A Reflection of My Educational Philosophy as a Teacher

At the beginning of the semester, I had never really thought about an educational philosophy, and I was completely unfamiliar with the term. However, if I were to say what my educational philosophy was closest to then, it would probably be essentialism. I believed, and still do believe, that there are some basic things that every person should know, and learn at an early age. Simple things such as basic math, an understanding of proper grammar and communication, basic science, and a knowledge of history, can all be learned by the time a person is considered an adult in our society.

Some opinions that I have developed over the course of the semester are that schools should also be a place where students can socially interact with others around them, both students and adult faculty members.

I also believe that teachers should lead discussions on topics, such as current events that effect the kids, where students are allowed to give their input, and students can develop their own opinions based on what they have learned in and out of the classroom.

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Lastly, I also think that teachers should do what they can to involve students in their education, rather than just be messengers of information that make little to no effort in helping kids see the relevance of what they are learning. Given that this is my first year in college, I am sure that I will develop a more elegant philosophy as I gain more experience over the next few years as a student, and as a teacher.

My belief about the role of schools in our society is that they should be a place where students can be presented with crucial information, and be helped individually to understand the information. Schools should also serve as a place where kids can interact with others. Being surrounded by other children, and adults all day, kids want a chance to talk to those people and get to know them, and possibly even learn a thing or two from them. Schools need to be sure that students are given enough opportunities to interact with other people, so that they develop the social skills needed to get by in life, and also to make connections with people who will also be able to help them get by in life. Along with those functions, schools should also be a resource for parents when possible.

The role of teachers is not only to transmit information to kids, but in order to help them gain a true understanding of the information, teachers must also make learning relevant to kids. Kids want to learn, they are naturally curious. Look at any young child, they look at everything, touch everything, and the really young children taste everything. Kids do not need to be forced to learn, they just need to understand why they are learning what they are learning. If that happens, then most kids will be easily drawn into lessons, and will ask questions because they want to know more. Teachers also have a role of being a positive adult influence.

Many kids come from homes where the parents are unloving, absent due to work or divorce, or have failed to develop a strong relationship with their child. Teachers should be friendly and caring, and show kids that adults are not people to be feared because they have the authority to inflict discipline for bad behavior, but that adults are people that kids can go to for knowledge, advice, and understanding. Teachers should also be a source of advice for parents who want to know how their child is doing in school, and how they can help.

Students have a role in school to be active in their education. This means that they should ask questions, ask for help when needed, help other students, critique their teacher's ability to their parents, and of course, to be respectful. Students are the people that schools are serving, so the students also have an obligation to make sure the school knows their wants and needs if the school is not fulfilling them.

My understanding of teaching as a profession has grown quite a bit in the past few months. About a year ago, when I was applying for colleges and debating in my head if I for sure wanted to be a teacher, I only thought of teaching as something that is pretty simple, and for some reason, it is just required by the state that you go to college before getting a job. And, in some ways, it is kind of simple and people tend to overthink it. However, teachers have a lot of power in their hands. They have kids for six or seven hours a day, and in that time, they can lift a student up from the depths of poverty, or they can ensure that the kid stays in poverty for the rest of their life.

Knowing that, teaching is more than standing in front of a group of kids and rambling about something out of a textbook. It is crucial part of every person's life. Without teachers, many people would not be where they are today, and without good teachers, many people will never escape where they are today. There is a kid somewhere right now, who is living a life that no child deserves. Fortunately, that child has not had their ambition for life smothered yet, and has a chance of becoming something, and with the aid of a capable teacher who understands the child, who is knowledgeable in their profession, who has a passion for what they do, who will work to the best of their ability to give that kid what they so desperately need, then there is hope for that kid and others just like him or her.

Do I want to become a teacher? Yes. The more I work with kids, the more I realize that it is one of the most rewarding things that I know of. Sure, there may be a lot of preparation outside of school, and the money will not allow me to live an extravagant lifestyle, and I am sure there will be days when the challenges of teaching will leave me wondering where I went wrong, but there are complaints to be made about every job. I think the important thing about choosing a job, is that you enjoy it the vast majority of the time, and that when you wake up in the morning to go to work, there is an eagerness to experience the day ahead.

Obviously teachers have a great influence on most people, and I can recall one teacher who told me something when I was 13 that I still remember word for word. "If you love what you do, then you will never work a day in your life." Based on that quote, I would say that teaching elementary school is right for me.

Service learning this semester has been a wonderful experience for me. I got to see what it is like helping out with a younger grade than I have helped with before, I got to teach several times, and I got to see a little of what it is like to be in the teacher's position. Service learning definitely has its purpose. It is extremely practical. My host teacher told me that he wishes he had an opportunity like mine when he was in college, because he thinks his courses were focused too much around theory, rather than practical experiences.

More importantly though, I think service learning puts aspiring teachers in a position that really tests whether or not they want to be teachers. Without service learning, it is possible that many of the people who become teachers quickly realize that they do not really want to be there, but they cannot just switch jobs after spending four years and a lot of money to get where they are, so they make attempts at teaching until they eventually decide they cannot take it anymore. To put it simply, service learning helps weed out the people who truly have a passion for teaching, and those who just thought it sounded fun at some point.

A quick summary of my field experience, it was fun. I enjoyed working with the kids, and I really hope I had an influence on some of them. There was one girl in particular, who I talked about in my oral report. She has a rough home life. She is the oldest of seven children, to a single mother, with two jobs. And of course, her rough home life leaves her with little ambition to do well in school sometimes. My host teacher had me work with her a bit, and I also helped her without being told to do so a bit as well. Every day I was there, I could see her face light up a bit when she saw me. There were days when she was easy to work with. There were also days when she frustrated me quite a bit. She would just exclaim to everything, “I don't know” or “I don't get it."

Even on those days, I always tried my best to keep my cool, and make it appear as though I was not running low on patience with her. A lot of days, that paid off. There was one day in particular, when I was helping her, and I explained something just right, to where she understood it, and she let out a joyful giggle, and jumped up and down in her seat. The rewarding feeling I got from seeing the excitement in her face was the most memorable moment of my service learning. As I wrote above about how a good teacher who cares about their job and students can lift a student up from the depths of poverty, I had an image of her in my mind. That girl taught me more about my passion for working with kids, and more about what a difference I can make as a teacher, than I had imagined I would learn at the beginning of the semester.