My Philosophy of Education

The classroom must be student-centered, where the teacher encourages divergent ideas and multiple perspectives on issues. The classroom must promote students to be active in creating the climate and content. It is important that the students hold the power of learning in their education. By providing this type of control, the learning process will result in an increase purpose and enjoyment. The process of learning must emphasize learning by doing. That is, the instructor will assign hands-on projects and assignments that involve student interactions to promote the development of social skills. Spending less time focusing on textbooks to favor a more wide-range of learning resources is essential to encourage student involvement in the educational development. There is such a variety of learning tools in the world today that should be taken advantage of. The students should become versatile learners by exposing them to these diverse resources and leading the student to a more flexible learning environment. However, most of all, as an educator, my students need to know how much I truly believe in their success. Compassionate, loving, kind, caring, concerned; those are all traits that a teacher should have; traits that I will use when educating students. Every student deserves someone to be there for them, someone to treat them with respect. They need ears that will be willing to listen to them no matter what the conversation will be. Theorist, William Glasser, believed that your students need to know who you are and if you cant relate by talking to your students, youll never be a competent teacher. He felt teachers should tell their students about themself and what they stand for. I believe it is very important to just be yourself when you are teaching. You must let your students

understand the real you and be honest with them. Share stories with your students in hopes they will share some back. Get to know each of your students so you can have good conversations. The better we know someone and the more we like about what we know, the harder we will work for that person, Glasser once wrote. Good communication is the key to an outstanding education and that is why I, as an educator, create relationships with my students. Students deserve my time in the classroom, as well as outside the classroom. The true measure of teaching and learning is that the students have learned the concepts in the curriculum presented. Therefore, as an educator, I will make my schedule flexible based on their needs. I believe that my students will receive the attention they deserve, whether it is school related or not. I will have faith in my students and always enocurage them to succeed in my classroom. Learning should be fun and exciting because it is best conquered when enjoyed. I will make sure my students appreciate learning and keep my classroom atmosphere amusing and entertaining. The assignments will keep my students engaged and eager to learn while giving them a sense of joy and wonder. Learning in my classroom will be exciting for my students and will always boost their curiosity levels. Although I do think it is important to make learning fun, it is also important to keep your classroom under control. It is necessary to set clear guidelines right away so the students know what the expectations are. It is important to challenge students with assignments that will stimulate their thinking in a new way. I believe in motivating and inspiring student thinking rather than just solving the problems for them and providing them with answers. It is essential to demand student involvement in the classroom. Philosopher William Kilpatrick believed

the role of the teacher was to act as a guide by providing learning environments, experiences, and units of study in which students actively create meaning and knowledge. I too believe in guiding my students thinking in a very hands-on and investigative way. Kilpatrick and I also agree that students need to be taught in ways that allow them to create dynamic and meaningful connections to help constitute far more valuable learning. If students do not connect with what we are teaching, there will be no meaning or purpose in the learning process. A student who learns to perform a mathematical operation correctly simply learns it as a task, and not with any purposeful meaning, proclaimed Kilpatrick. Through this statement, William Kilpatrick is indicating that when teaching, you need to give the subject matter a reasonable meaning. In order to create meaning within my teaching, I will make sure there is a high level of conceptual understanding rather than memorization. Every assessment assigned, will relate to the learning goals with clear and precise directions so there will be no confusion. It is important to always encourage the students to over achieve. The students need to go above and beyond their own expectations. Feedback is a very powerful influence on learning and achievement so it is extremely important to me. Returning graded assignments to the students promptly with detailed feedback will improve their thinking. The feedback must improve the students confidence, self-awareness and enthusiasm for learning. My concluding goal is to inspire my students and influence them to become respectable independent people. The classroom should be memorable for them. The students leave with not only new profound knowledge but also someone they can always turn to if they need to talk. Teaching young minds is a task that cannot be taken lightly. It is full of challenges and responsibilities of which I am ready to accomplish. As my

career as an educator proceeds, I will always keep in mind that my teaching can and always will be improved.