Teaching is a special occupation. More of a calling than a job. Those that pursue this career do not do so for the prestige, privilege, or salary. They do so for the students. The students are the singular most important consideration of any decision made by a classroom teacher. This is the underpinning of my teaching philosophy: it is all about the kids.
The primary task of a teacher is to facilitate learning. Learning, to me, is the process in which students are able to synthesize knowledge. Then, the knowledge can be applied in practical, meaningful, and observable ways. This application of knowledge is reflected in the designated content objectives for particular lessons. Learning in the classroom must be gauged and observed in firm yet flexible terms. That being said, assessment is paramount to determining if learning is occurring in a learning situation. A successful learning situation allows a student to explore and inquire while being engaged in the activity and with the content. Student demonstration of what they can do with newly acquired knowledge serves as formative assessment to inform further instruction and activity formation. Learning, however, differs from mastery. I hold the belief that one is never done learning and that mastery is never achieved in the strictest sense of the word. Fostering a growth mindset in my students is important to me, and I hope to instill a life-long thirst for knowledge in every one of my students.
Teaching is a word used so often in a myriad of different contexts within the education sphere. What I’ve noticed is that when two different people use the word “teaching”, they are often referring to two wildly differing ideas. Does it mean administering a worksheet? Or lecturing? Or an inquiry-based lesson? Answers to these questions will differ according to each person they are posed to. Teaching to me, however, means something special. I’ve held a grandiose idea about teaching since I was a child and have developed it with a radical optimism throughout my secondary and higher education. Teaching is providing students opportunities to discover patterns and ways in which the world works. It involves allowing students the freedom to explore and to make mistakes. There’s also a fine balance between celebrating student success and encouraging them to go farther. Making it clear in a gentle and caring manner that they can never master a subject and that there is always more to learn. Students need to be engaged in an activity and personally motivated to perform a task or complete an activity. To do this, a fair amount of entertaining is needed. Teaching is, in many ways, a performance. The audience needs to buy into the world of a theatrical play in much the same way the class needs to buy into the importance of the content and why they need to know it. The teacher does not fill the students with knowledge as if they are empty vessels for it is clear that students do not arrive in the classroom as blank slates, but have a tremendous wealth of past knowledge and experiences that they bring into the classroom.
My hope is for students in my class to walk out of my classroom on the last day of school with all of the knowledge and skills required by the Minnesota state standards, but I want my students to have much more than that. Hopefully I will also instill empathy, a zeal and enthusiasm for learning and trying new things, a mindset of celebrating mistakes, and the confidence to always ask “how?” and “why?” I want students to analyze what they read, hear on the television, or hear a family member or friend say with a critical lens. I feel compelled to instill an awareness of social justice in their community and the world at large and to encourage my students to be active participants of the social change that they feel strongly about.
To facilitate learning I will utilize various methods. When I teach, I primarily use project-based learning. Writing with purpose, reading with motivation, acquiring math and science skills through inquiry - these are the ideals with which I hope to facilitate in my classroom. I hope to foster creativity and generate genuine excitement in my classroom. This is a fairly daunting task, and one that scares the living daylights out of me. This is the standard that I hold myself to, and I will surely falter several times, but I will get up and try again. Students do much more than just get filled with knowledge in public schools. Students are taught to think critically, inventively, to care for themselves and others, to express themselves and share their ideas, all while navigating a complex system of social and institutional interactions that exist at school. To me, the work of a public school teacher is at times overwhelming, but you get out of bed every morning thinking of that student that is so close to understanding a concept. Or to see that student that is excited to write more about their favorite book and share it with anyone that will listen. Or to support that student that just needs a pair of ears to listen to her.
Interactions between a teacher and his students is incredibly important. It is through everyday interactions and conversation that mentoring, advising, and support occur. I hope to be a caring, and constant pillar of support for my students. Especially those that may not always have caring adults in their lives. It is an awesome responsibility and is, frankly, one of my biggest reservations of entering the profession. The role of a teacher in a young student’s life is significant and can be life-changing. I’ve experienced this first-hand, I know the impact a teacher has had on my life, an impact that has set me on this trajectory of pursuing the life of a public servant. To have a similar effect on my students would be one of my greatest accomplishments.
I plan and hope to continually grow as a professional and reflective practitioner. It is inevitable that I will learn something new just about every day I am in a classroom. I anticipate my students will teach me much about myself, my interactions with others, pedagogy, the role of assessment, and how I view the world. My hope is that I can have the humility to be uncomfortable, be wrong, and to be embarrassed in my own classroom for that is when growth as both a person and an instructor can take place.