The Importance of Being A Teacher

The Importance of Being A Teacher

In psychologist’s Erik Erickson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, stage five is recognized as the time frame in life where an adolescent either discovers his or her identity, or experiences role confusion, that is a misunderstanding of where one fits into the puzzle of society. This is, without a doubt, one of the most crucial stages of any human beings life. The decisions and choices made at this point in a life may very well decide the remainder of their physical lives. It would seem quite obvious from this statement that the people involved in an adolescent’s life could possibly have a gigantic impact on what he or she becomes. The teaching that these teens acquire should come from several areas, one of which is the school setting. Although a teacher’s job must be treated with extreme delicacy, what an opportunity a teacher has to help shape and mold thousands of young minds. Throughout the rest of this paper I will explain; the philosophies and types of teaching that I plan to use, the personal beliefs, morals, and viewpoints that I plan to incorporate, and my future plans regarding school and life after my four years at Concord.

There are numerous philosophies and teaching styles that are used throughout the world today. The six main philosophies currently recognized are: Perennialism, Progressivism, Existentialism, Essentialism, Social Reconstruction, and Behaviorism. While each of these has their own advantages and disadvantages, there are two that I feel would strongly accommodate the type of teacher that I would like to be. I feel that a combination of Essentialism and Behaviorism would allow me to be most effective in a high school English...

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...a joy it would be to be able to administer guidance to some of the youth that were in desperate need of it. My students would learn much more than the joys of the literary world. They would also learn a number of things about life and the ways to live. By the end of each year, they would know that I was not just a teacher who wanted to teach them strategies and cram information down their throats, but that I was a man of character who deeply desired to make a difference and be a part of each one of their lives. If they needed to cry, I would love to be that shoulder to cry on. If I had to sum up my feelings and philosophies in one sentence to wrap things up I’d say: “I whole-heartedly desire to become a teacher because I want to serve, care, love, and teach today’s youth”. Nothing would be finer than to look back on my life and know that I had affected people.