Madison Moore’s Educational Philosophy Statement

Madison Moore’s Educational Philosophy Statement

Madison S. Moore

Prof. Robert Wolfe

ETEC- 424 –01W

June 30, 2019

 Madison Moore’s Educational Philosophy Statement
2

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew

yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” – Neil

DeGrasse Tyson.

There are many important purposes for teaching, one is to help students understand lessons that

they need to know to better their future and to be able to use the knowledge they learn to better

themselves and help them with their careers. Every student has a different career in mind, and

like in college, they follow a career plan that provides them with classes that they need. High

school is different, as students learn more general knowledge that prepares them to take it up to

the next level of education. Teaching is about preparation, and the building up a mental database

of skills, building a general knowledge and exposing them to various portions of career goals.

High School is about finding passion, and college is about expanding on said passion until it

becomes a job, but overall, school brings experience in the form of general knowledge, and it

must be taught fairly.

Another purpose is to help give them confidence and encouragement to be able to achieve their

goals and to help them with subject they are struggling with. School is stressful, however an

ideal way to teach is to not make them hate school, with dropouts as a possibility, a student needs

to know that school is fair, and helpful resources are available if they need it. Instructors need to

be motivational, they need to be able to provide students with words of encouragement and offer

to them resources that can get them through school. Mental state is important, and making sure

students are well motivated and comfortable is the key to allowing a student to get through

school with the ideal mental state to move forwards.

Hands on Learning is the principle that stands out the most to me, because our best teachers are

ourselves in the end. For someone to truly learn something, they need to not only show an
 Madison Moore’s Educational Philosophy Statement
3

interest in the said lesson, but they need to be taught it and shown how to demonstrate it

themselves. To learn something, one must replicate it themselves. The lesson needs to have a

driving and comfortable factor behind it, and it must not be forced into their heads without

reasoning. Lessons cannot be simply spoken to a student. A well received lesson needs to be

demonstrated to them carefully and intricately. In school, a student is trying to learn as much as

they can in terms of knowledge to prepare them for life. However, a problem is that for some

students, lessons are more of something quickly remembered for tests and forgotten soon after.

Truly learning something all depends on the person, their interests, and what they desire to

accomplish. An artist will follow their instructors directions, if it is something that they desire to

learn, in example, a new sculpting technique. They will follow closely and replicate the steps,

practicing it until they get it right. It is about the motives and the drive to learn something that

matches one's interests. Everyone learns things differently, while some may memorize

everything on math, it is all about their mental drive and how they want to build themselves as a

person.

As a future teacher, I believe that a student can learn best from interactive and hands on learning,

however, it is not something that needs to be done with minimal contribution. Computers are

nice for the classroom, but a person behind a computer adds the only thing that students don’t

have when working with technology, Emotion. Patience and a healthy relationship with students

is what can really help guide them in the course. A Beneficial thing about technology is that it

provides countless resources that an instructor can access and use while in the learning space.

For example, a Smartboard has the ability to bring a more colorful and interactive way of

teaching to the classroom, as a teacher can not only show students videos and previously

published guides and lessons, they can mark on it, and provide personal feedback.
 Madison Moore’s Educational Philosophy Statement
4

Another important strategy in teaching is providing an inspiring presence, showing passion for

the subject that one is teaching, and creating an environment in which everyone feels involved

without too much pressure can create a good teaching environment. In school I always enjoyed

seeing teachers enthusiastic about the subject they were teaching, and seeing a teacher thrilled

about lessons always has motivated me to want to learn more both in and out of class. One

teacher that comes to mind would be my high school art teacher Mr. Clumpner, any time a

student would be in his class he always promoted different discussions with them and helped

them find what they think of topics and figure out want they wanted to do with their talents

whether it was art related or not. Some students may struggle, but as an instructor, motivation

and assurance that help is close by can really allow for students to find a reason to work harder.

Fairness is also a factor, and an instructor needs to assure students that although classes are going

to be a calmer and collected experience, grading will be done fairly. An instructor cannot resort

to their class being considered a “Blow-Off” class by students, because it needs to be taught with

high expectations for the well-being of those students. Classes need to be somewhat of a fair

challenge, and in the end, leave students feeling accomplished knowing that they received a fair

and resourceful class.

Instructing students is important, because it paves the way for their futures in the end. Teachers

are stepping stones in preparing students for the world, and creating an ideal environment where

students feel like they can express themselves and find proper guidance.