Ashley Roman

Professor Suk

EDUC 230-01 Education Field Experience

Spring 2017

To Be a Teacher

To be a teacher is to be a flower; from seedling (student), to sprout (student teaching), to

blossoming (teaching), it is to use both art and science to promote learning. Experience may be

the best teacher for a teacher. That is, a future teacher can learn from past teachers who they want

to be and who they never want to be. Furthermore, a teacher can take into account the ideas of

other philosophies. For example, the ideas surrounding progressivism that promote student

engagement in activities will help a student grow in a subject. Thus, a teacher is able to create the

environment of their choosing based on experience as well as through the use of other

philosophies such as progressivism and aesthetic education.

To start, experience offers an individual multiple lessons, which in turn shapes their

beliefs and thoughts of the future. Through my years of elementary and secondary school, I have

only had a handful of teachers that have influenced my life positively. In recalling the total

amount of teachers that were consistent in my schooling, only three out of a total of forty-seven

teachers were admirable. From my experiences with these teachers, I have taken away who I

want to be in the future. That is, I want to be a teacher who holds onto every positive adjective

there is. I want to be the teacher who encompasses equality for all and learning for all. When a

student struggles, I will offer them the help that they need in order to succeed. When a student

needs someone to listen to them, I will do so. When a student needs positive reinforcement, I will

be happy to tell them, Wonderful work, or, That is excellent! These three teachers have

taught me to be there for all students, to never single anyone out, to respect everyone within the
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classroom, and to embrace laughter and accept personal mistakes. I hope to one day be half the

teacher that these three have taught me. In short, though I do appreciate all that each teacher

contributes to a students growth, these three specific teachers have significantly shaped me into

the teacher I want to be.

Furthermore, as a teacher, it is imperative to set a vision for the culture of the classroom

as well as how a lesson should be taught. Among the numerous philosophies, I know that I will

combine the ideas of progressivism and aesthetic education. The progressivism view takes into

account the importance of social factors; In Deweys view, students should be active

participants in their own learning; they learn by doing, and their interests must be a driving force

behind curriculum and classroom experiences (42). With that in mind, I am firm believer in

allowing students to learn through practice. Keeping a student engaged in the classroom enables

them to achieve their goals while boosting the morale of the classroom. Similarly, one can

further apply Deweys framework with aesthetic education; This perspective values the

personal liberty of children and celebrates the imagination for its ability to open a childs mind to

different possibilities and alternative solutions (45). As majority of my future students will be

of ages twelve to eighteen, it is imperative to give them liberty within the classroom. That is,

they will be given the freedom to construct projects and work in groups or individually. With

restriction of freedom often comes boredom, but with selection comes new choices. In pairing

the ideas of progressivism and aesthetic education, I will be a teacher who allows students the

freedom they need while promoting growth in knowledge.

In addition, in order to implement my thoughts of teaching, I will use a combination of

my experiences as well as progressivism ideas and aesthetic education ideas. To create a

welcoming environment, I will great each student every day of my job. I will also be the teacher

who comes in early and stays late to ensure everyone has an opportunity to get extra help. I will
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also be the teacher who listens to what a student has to say. With such an environment, I hope

that a classroom feels nothing like school, but rather a home environment. With the use of

individual and group activities, students will be engaged in the art and science of mathematics.

That is, students will be given a prompt on all projects and the freedom to choose how they wish

to present that project. Whether it is through a presentation or the construction of shapes to area,

choices are endless. Of course, as the teacher I will show students examples of the project to get

their minds thinking. I will also offer any assistance or supplies should they need it. It is evident

that my future classroom environment and future students will only be put to the highest

standards and beyond, to ensure individual and class growth, and to ensure a positive and happy

environment.

A flower grows with time and care, just as a teacher grows the experience, prior

knowledge, and the use of other philosophies. In doing so, a teacher can become the person that

all students must have. A person that is caring, polite, honest, helpful, and every positive

adjective there is to list. I intend on being that teacher, one that everyone can come to and trust to

listen. As a whole, I firmly believe in an environment that feels similar to a home and individual

and group work to promote learning.

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Works Cited:

Koch, Janice. (2015). Teach3: Introduction to Education. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.