Philosophy of Education

Teaching is not usually a profession you see a lot of college students choosing
for their career. I believe there are certain types of people who enjoy helping others
grow, learn and succeed, and I consider myself as one of those individuals. I have
always wanted to be a math teacher since I was first asked “what do you want to be
when you grow up” as a child. I have had the experience of tutoring in high school and
throughout my college career as well. I am a bubbly, determined, comforting person,
which I believe comes from my upbringing. I grew up in a big Italian family who always
supports, cherishes and loves one another. We also have the downsides when we
argue, but it has taught me how to overcome obstacles in the best way I can.
Throughout my life I have been involved in numerous clubs and organizations in high
school, whether it be volleyball, student council, student ambassadors, which is a
mentor program to help freshman, etc. I am now involved in the teaching internship
program and belong to the sorority Alpha Chi Omega. All of these organizations have
helped me grow not only as a person, but also by adjusting to the world and
environment around me. I believe teaching incorporates all of the growth that I can
provide to the students, and adapting to all the new classrooms and children that I will
be leading.
To me, the purpose of education is to provide a framework for students to learn
and absorb information to further their achievements in life. The role of a teacher is
through guidance and providing a comfortable and open classroom between the
students and myself. As an incoming teacher, I want to help students achieve their
goals and help them grow in and out of the classroom. Before I can help the students,
though, I need to be able to help myself. My attitude towards the students in the
classroom can only be established if I have a positive attitude towards myself. Once I
have that mastered, the other will all fall into place. When it comes to the community, I
want to also build those relationships with my fellow faculty and the students guardians
as well. I think having a close faculty will help by making lesson plans together, and
staying steady in our curriculum as a team. Also, knowing I will have people in the
school to rely on and confide in. Having strong communication with parents is also
extremely important. Some things I may see in the classroom, the parents might not see
at home, so comparing student’s home and school lives can be controlled
simultaneously. The role of a student is respecting the instructor, staying engaged
through lessons, and bettering themselves.
Every student, classroom, lesson and day will be different, and if I can treat
everyday as a new learning experience for myself as well as the students, I will be able
to succeed as well. Getting to know the students as a whole is important, but getting to
know them individually will be even more beneficial. Every student is different, their
desires, needs, personalities and for me, learning all of that information will help to
teach them in the best way possible. Some students may not agree with my teaching
style or relate well and stay engaged during my lessons, and I know getting every
student to be engaged will be a challenge. Adjusting to those students and the
classroom I have for each period will aid in having discussion and an interactive
classroom environment. Repetition is important when focusing on rules and procedures
I will implement in the classroom.
In order to implement rules and maintain order within the classroom, I will focus
on repetition and beginning the school year with my guidelines and plan everyday.
Repetition, as I stated before, is super important in getting my point across to the
students. Setting those objectives early in the classrooms provides my students with the
expectations they should meet. Some tools and resources I would want to utilize include
Socrative, Quizizz, worksheets, etc. With Socrative, I want to make a short quiz every
start of class based on the previous lesson. This will help me see where the kids are at,
how well they absorbed the information, and how well I taught the lesson. From there, I
can use their answers to adjust my lesson and reflect on the things I can change for the
following lessons. Along the same idea comes Quizizz, in which, if Chromebooks or
large use of technology is available in my future school district, I can have students take
multiple quizzes during the class period and can only move onto the next one once they
receive a certain score or higher. This will help me see how their progression levels vary
during the year.
Getting a successful classroom environment needs to be built from the start. I
want to greet all students at the door starting on the first day for the rest of the year, in
order for the students to get used to my classroom. I will have a seating chart so I can
learn the students names to build a stronger connection to each student individually.
After that, repeating their names throughout each day will help the students know that I
care and want to build those relationships with my class and have a safe and
comfortable classroom.
Reflection is key to forming lesson plans and having a successful classroom.
Depending on how the students comprehend the lesson, how actively they participated
and their grades from quizzes/tests of that material will help me correctly reflect on the
lesson for that day. Not only should my reflection occur after the lesson, but before and
even during. My lesson plan isn’t always going to go the way I expect it to, but nothing
in life ever does. When that happens, adjustment is key, my job is to ensure that the
conversations flow and the students are getting the most out of the lesson.
This philosophy will provide me with a layout of my goals to become an effective
teacher for my classroom. I know things will not always go as planned but adaptation is
important for myself to grow as a teacher, and that will be the best way to guide my
students and help them grow.