Amanda Symens

EDTE 255
2/12/15
My Personal Philosophy on Teaching
Teaching is a challenging job with many unique frustrations but
the rewards of teaching are very fulfilling. As a future teacher, I am so
excited to be able to experience the incredible joy of seeing the
difference I hope to one day make in a childs life. Every day, teachers
mold the future through impacting their students views and
understandings. I want to inspire my future students like my previous
teachers did for me. I want to make a positive difference in the lives of
many students. I will make decisions inside and outside of the
classroom every day, as a challenge I am willing to accept and put my
heart and soul into. I will present many unique and opportunities to
promote learning and personal growth in the students I encounter.
Although teaching is a very rewarding experience, it is also a highly
challenging one that will test me in ways I have not been tested
before. This personal philosophy will help guide me into making
informed decisions about meeting the educational and instructional
needs of a diverse group of students. It will help guide me when I am
structuring my classroom, teaching students, and responding to
problems.

First off, I will be aware of the diversity I am likely to encounter in

my classroom. Students come to school with very diverse life
experiences ranging from ethnic and cultural backgrounds,
socioeconomic status, and differences in language. Some of my future
students will have differences in levels of ability, achievement,
motivation and intellect. Some may have physical disabilities, or
intellectual, disabilities, learning, emotional, social, or behavioral
disabilities that may or may not effect their achievement. Some of my
students may be exceptionally gifted and creative and some may just
fit into the norm. This varying range of diversity will shape my teaching
and the choices I make about methods, techniques, and strategies I
employ into my classroom. I will ensure that I do not radiate the selffulfilling prophecy theory with any student. Every student should be
provided with equal opportunities to learn.
I will begin my career by considering all students level of thinking
when I am designing curricula and activities because students will
benefit from experiences that are within their cognitive reach. I will
thoughtfully plan with each students best interest in mind so I can
create a caring and supportive classroom community. During
instruction, I will encourage my students to be active learners and to
link new concepts to their prior knowledge. I will consider how the
social setting within the classroom, as well as the larger cultural
context may affect my students learning. Reinforcement and praise will

be my go-to when motivating my students in their education as well as

their behavior. I will establish norms and expectations for the behavior
of my students by creating classroom rules and consequences,
procedures and routines. When students do not abide by these rules I
will use a contingency contract to come to an agreement with the
student that specifies the appropriate student behavior, the
inappropriate student behavior, and a description of consequences for
both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. I plan to create
proactive classroom environment to promote high task engagement
and positive attitudes that prevent misbehavior.
I plan to take steps to anticipate misbehavior so I can prevent it
from occurring in the first place. I will be aware and responsive to
students behaviors at all time by scanning the classroom frequently so
I can read students facial expressions and body language to interpret
the mood of the class as a whole. If my students are getting restless
and losing interest I will make adjustments to the lesson to raise the
level of student engagement. I will deal with any potential
misbehavior without interrupting the flow on an on-going lesson or
activity so others can learn without disruptions. I will make every
attempt to keep as many students as possible actively engaged in
appropriate activities.
I will make a conscious effort to establish a climate for positive
relationships with all of my students by taking a proactive approach to

my classroom management so positive relationships can flourish and

optimal behavior and learning can occur. I plan to support positive,
supportive peer relationships between the students, which can benefit
them for greater social adjustment as well as greater academic
success. I will establish a great family-school relationship and parental
involvement in education as a way to close demographic gaps in
achievement and maximize the students potential. I will communicate
with parents to better understand conditions in a students home life
that may affect classroom behavior and learning. Students are
benefitted in various ways from good communication between home
and school and a shared commitment to support students education.
I plan to manage my time wisely by having my materials ready in
advance and by selecting materials that are directly useful during
instruction. I will use consistent routines for delivering information
about assignments and will consistent remind my students that class
time is for work related activities and that students will be held
accountable for their work. I will do my very best to teach about the
relevance of my lessons and assignments so my students are able to
fully understand the specific context in which that particular
knowledge is useful. I will plan well-designed activities so my students
can better understand when, where, and why to use particular
strategies and pieces of information. When planning my assessment I
will provide feedback on students progress and level of achievement,

guide and motivate students in their own learning, improve the general
effectiveness of instruction, and identify any modifications that can be
made to better meet the needs of individual students. I plan to monitor
how well my planned strategy of teaching is working so I can
emphasize to students the importance of understanding classroom
material, and help them when they fail to do so. Each student will have
their own set of intellectual strengths and weaknesses, so I want to
incorporate Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences into my curricula
as much as possible so every student has a chance to learn to the best
of their ability.
I hope that my personal philosophy will help guide me in my
future career as a teacher. I will take these values with me and will
abide by them to the highest extent.