, of course, tomorrow’s educators.

My philosophy is that children learn best from experiencing, doing, and creating. Students and adults alike can obtain facts momentarily with a computer and search engine at hand. Today, teachers are faced with the challenge of not just focusing on trivial facts. They must teach children how to “think” beyond the facts. Students must be able to collaborate, communicate, and create as well as successfully take a standardized test. Finding this balance will not be an easy task.

I strongly feel that all children can learn. They just learn differently and at different rates. Educators must differentiate instruction so that the needs and intelligences of all children can be met. Children are motivated when they are given choices in their learning experiences. Teachers should not be dictators that only hand out rules and assignments. They should create an environment in which their students feel that they are part of a democracy where they are safe and secure.

The teacher’s role in education is to stimulate, motivate, and in the end, teach their students to learn. Good teachers strive to understand their students and the reasons for their behavior. Fred Rogers stated, “There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you know their story.” I hope to remember that statement as I am learning to build a classroom community with my students regardless of all of the unpleasant attitudes that they may bring to my classroom. Teaching is a work of the heart. You must work just as hard at developing a caring and trusting relationship with your students as you do at teaching the curriculum and standards.

In conclusion, my philosophy of teaching includes continuing to learn long after I earn my bachelor’s degree, striving to explore new methods and techniques that motivate my students to learn, and reaching out to understand my students’ emotional needs for safety and acceptance. This philosophy will help me to be the effective teacher that I plan to be.