Final Post: My Philosophy of Education

Teaching is one of the many professions that a person cannot just wake up one morning and decide to do. It takes a lot of training and a clear set of personal values. These values are expressed as a philosophy of education. My philosophy is based on my beliefs that all children deserve a quality education, the importance of appropriate communication, and appropriate interaction with others. It is also my belief that I conduct myself as a professional and as a role model for my students. In addition, my philosophy describes how I envision myself as a teacher.
As a future teacher, I believe that all children deserve the right to be educated. All children are seeking knowledge, and they should expect a teacher to be capable of providing the knowledge they desire in an understandable manner. Teachers, on that other hand, should expect their students to come to class ready to learn, ready to be challenged, open minded, and willing to accept new things. Children learn best through hands-on activities, experiences that provide new information in a safe, positive, and encouraging environment. As stated in Susan Jindrich article, How Children Develop. The purpose of education is to provide the opportunity for all people to learn the skills that are necessary to live a productive life. In a safe learning environment, children are able to master the basics skills of reading, writing, mathematics, history, and science. The public schools should be able to assist children if they are having other types of problems in school and/or at home, because such problems can have a negative impact on their learning process.
Being a teacher requires that I communicate and interact well with my students, their parents, and my colleagues. I must feel comfortable talking with the students as a group as well as speaking with my students individually. In order to feel comfortable doing these things, I will practice speaking aloud while teaching a large number of people who will give me formal feedback on my performance. As a teacher, I must also communicate with my students’ parents whether via telephone, e-mail, direct mail, or personal conferences in order to inform them of their children’s performance. In order to do this I will send out a letter at the beginning of the year asking parents what method of communication they prefer. I should also be able to communicate and interact with other teachers, administrators, and other school district employees in a professional manner during staff meetings, workshops, and other education related events.
The importance of an educator’s level of professionalism cannot be understated. I will be well behaved and act in a professional matter at all times. My attitude and behavior set the tone for a positive atmosphere and provides a model for student behavior. In order to maintain a positive tone, I will refrain from allowing any personal matters to interfere with students’ learning. I will not share my personal affairs with my students or speak negatively about my colleagues, administrators, other students, or other school/district employees while students are in my presence. Being a model of self-restraint for my students is another role that I will perform as a teacher. In order to make sure that I am being a positive role model, I will always make sure that I am doing what I expect of my students.
Being a good teacher differs from being an effective teacher. Effective teachers are the ones who know their subject areas, and they take the time to have that one-on-one connection with their students. Effective teachers are the ones who inspire students to eagerly learn and hopefully continue to further their education. I envision myself to be that effective teacher. In order to be that effective teacher, I will take that time to have a personal connection with my students, making myself available to assist them in anyway that I can. Personal integrity is a value that I will bring into my classroom. Children have enough people in their lives already lying and breaking promises to them everyday. Since school is supposed to be a safe “get-away” place for children to look forward to, I will be honest to my students and keep the promises that I make to them.
Teaching is not a profession that a person can wake up one morning and decide to do. A clear set of personal values that are expressed as a philosophy of education lays the foundation. My own philosophy is centered on my beliefs that all children deserve an education, importance of appropriate communication and interaction with others, professionalism and personal behavior sets the tone, and effective teacher matters. My philosophy is just a start and is subject to change as I continue my training from people who know the education profession well.