teaching and learning, educational experience, goals for students

Running head: MY PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1

My Personal Teaching Philosophy

Exemplary Student

EDU 304

Instructor X

September 8, 2015

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When I think of my personal teaching philosophy, I think of passion and being

enraptured by the English language. I want my students to recognize the power that they can

have through their writing. I will feed their flame of creativity and encourage them to look within

themselves for inspiration. I know that teaching English is my calling, and I hope that my

students recognize that fire within myself. Through this paper, readers will recognize what life

will be like in my classroom and hopefully will take a piece of my passion into their daily lives.

According to the article “Enhancing Your Teaching Experience: Developing Your

Teaching Philosophy, Course Syllabus, and Teaching Portfolio” a “teaching philosophy refers to

an instructor’s views on the general purpose of teaching, how students learn, and how an

instructor may best intervene in the learning process” (Caughlin, p. 95). It is the backbone of a

teacher’s course planning. One form of philosophy that is aligned with my views of teaching is

progressivism. Teachers that utilize progressivism “believe that education should prepare

children for independent thinking in a democratic society” (Krogh, Fielstein, Phelps & Newman,

2015). I feel that it is important to shape a curriculum that includes the interests of the students. I

want them to feel a strong connection to their education and that their opinions matter. Our

textbook also mentions the philosophy of perennialism, which suggests uniformity in education

(Krogh et al., 2015). I do not agree with perennialism. Uniformity crushes creativity. The next

form of philosophy that our textbook mentions is essentialism, which is similar to perennialism

but includes “skills necessary for competing in a technologically advanced, global economy”

(Krogh et al., 2015). The thing from this philosophy that I will include is enforcing school and

classroom rules. It is important that students respect rules and authority. Social reconstructionism

is another form of philosophy, but its basic ideas of peace and tolerance aren’t exactly what I’ll

be focusing on in my classroom. The final form of philosophy that our textbook mentions is

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existentialism, “which suggests that reality is what one makes of it” (Krogh et. al., 2015). I

intend to include existentialism in my teaching. I love the idea behind it that we “choose to see

meaning” in our lives or we don’t; it’s completely up to us (Krogh et al., 2015). I want my

students to recognize that they can make their own lives meaningful and something truly worth

living for.

I don’t have any experience with teaching, yet, but I look forward to the day I get to start.

In high school, I had several teachers that positively impacted me, and I intend to use many of

their techniques. My high school biology teacher always made class entertaining, cracking jokes

and scaring students who were falling asleep in class. I also want to use humor as he did to help

make my class memorable. In my community college, I had an English teacher who really

encouraged me to pursue my love of writing and English. I want to be that same positive

influence in my students’ lives and help them achieve whatever dreams they may have.

One goal I have for my students is to ensure that all work will be completed by the

deadline. I want them to realize that they will have deadlines to meet all of their lives. A second

goal that I have for my students is to have them wanting to read more books other than the pieces

assigned to them. I want them to recognize that they can escape into any of the imaginary worlds

in books and detach from reality, even if it is only for a short while. A third goal I have for my

students is to have them more comfortable with speaking in front of their classmates. They need

to begin to experience what it’s like speaking to the public. Once they conquer that fear, they

will be even more prepared for life in the adult world. What I want to learn most through

teaching is how my students’ minds work. I want to hear firsthand what they are retaining and

what is annoying or baffling to them; through this experience, I will learn what I need to change

in my lesson plans. I believe that behaviorism will be the most beneficial learning theory in my

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classroom. Through behaviorism, we seek “explanations for how organisms learn by observing

behavior that can be measured” (Krogh et al., 2015). I will monitor my students and learn from

their habits and interactions and provide them with the best learning environment I can.

One professional development goal I have for myself is to complete my Master’s degree.

By obtaining this higher degree, I will be eligible for higher pay and potential advancement. A

second professional development goal I have for myself is to attend different conferences and

learn about new teaching techniques and how we can improve ourselves as educators. I plan to

remain a lifelong learner by always reading new books. By reading new books, I broaden my

educational horizons and also have new material to teach my students. I will continue to learn

new trends by vigilantly researching the newest educational materials and applying those things

in my classroom. All of these things will make me an informed and effective teacher.

As teachers, we must always put our students first. We need to nurture their developing

young minds but do so in a way that also shows them we have the control and authority. Most

importantly, we need to be the creative voice for them and show them all the beauty the world

has to offer as long as they follow their dreams. There is far too much negativity in the world,

and I intend on being a positive guiding light to my students.

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References

Caughlin, D.E. (2014). Enhancing your teaching experience: Developing your teaching

philosophy, course syllabus, and teaching portfolio. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational

Psychologist, 52(2), pg. 94-99.

Krogh, S., Fielstein, L., Phelps, P. & Newman, R. (2015). Introduction to education: Choosing

to teach. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.