It is common for one to decide their teaching philosophy based off of what we perceive to be good and reliable life morals. For that reason, I strongly believe that my teaching philosophy stems off of the idea that our main job as teachers is to give students a purpose. As seen before in the book, “Love Does,” by Bob Goff, “We won’t be distracted by comparison if we’re captivated with purpose.” This quote alone shows the constant battle and struggle I will face on a daily basis within the classroom. It is not enough to merely teach students facts and content knowledge. It is not merely enough to just teach students what it means to be a good student in the hallway. Statements such as these are based on the ultimate goal of guiding students to find their purpose rather than comparing themselves to the grade next to them.
I believe that teaching and learning should be the basis of everything in our world. It is essentially the foundation from which all society stems from. Students are ultimately born to learn and grow their internal knowledge so as to better understand themselves and the world around them. With this in mind, I believe that a successful learning environment is one where the students feel completely at ease and important. It is extremely devastating to have students in the classroom that don’t understand the concept of being known. Some students don’t think, and will never understand, that they are important. This is a concept that stands very high on my list of exceptional teacher duties.
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My duty as a teacher is to create an environment where my students feel known and important. When students feel this type of endearment from someone, they feel confident in their abilities to achieve. I believe students learn best when they feel like the teacher is an advocate for them as a person and a learner. Many times, it can be easy for a teacher to fall into the pit of disliking one student more than another. It can also be easy to believe that one student can achieve more than another. However, my job as a teacher is to believe in all my students equally. No matter what the student brings to the classroom, I am to view them all as glasses waiting to be filled.
I strive to be the type of teacher that teaches with the intention of comprehending and not just memorizing facts. I am not scared to be bold in the way I teach and approach content. I am not afraid of failing. I stem this philosophy off of Bob Goff who states, “People who take huge risks aren’t afraid to fail. In fact, they love to fail. It’s because failing means they found the edge.”
I believe a teacher is a person who will link a student to his/her future endeavors and guide them to find their purpose. I believe that a teacher is more than just an instructor and should realize this before entering the profession. I should be prepared to not only teach these students about reading, writing, and math. I should be prepared to teach them life lessons and what it means to believe in one's own capabilities. I believe that as a teacher I will need to be a model to my students and should hold this ideal to a higher standard. Students nowadays don’t always have role models in their lives who can teach them right from wrong.
My ultimate goal as a teacher is to strive to be the type that captures the students in a vulnerable state, to show them that purpose is more important than comparison. Students are constantly being compared to those around them. The school districts put students into categories of below standards, at standards, and exceeding standards. But aren’t these children more than just a test score or grade? Aren’t these students more than just a way to show off how good of a teacher you are? They are absolutely more than the grade they receive after taking an assessment. It is my job to help these students understand this simple concept of progress, not perfection. Students should not be trained to compare themselves to others, but rather to engage themselves in their own personal growth. Finally, I strive to be the type of teacher that makes students feel known--because everyone deserves to feel known in this world.
