Example of a Teaching Philosophy Statement
There is no other profession wrought of the intense joys, frustrations, and accomplishments of a teacher. As educators and, therefore, continual learners, we take immense joy in sharing our wisdom, experience, and passion with our students. The greatest joy is to watch a student succeed through the motivation and love for learning that a teacher has fostered over the years. However, teaching can also be very frustrating. Some students have developed a negative attitude toward school and learning before they walk through the teacher’s door the first day of school. They may not immediately be willing to trust their teachers, and they may be resistant to learning. Consistent opposition, or worse, no response at all, to a teacher's efforts is frustrating. As teachers, we must keep pushing these students, refusing to give up on any student despite the struggle involved.
Teachers work in a profession based on small and large accomplishments. Unlike other professions, these accomplishments have no real monetary value. The profit is in our students. If even a few students improve their studies and are able to increase their feeling of accomplishment and self-worth in my class, then everything I have committed myself to is worth the time and effort. Teaching, then, is also a very satisfying profession.
With these ideas in mind, I believe the call to educate is one of the greatest missions in life and an essential vocation. Teaching in the public schools places me directly in the line of shaping lives through education. I want to be an educator because I have a passion for learning and learners. A true learner is not satisfied until he has shared all that he has gained with his students. Teaching, therefore, is a continual, bilateral process of learning and sharing.
Teachers are responsible for their students' intellectual growth, which affects the future of each student and the world. I truly enjoy working with adolescents and want to help build my students up socially and academically to prepare them for the future.
I believe that all students are capable of creative work, intelligent reasoning, and critical thinking. It is my job to challenge and focus my students, opening them up to new possibilities. I want to create a classroom where all students feel trusted, respected, and empowered, free to challenge ideas and assert opinions. Yet for all students to feel comfortable in this environment, I need to support everyone’s ideas and insist that my students support each other. Growth never occurs without challenge and change, and it rarely occurs without support and encouragement.
I realize that my students’ individual experiences are a large part of who they are and how they learn. Each student is innately unique, and I need to be creative and learn how to best work with all of my students. It is my job to help students make a connection with the curriculum and make it accessible to many different learning styles. I believe it is important to develop a curriculum where students are continually interacting with each other, trying new things, building connections, sharing ideas, and learning from each other. It is also my responsibility to plan curriculum that is engaging, exciting, and based on my students’ needs and abilities. All students should have the opportunity to be successful. As a teacher, I must work hard to ensure that every student has that opportunity.
I want students to come away from my class feeling as though they have grown and accomplished something meaningful and valuable. I want my students to experience the personal accomplishment and growth that occur with learning. I hope that when students leave my class, their minds will be filled with new concepts and ideas, and they will be excited about what they have learned. As a teacher, I aspire to challenge my students constantly, and I hope that they will catch on to my enthusiasm for writing, literature, Spanish, and learning in general and develop their own enthusiasm and passion for learning.
Ultimately, my goal is to motivate students toward becoming critical thinkers and lifelong learners. Certainly, I want my students to develop a love for literature and language and learn to utilize their skills in life. As a language and literature teacher, I hope my students will find their voice and understand language as a means of self-expression. I also want my students to develop excellent reading and writing skills as well as cultural knowledge and perspective. These are skills that are important for their personal development. My aspirations for them are that they would become responsible citizens who look at many perspectives before making decisions and who can express their feelings, beliefs, and ideas appropriately and make positive contributions to society. I want them to think for themselves and care for others. Teaching is my way of making a contribution that will multiply several times over through the contributions of my students.
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