Ciara Hall

Wendy Hamm

EDU201

3-8-16

“If the Corn Don’t Grow, Don’t Blame the Corn”

Each person has their own opinion as to what classifies a “good teacher”. Some say that a

good teacher is one who is organized and makes efficient use of class time. Some may say that a

good teacher is able to control her class and earn the students’ respect. These classifications,

including passion and creativity, are fairly widespread. Ask anyone and they will rattle off all of

these characteristics that classify good teaching. It is the experienced teacher, however, that will

offer a more in depth response, give detailed explanations of their teaching strategies, and attest

to how those strategies work for them and their students. This is known as a teaching philosophy.

A teaching philosophy is inspired by a teacher’s field observation, research, and actual

teaching experiences with students. It is inspired by education professors, other teachers, and

philosophers who help to build on that teacher’s thoughts and feelings about teaching. Each

teaching philosophy varies from teacher to teacher (Webb, Metha, and Forbis, 2009).

Multiple Intelligences
 I have always found Howard Gardener to be brilliant. His revelation that people each

have a primary intelligence, along with others that may not be quite as developed, is the center of

my personal teaching philosophy. Children do not all learn the same and some may learn more

efficiently if given a preferred outlet (Armstrong, 1999).

The way I plan on integrating Gardener’s brilliance into my teaching is to create learning

centers around the perimeter of my classroom. There will be a reading and writing center, for the

linguistic learners, which will have a wide selection of books organized on a shelf with some paper

and a writing utensil for them to record their thoughts and feelings about what they have read.

They will be strongly encouraged to keep these recordings as a journal for a writing score. Audio

books will also be available at this center for those who benefit more from a book being read aloud

(Armstrong, 1999).

For the Logical and mathematical learners, I will have a center set up with big, bright-

colored, foam numbers so that they can construct and display different math facts that they have

learned. They will be asked to show me the facts they have created and tell me, step by step, how

they came to the solution. They will be given a grade for this as well. It will be a game to see how

many facts they can remember and put together correctly within a certain amount of time

(Armstrong, 1999). Counting cubes and other similar mathematical tools will be available to aid

the students if necessary.

For the Musical learners, they will listen to a song about a subject they are learning in class

and get the choice to sing along. After listening and/or singing, they will be asked to give me an

oral report of what they learned from the song or what was made clearer to them through the song.

They will be encouraged to choose a song about a subject they have been struggling with so that,

after the song, it might be easier for them to understand (Armstrong, 1999).
 For the kinesthetic learners, I will have a motion oriented activity that has some relation to

a subject they are learning about in class. For example, if we are learning about syllables in words,

they will be asked to hop, stomp, or clap for the number of syllables they hear in the given word.

They will be given a grade for this (Armstrong, 1999).

For the spatial learners, they will be given art supplies to draw or make their own

representation of something they have learned. For example, if we are learning about shapes, they

will be asked to draw or glue foam shapes onto a piece of paper and tell me what they are. They

will be graded on how well they can name them (Armstrong, 1999). Also at this center, along with

the art supplies, measuring tools and cardboard could be set up to give students a creative outlet to

invent something of their own as yet another way to tap into their spatial intelligence.

Lastly, to keep their interpersonal and intra personal intelligences strong, I will be sure to

have talk and share time at the very beginning and end of the day. This way they will be able to

recognize their own feelings and thoughts as well as be able to appreciate those of their classmates.

These two are just as important as the other five intelligences and will not be ignored in my

classroom (Armstrong, 1999).

Some teachers may say that these Gardener-based centers would take too long to create

and then, would be too complicated to initiate and control. I strongly disagree with this opinion. If

one is planning to be a teacher, the first course of action is to go above and beyond. Start to think

about how much you are going to have to know each student in order to figure out what

intelligences they are strongest in and which ones they need to spend a little extra time fine-tuning.

As a teacher, you must teach, but you must also be the investigator and detective of learning styles

in order to build your classroom according to how your students learn. Be detail-oriented. A child’s

future depends on it! As for the learning centers not being well-managed, it falls on the teacher to
make sure that there is a designated allotment of time per day for center time. There must also be

a signal for the students to move, from center to center, such as music. The kids will get

accustomed to the routine quick, and they will more than likely love it and see it as a game! Each

opportunity that a teacher can take advantage of to make the classroom a fun and engaging learning

environment, the more students’ desire for knowledge will grow.

Bruner and Piaget

The way that children’s thinking develops is an interesting concept. They do not start out

with a concept of time or knowing how to think. All of this conceptual knowledge is constructed

in stages. Piaget could not have been more correct when he made this discovery (McLeod, 2015).

It is a teacher’s job to make certain that they know their students and to recognize when a

child may not quite be where they are expected to be developmentally. If this discovery is made,

after school tutoring is the necessary first step to get the child caught up with the rest of the class.

A nonobservant teacher may overlook this crucial mental delay, and claim that it is the student

not focusing on the material diligently enough. As a teacher, I plan to pay attention to this at all

times and to remember that a child is always building on their previous knowledge. If they

happen to come to my class behind in some area, it is not their fault at all. It is the fault of the

previous teacher or of a mental disorder. I will do all I can to help by meeting with their parent to

discuss tutoring options or further intervention if tutoring does not prove effective.

Ensuring that a teacher understands a child developmentally is very important, but

there is another aspect that must be addressed. Jerome Bruner’s idea of Constructivism expands
on Piaget’s cognitive theory. Bruner says that, based on previous knowledge, a child will create

new ideas and construct new knowledge as they learn. They must be able to apply their

knowledge and expand upon it, not merely absorb it in a rote way. In school, children often feel

as though what they are required to learn is absolutely pointless. It is the creative task of the

teacher to get them excited about the curriculum and to show them how they can apply it to their

lives. This way the children are able to use the knowledge to create their own ideas and expand

their mental potential (Culatta, 2015).

Progressivism and essentialism

My educational philosophy has some aspects of essentialism and progressivism.

Essentialism is a perspective in which a certain curriculum is taught (how to think and morals),

but allows for flexibility. This perspective is meant to prepare students for the real world and

provides practical knowledge. Academic skills are a large part of it, but students are always

shown the practicality of what they are learning (Cohen, 1999).

The idea that I have for center time heavily employs this perspective. The centers

are based off of academic skills and practical knowledge. Each student will be learning an

academic skill in his or her own way. Of course, the centers could evolve, due to the change of

learning styles of the students each year, but they will essentially stay the same. Having talk and

share will help with their communication skills in morals. As they discuss things with their

classmates, they will learn to wait their turn to speak, respect the opinions of others, and practice

honesty and transparency with their peers.

 Progressivism is a perspective that emphasizes having a focus on the whole child.

Often the administration of a school system gets so intent on seeing to it that the standards are

being taught that they disregard the best interests of the very students they are trying to

influence. It is extremely important, in this perspective, to create experiences for the child to

investigate and discover the world around them. It is largely focused on student interest and

questions. In progressivism, students learn by doing (Cohen, 1999).

Once again, this perspective shines through in my concept of centers. They get to

experience and learn according to what their strengths and weaknesses are. It gives them the

opportunity to determine in which areas their strengths lie and where growth is needed. A child’s

mind is a precious thing, so why not focus on it as a whole? Each part of their minds are capable

of brilliance. It will be my goal to explore and to help them explore themselves. As we get to

know one another better, the goal will be for us to all learn and grow from our experiences as a

classroom community.

Parting Thoughts

This entire paper focuses on the responsibility that falls on the teacher to make certain

that her students have the opportunity to grow and learn in the most uniquely affective manner.

In short, “If the corn don’t grow, don’t blame the corn.” If students just are not “getting it”, as

the classroom teacher, it is time to come back to the drawing board to create a new teaching style

that will work. Being a good teacher is about learning from your students in order to determine
what teaching/learning style should be used. It is vital, when it comes to teaching methods, to

never tire of adjusting them to meet the needs of the students.

From a student’s perspective, they must believe that they are capable of greatness before

they can achieve anything. This belief is called self-efficacy. In order for a student to develop a

strong sense of self efficacy, it is the teacher’s job to foster a positive learning environment in

which risks are encouraged and failures are seen as opportunities for growth. In this stimulating

atmosphere, students are able to explore their unique learning styles and learn what helps them to

process information best. Helping students believe that they can, so they can grow, is at the heart

of what makes a “good teacher”.

 References

Armstrong, T. (1999). Seven Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple

Intelligences, Plume; Rev Upd Su edition

Cohen, L. (1999). “Philosophical Perspectives in Education” OSU- School of Education.

Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

Culatta, R. (2015). “Constructivist Theory” retrieved from

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/constructivist.html

McLeod, S. A. (2015). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Webb, D. Metha, A. and Forbis, G. (2009). Foundations of American Education,

Pearson; 6 edition