Teaching Philosophy
When I tell people that I am pursuing a career in teaching, their first responses are "But teachers don't make a lot of money..." or "But the education system is terrible!" And both of these responses are relevant and fairly accurate. But the decision to become a teacher was of course not made because of the salary, or because we get summers off, and it certainly was not made because I love the current state of the American education system.
While many teachers, when asked what made them decide to become a teacher, can remember a specific point in their lives that caused them to make that decision, I cannot. Besides that brief point as a young child when I thought I would grow up to be an astronaut or an veterinarian, I honestly cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't want to teach. However, like many others I too had some amazing teachers in school that had a really big influence on my decision to pursue a teaching career. It wasn't just that they were enthusiastic and creative educators, though they were. It was more that during difficult times in my life, my teachers were positive role models that genuinely cared. The reason I always loved going to school, besides the fact that I have always loved learning, was because I thoroughly enjoyed being around those teachers and couldn't wait to discover what they had waiting for me the next day.
Leadership abilities have always come naturally to me, and as I got older I realized how much I loved helping people, especially young kids. I was picked on in school for always knowing the answers and always having something to say and for hanging out with the socially awkward people because I thought that everyone deserved to have a friend that cared. And for a long time being bullied really bothered me, until I realized that many of the qualities that people made fun of me for were ones that I could use to my advantage in connecting with people and helping them to recognize the best parts of themselves.
My passion for helping kids learn and discover aspects of themselves they never knew existed is essentially why I have continued to pursue a career in education. It is true that our education system is in need of a lot of work, but that's all the more reason to become a teacher and try to make a difference. There are so many amazing teachers at work today, and too often they are overlooked because in my opinion people have this misconception about what it means to be a hero. Teachers may not accomplish big feats in a single day, but the little things that they do everyday can have a permanent impact on their students, as well all of the people that that student comes into contact with. Kids are with their teachers in school for more time than they are at home with their parents, and in that short amount of time we can make such a difference.
For a long time I had doubts about teaching because of the sheer amount of work involved, not to mention the huge responsibility. But when I visit schools and volunteer my time, I just know in my gut that teaching is what I was meant to do. People can criticize my choice all they want - I'm not in it for the money or anything else. To have a career where I get to help kids learn and discover new things, where I get to help them realize their potential, where I get to excite kids about history - that sounds like the greatest thing I could ever do with my life. While I still have a few years to go before I have a classroom of my own, I hope that when that time comes I will be the passionate, creative, enthusiastic, and inspiring teacher that I've always wanted to be. All it takes is one person to make a difference in someone's life, and if I can be that person to just one kid then I will have accomplished my goal in life.
Teaching history and geography are extremely important, however they are two of the subjects that are consistently falling behind and being cut in schools across the country. And more and more commonly, the average reaction to history is that it is boring. But the real problem is that I think teachers are afraid to take risks, to move away from the older more traditional methods of teaching in order to implement more inquiry, problem-based learning that encourages critical thinking and creativity. History and geography are so important because they help students explore the relationships between themselves and the environment, between themselves and past events, and helps them get a sense of how their identities are shaped by the world around them. Its not just about people, places, and things; its about relationships - culture, environments, people, identities, institutions, etc.
Learning should be fun, exciting, challenging, inspiring. I plan to incorporate as many different methods as possible in order to support the success of students from all different backgrounds, cultures, ages, genders, abilities, etc. Problem-solving, inquiry, critical thinking, creativity, among others are critical to learning, and rather than limit myself to one method I believe that being flexible and open to everything leaves more room for success both in the classroom and outside of it.
While many teachers, when asked what made them decide to become a teacher, can remember a specific point in their lives that caused them to make that decision, I cannot. Besides that brief point as a young child when I thought I would grow up to be an astronaut or an veterinarian, I honestly cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't want to teach. However, like many others I too had some amazing teachers in school that had a really big influence on my decision to pursue a teaching career. It wasn't just that they were enthusiastic and creative educators, though they were. It was more that during difficult times in my life, my teachers were positive role models that genuinely cared. The reason I always loved going to school, besides the fact that I have always loved learning, was because I thoroughly enjoyed being around those teachers and couldn't wait to discover what they had waiting for me the next day.
Leadership abilities have always come naturally to me, and as I got older I realized how much I loved helping people, especially young kids. I was picked on in school for always knowing the answers and always having something to say and for hanging out with the socially awkward people because I thought that everyone deserved to have a friend that cared. And for a long time being bullied really bothered me, until I realized that many of the qualities that people made fun of me for were ones that I could use to my advantage in connecting with people and helping them to recognize the best parts of themselves.
My passion for helping kids learn and discover aspects of themselves they never knew existed is essentially why I have continued to pursue a career in education. It is true that our education system is in need of a lot of work, but that's all the more reason to become a teacher and try to make a difference. There are so many amazing teachers at work today, and too often they are overlooked because in my opinion people have this misconception about what it means to be a hero. Teachers may not accomplish big feats in a single day, but the little things that they do everyday can have a permanent impact on their students, as well all of the people that that student comes into contact with. Kids are with their teachers in school for more time than they are at home with their parents, and in that short amount of time we can make such a difference.
For a long time I had doubts about teaching because of the sheer amount of work involved, not to mention the huge responsibility. But when I visit schools and volunteer my time, I just know in my gut that teaching is what I was meant to do. People can criticize my choice all they want - I'm not in it for the money or anything else. To have a career where I get to help kids learn and discover new things, where I get to help them realize their potential, where I get to excite kids about history - that sounds like the greatest thing I could ever do with my life. While I still have a few years to go before I have a classroom of my own, I hope that when that time comes I will be the passionate, creative, enthusiastic, and inspiring teacher that I've always wanted to be. All it takes is one person to make a difference in someone's life, and if I can be that person to just one kid then I will have accomplished my goal in life.
Teaching history and geography are extremely important, however they are two of the subjects that are consistently falling behind and being cut in schools across the country. And more and more commonly, the average reaction to history is that it is boring. But the real problem is that I think teachers are afraid to take risks, to move away from the older more traditional methods of teaching in order to implement more inquiry, problem-based learning that encourages critical thinking and creativity. History and geography are so important because they help students explore the relationships between themselves and the environment, between themselves and past events, and helps them get a sense of how their identities are shaped by the world around them. Its not just about people, places, and things; its about relationships - culture, environments, people, identities, institutions, etc.
Learning should be fun, exciting, challenging, inspiring. I plan to incorporate as many different methods as possible in order to support the success of students from all different backgrounds, cultures, ages, genders, abilities, etc. Problem-solving, inquiry, critical thinking, creativity, among others are critical to learning, and rather than limit myself to one method I believe that being flexible and open to everything leaves more room for success both in the classroom and outside of it.