Transforming Philosophy

Through my four years at Mercer University, my outlook on teaching, students, and the classroom has morphed into a greater understanding of what is best in the classroom. I have seen first-hand what happens when students feel like their teachers care about them. I have also seen what happens when you have parent and community involvement in the school. I hope to take what I have learned over the past four years and implement into my own classroom.
I believe that learning takes place in an atmosphere where students feel safe and respected. If a student knows that it is safe to make mistakes, they are more willing to work and learn through their mistakes. If their teacher respects students, the students will continue that act of respect towards their peers and other teachers in the school. I also think that students are more willing to try if they know that their teachers care about their learning.
The purpose of education is to learn more about the world around us, and to become educated people in society. The role of the school and the teacher is to further educate the students, and help them become better citizens. The teacher is there to nurture the student and help them gain confidence in their ability to learn. The teacher is responsible for the information that is taught to students. This includes the curriculum through common core and the hidden curriculum. With the implementation of common core, students have become easily confused on basic standards. It is the teachers’ job to help students understand the standards that are being taught. This means that they should come up with ways to creatively teach these standards that are attainable for all students. For some students that may mean adapting curriculum to include di...

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...ause I have see over the past four years how I have transformed my own beliefs about teaching. I have learned from professors and cooperating teachers how to handle difficult situations, this has made me a stronger teacher in the classroom. I am able to quickly adapt lesson plans to the needs of a classroom, and know when something is not going to work by the response of my students. I have also seen changes in how I respond to students. I have learned that students really do want to learn; they just need to know that their teachers want to help them. This has been played out in many different situations. Some of the classrooms I have seen have been very open and comfortable classrooms. The students want to learn because they know that their teachers want them to succeed. I have thrived in these situations because I gain my energy off of the energy in my classroom.