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Shakeyna Godman
April 8, 2017
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Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to be a teacher. For the younger children too.
Kids are great, funny, really small and cute, blunt, liers, truthful, deep, understanding, and I want
inspiration, THAT person who promotes knowledge, understanding, and life skills into my
students. Over the years I have had many great teachers with a zest for their profession. One
being a woman named Mrs. Bristow my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. B for short, she was hands down
one of the greatest women I have ever met, outside of my mother. She inspired me to learn, not
just what was in the textbook but from life and experiences. As I grew older another teacher
comes to mind and she was my 9th grade World History teacher, Ms. Nealey. Ms. Nealey was
my radical, know thyself type of teacher. Her greatest lesson was a challenge for to me was to
seek true historical accounts and to always observe as many sides of the argument you can.
These teachers and other contributing factors leading to a life of a pursuit of knowledge and
promoting the education of our youth. Wisdom in life is earned through experience, not learned.
I offer my future students my wisdom of life, what it offers and what you have to take. I am a
woman of understanding who will often see beyond the surface to the deeper problem. Dramatics
are my life. I love to put on a show for others and will use this to show my students that learning
I am a mixture of beliefs and those beliefs all focus on the betterment of myself and others. I
believe we have a choice on who we become, but we are a product of our environment until we
become self aware. Leading us toward personal growth whether positive or negative. My
Educational Philosophies are focused on my students as the center, with an emphasis on self and
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societal development. (Parkay & Stanford, 2007 p. 126) My personal beliefs align along with
Progressivism which is, according to Parkay, the belief that education should be child
centered the content of the curriculum ought to be derived for students interests rather than
from the academic disciplines.(p.128) Meaning I want to see my students learn what would be
relevant and interesting them. I would try to tailor my lesson to help students gain knowledge of
the world, with regards to their everyday life interests. Existentialism, according to Parkay,
offers the individual a way of thinking about my life, what happens for me, what is true for me
(p.130) I have always advocated self reflection and want students to think about what
information has to do them? Why is learning this subject of any importance to me? Social
Reconstruction from Parkays explanation holds that school should take the lead in changing or
reconstructing the current social order. (p.132) I do believe that if changes are to be made it is
always important for the up and coming generation to always think about what we make better or
what is unjust. If students aren't taught to question they will never truly be consciously
productive members of society. Becoming a teacher I believe I wille most likely use a
students. Along with these philosophical orientations the a mixture of the humanist and
constructivist psychologies fit well into my belief system. I want the closeness and interpersonal
relationships that humanism gives you; with the cognitive processing to construct understanding
material to be learned (Parkay, p.137) I want my students to be self aware but also be able to
process information in a critical way that would help them resolve any problem or figure out any
situation. Although, I find that my beliefs align with certain philosophical and psychologies I
cannot discount the others as I see certain parts of myself in those as well.
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The way a classroom is setup sets the tone for the class and how it is run. I would like to set in
class up is small groups, so it is easier to break off in groups to complete assignments. I would
like to have many group discussions as it teaches students the value of expressing their opinions.
Moving groups are important and this was on aspect I loved the most about school from
elementary to college. There is something about moving around that made me feel like I was
having fun and learning. Readers theatre and drama skits are always fun especially if there are
amiture actors/actresses in the class. Over the years I have learned that not all students are
brilliant test takers so I plan to use mini assessment to help understand if my students are
learning. I will not do away with all testing but I will change it up so students are not always
bombarded with test. One example, would be to have a math challenge to see who knows all of
their multiplication tables. As a black woman I have seen that many classrooms are set up to
reach one demographic most times. I would like to incorporate pictures from different world
cultures because just seeing a picture people who look like you, can make a room more inviting.
Also, I hope to incorporate a variety of stories about other cultures into my lessons as to aid in
cultural understanding.
In order to continue or even begin in this field you need the tenacity to keep toward your goals
and to deal with every involved in the running of the school. Patience is a must, which I am
continuously working on for the future benefit of myself and students. Lastly a willingness to do
the work of a teacher. I have seen that it is a life consuming job and if you do not have a
Reference
Parkay, F. W., & Stanford, B. H. (2007). Becoming a teacher (9th ed.). Boston, MA: