Philosophy of education
This philosophy of education is intended to demonstrate two of my very most important guidelines for teaching: helping students feel safe and cared for, and getting to know students personally and academically.
According to Edward Bulwer-Lytton, “The best teacher is the one who…inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.” Personally, this quote carries a lot of weight with my decision to become a teacher. I can think back to my first World History class and recall being completely enraptured with what we discussed. My teacher, Mr. Barr, had a way of discussing topics that made history come alive and was the first person who really made a topic so interesting to me that I wanted to share it with others. As an avid reader, I came to love studying literature and considering the time and social context in which it was written. My senior year Humanities compiled all the things I loved most into one class – art, history, literature, and music. Even better, my teacher, Mr. Jacobus, opened my eyes to centuries of human creation that made me eager to learn and study more. I had some very rough years in my own education, particularly in middle school while I was struggling with depression and anxiety. Through those dark times, I still managed to enjoy learning new knowledge and building skills. I became a teacher to share my love of learning with students; that has always been my primary goal and corner stone. Over the years, I have adapted my view of education, but my ultimate goal of connecting with students has remained unfaltering.
Perhaps one of the biggest influences on my teaching career is my history of being bullied. I attended a small k-12 school where I was an easy target for ridicule; being overweight and having no athletic ability or striking features, I was constantly made fun of to the point of self-harm and self-loathing. I had teachers and coaches who knew that something was happening but sat by idly while I was picked on and worse. That's something that hurt differently than the actual bullying - knowing that adults weren't addressing my daily struggles made me feel even more worthless. When I realized I wanted to be a teacher, I made it a goal of mine to never turn a blind eye to students’ mental health, especially when it comes to bullying. Bullying has only gotten worse over the years as social media tends to isolate people and make them more prone to attack outside of school walls. As teachers, we need to be constantly in tune with students’ safety, both in our classes and out. If I hadn’t had my own experiences with bullying, my path could have turned out far differently than it is now. Fortunately, I allowed my experiences to strengthen and inspire me, not totally break me.
Students cannot learn unless they feel safe in a classroom and understand that they are valued. If students feel at all discriminated or insecure, they will not be able to accomplish anything they are assigned. I have made it a point of my teaching to meet students at a personal level for the interest of their education. I want to know things about students that make them more than just numbers in a class but as actual people. I like when I can show students that I am interested in who they are because they become so much more open to being successful in my classroom. At the beginning of the year, I have each student write me a letter that describes things I need to know to understand individual learning needs. This often opens up doorways for communication such as interests and activities (for example, I love talking to the girls I meet who enjoy playing soccer to talk up playing on the team); additionally, I learn things to help kids be successful, such as specifics like, “just because I don’t like talking in class doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention,” or, “I do better with hands on activities than other traditional tasks.” From there, I write students letters back. This kind of intimate conversation with students shows them that I respect them as people and have interests at heart that extend beyond participation in class.
In teaching, I have found ways to combine my love for discussing literature and history with the joy I feel connecting with high school students. My guiding philosophies are to help students feel safe, respected, and important to my class. I have found that these guidelines open doors for relationships with students beyond just teacher-student. Over the years, I have come to connect with individual students that reflect the care and devotion that we each put into learning. When students know they are valued, they see their teachers as guides and mentors, instead of simply instructors. My hope is that I can reach students in similar ways that Mr. Barr reached me – that they find such joy in learning and sharing, they want to do similar work themselves.
Perhaps one of the biggest influences on my teaching career is my history of being bullied. I attended a small k-12 school where I was an easy target for ridicule; being overweight and having no athletic ability or striking features, I was constantly made fun of to the point of self-harm and self-loathing. I had teachers and coaches who knew that something was happening but sat by idly while I was picked on and worse. That's something that hurt differently than the actual bullying - knowing that adults weren't addressing my daily struggles made me feel even more worthless. When I realized I wanted to be a teacher, I made it a goal of mine to never turn a blind eye to students’ mental health, especially when it comes to bullying. Bullying has only gotten worse over the years as social media tends to isolate people and make them more prone to attack outside of school walls. As teachers, we need to be constantly in tune with students’ safety, both in our classes and out. If I hadn’t had my own experiences with bullying, my path could have turned out far differently than it is now. Fortunately, I allowed my experiences to strengthen and inspire me, not totally break me.
Students cannot learn unless they feel safe in a classroom and understand that they are valued. If students feel at all discriminated or insecure, they will not be able to accomplish anything they are assigned. I have made it a point of my teaching to meet students at a personal level for the interest of their education. I want to know things about students that make them more than just numbers in a class but as actual people. I like when I can show students that I am interested in who they are because they become so much more open to being successful in my classroom. At the beginning of the year, I have each student write me a letter that describes things I need to know to understand individual learning needs. This often opens up doorways for communication such as interests and activities (for example, I love talking to the girls I meet who enjoy playing soccer to talk up playing on the team); additionally, I learn things to help kids be successful, such as specifics like, “just because I don’t like talking in class doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention,” or, “I do better with hands on activities than other traditional tasks.” From there, I write students letters back. This kind of intimate conversation with students shows them that I respect them as people and have interests at heart that extend beyond participation in class.
In teaching, I have found ways to combine my love for discussing literature and history with the joy I feel connecting with high school students. My guiding philosophies are to help students feel safe, respected, and important to my class. I have found that these guidelines open doors for relationships with students beyond just teacher-student. Over the years, I have come to connect with individual students that reflect the care and devotion that we each put into learning. When students know they are valued, they see their teachers as guides and mentors, instead of simply instructors. My hope is that I can reach students in similar ways that Mr. Barr reached me – that they find such joy in learning and sharing, they want to do similar work themselves.