Educational Goals and Philosophy
There is only one incentive that makes me want to be a teacher, but that one incentive comes along with so many everlasting rewards that I have enough motivation to teach for a lifetime. I have always felt a strong desire to help people, so when I began my college career I decided to major in Psychology. Unfortunately, the yearning I felt to help people was not being fulfilled. I wanted to interact with people young and old, male and female, and of all different ethnicities. I needed to be able to touch someone’s life and allow them to touch mine in the same way. The opportunity to help students, parents, other faculty members, and the community is my incentive to teach.
One of the most important factors of teaching is being able to understand the nature of students. It is my personal belief that no two students are alike. You will find students that share similar interests, have values that are alike, and some students that even use the same learning techniques, but the point is, no two students are exactly the same. The diversity of a classroom allows for more than just textbook knowledge to be learned. It is my opinion that students who learn respect for each others cultures, values, and individual traits will become more knowledgeable than those who can regurgitate their curriculum in their sleep. My personal educational philosophy directly ties into this; I am a firm believer in Progressivism. I feel that schools and curriculum both should be directly tied with the matters, interests, and real-world experiences of students.
The nature of a student’s knowledge should be constructed, dependent, discovered, and true regardless of any person, place, or thing. I once had a teacher tell me that there was no such thing as a stupid question. I have never heard such a true statement. The curriculum that we teach to our students should be structured and dependent on each child’s individual needs, abilities, and skill levels. At the same time we need to allocate students enough liberty so that their knowledge can also become true, regardless of when, where, or how they reach the information. As a progressive teacher I hope to assist learning by aiding students to form their own significant inquiries and discover the paths to solve those matters.
Deciding on a career is a very difficult decision for anyone to make, especially for someone just coming out of high school. I always knew that I wanted to work with children, but I didn’t know what field I wanted to be in. After thinking about what field I could be in that I could work with children the most, I decided to become a teacher. I have always had a great deal of respect for most of the teachers I’ve had and hopefully I will be able to gain that respect from my students.
Teaching has always been an honorable and valued profession. With teaching you instill the knowledge and values that the student will take with them throughout life. I have volunteered at the elementary school with my children and have enjoyed watching the encouragement and nurturing of these teachers towards their students. I felt that I have the ability to nurture and share in the wonderment of the knowledge that prevails around us. To achieve this goal I will strive to give these students the understanding, love, and confidence that they need to prepare them for their journey in life.
Teaching is a complex occupation that requires as much empathy and emotion as it does educational skill. I had always dreamed of becoming a teacher, and realized after having my own children, that I would not truly be fulfilling my purpose in life if I did not pursue this dream. As a volunteer at the elementary school in my community, I loved the environment and took tremendous joy in watching the children learn. I felt that I had the ability, along with the dedication and desire, it would take to become a full time educator. To achieve this goal I will strive to give my students a positive beginning, provide confidence in their individual abilities, and prepare them for different aspects in life.
Every person has an opinion about one thing or another about our educational system. I want to become more familiar with the current educational issues. In doing this, I will need to be respectful and open minded about the issues at hand and understand that they will be different and challenging to me. I will also expect in return that in return that people will treat me with the same courtesy given to them. Throughout this philosophy statement, I will discuss some of my educational opinions and goals based upon my brief experiences. Knowing that they will change over the years I wish you to know that the one thing that remains the same is I will always keep the best interest of my students at heart. I do hope that you will enjoy my insight even if you do not agree, because like the title says, this is " From My Eyes Only."
88) in finding out what our students already know and helping them to ‘use that understanding to construct new knowledge’ (Vacc, 1993, p. 88). I agree with the author that the kind of questions that a teacher asks matter. Rather than asking questions that make students produce the memorised factual information, it will be worthwhile for teachers to focus on asking ‘non-fact seeking questions’ (Vacc, 1993, p. 90) which challenge the student’s thinking. Questioning can be used to provide students an opportunity to talk about what they know and explore this understanding to create novel connections. The article made me critically reflect on the questions that I am posing to my students. The article draws our attention to the power of questioning and what can be achieved through the right kind of questions. The author also made reference to a literature review (Vacc, 1993, p. 88 referencing Watson and Young, 1986) which highlights the difference between the numbers of questions being asked by students as opposed to teachers. Questioning helps students develop a critical and deeper understanding. I will be encouraging my students to ask more
My philosophy at this point is progressivism. William James and John Dewey are accredited for developing the characteristically American philosophy that is progressivism. Progressivism relies on the theory that the student should be the focal point. By adjusting the curriculum and teaching techniques to reflect the student’s needs and interests, the teacher is encouraging the student’s desire to learn. Another theory of progressivism is that of a democratic system. Students will fare better in life if they are exposed to the ideas and cultures of different ethnicities and personalities early. By encouraging group work, instead of solo work that will lead to competitions, the students will be more open minded and will be better prepared for the diverse world.
Education has always been a primary concern for my parents, who taught me that if I need to succeed in life, I have to be educated. Following their guide, I have always valued and tried to get the most of any educational opportunity I have had. Having grown up in a business family, I have always been interested in focusing my career in the business field. My Mother and Father own their own company, and they are constantly talking about business, which has inspired me to follow their path. When my parents retire, they want me to carry on their legacy. For this reason, I have decided to pursue my studies in the field of Business and Leadership at Marylhurst University. I want to pursue a well-rounded education at this established university where I also can have life experiences in the outside world, which will ultimately help me to become a successful leader in our family business.
As an education major at State College, I’ve decided to become a teacher for several reasons. As I progressed through elementary, middle, and high school, many of my teachers were great role models for me. This has inspired me to become a role model for someone in the near future. My love for science and math has also influenced my desire to teach and make a difference in a child’s life. I want to teach students the subjects that I love so much. I want the feeling that I helped a child accomplish or learn something they couldn’t understand. One of the main reasons I want to become an educator is because I feel education has really lost teachers who truly love teaching and those who truly love teaching and those who have the desire to make a difference. I feel I can really help make a difference in the education world and bring back the love to teach.
Through my own experiences, and as enforced by others' opinions in the profession, I have found that teaching is one of the most rewarding careers. Not only are you placed in the position of instructing and guiding children and young adults through the life long learning process, but you are able to give back to the schools and communities which have supported your early education and experiences that opened you up to a bright future. In becoming an educator, I hope to someday share the knowledge and lend the helping, supportive hand that I was once given, allowing students to formulate their own perspectives of the multicultural society and world around them. Teaching is a career I have been interested in pursuing throughout high school, and as my experiences and study in the field expands, I feel that my desire to teach will grow stronger and develop more soundly.
It has been a long road to get to where I am today and even though I have many times it has made me who I am. Having a plan to accomplish a goal or goals is a good way to start achieving success. It will not be easy but I plan to stick with my plan until I accomplish it and never give up. From the research I have done and the information provided to me by my instructor and the staff at Fresno Pacific University I have learned many things. There will be many tests that need to be taken and there is also material that will help before I take the tests. Being prepared for the unknown is good for anyone to do to accomplish the goal that is desired. There are many issues in education that affect students today and that need to be fixed.
My interest in teaching started at a young age. I used to watch my teachers in awe as they were able to find new ways to get their students involved and excited to learn. Their enthusiasm to teach was so inspiring. I would often find myself using that same fervor as I grasped each concept. I, then, was able to relay it to my fellow classmates as a peer tutor. To this day, becoming a teacher is a passion that flows through me. However, my enthusiasm and passion are not the only reasons I would be a good teacher. I aspire to see a student’s ability to grasp the knowledge they never before understood. I aspire to see a student succeed at something they never thought they ever could. I aspire to not only support students with academic skills, but also with life lessons about the value of community, pride in one’s own ethnicity, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and more. I aspire to play a fundamental role in ensuring that all students from all cultures and learning abilities have the opportunity to be guided in a positive learning
Education, which refers to the transfer of indispensable skills and knowledge, is a vital aspect of the social-economic planning of a country as it generates a competitive workforce which contributes significantly to economic growth. Nevertheless, the jury is still out on whether the chief goal of education is to provide a ticket to a better life, hence improving the living standards of individuals. At first glance, it is tempting to buy into the claim that the ultimate purpose of education is to guarantee a high living standard as good academic qualification enables us to become high income earners. However, upon further dissection of the intricacy of the issue, we should look past the superficial value of such a claim and accept that essentially, education has other crucial functions in our society.
There are many different views when it comes to Philosophy of Education there are no two teachers that will teach the same but however here is what I think that is most important when it comes to being a teacher. My personal goal for my future classroom is that I want to challenge each of my students to do the very best and to watch them grow into their fullest potential. However, teaching minds is a task that cannot be taken lightly it is my job as an educator to maintain a safe learning environment. I think that once a child feels safe in a classroom you will see a tremendous response in his/or learning. Children will have greater respect for their teachers, their peers, if they feel safe. Classroom Organization plays a big role and also a key concept when considering teaching, if students are in a classroom that is unorganized it can have a hinder
I have not always wanted to be a teacher. I always knew that I wanted to work with children in some way, but I was pretty sure that teaching was not for me. I was well on my way in my junior year of college working toward a biology degree so that I could become a pediatric physician’s assistant. I still cannot explain what happened, but one week I was a biology major, and the next I knew that I have always been meant to teach children. I suppose I just took the longer route to get there than most people do. The two main reasons that I have chosen to become a teacher is that I believe that teaching is extremely personally rewarding in many ways and the fact that I can actively make a difference in someone’s life.
Teaching has been my dream profession since I was in eighth grade and has helped motivate me to be my best self ever since then. The summer going into eighth grade my girl scout troop did our silver award project where we created a summer academic curriculum for once homeless preschoolers and kindergarteners, that were currently in transitional housing at Saint Elizabeth lodge, who were behind in school. Every Wednesday that summer I spent two hours teaching and playing with those children and my life has not been the same since. Another reason I want to go into the teaching profession is because of the indescribable feeling when you get to see a child’s eyes light up when they finally achieve and comprehend something you have been teaching them and they have been struggling with. Seeing a child after this moment is exceptionally rewarding, because they are typically extremely happy and proud of themselves and that feeling will help them problem solve, build confidence, and face more difficult challenges in the future. Lastly, I want to be a teacher, because education is essential to have in the world we live in today. Getting an education provides people with the skills they need to succeed in life and to achieve their goals. I hope that by becoming a teacher I can help children learn the skill sets that will help them achieve later in life.