Philosophy of Teaching I have had teachers all my life, some good and some bad, but I have not had any truly worth remembering until I became an English major in college. I have had several amazing professors in my time at Towson, but one that sticks out is Dr. Jack Cole. The great qualities in Dr. Cole as a person and as an instructor were not hard to miss. First and foremost, he had passion. I could always tell that his ultimate goal was for us to succeed far beyond his course. He always urged us to think outside the box and past the surface answer of a question. One of the most important qualities that I hope to possess when I finally start teaching is patience. He never ever lacked this quality with us. There are countless teachers I remember for their frustration and anger toward me for not understanding, but Dr. Cole was the epitome of the patient and helpful teacher. My most adamant belief about this profession is that you will go nowhere if you do not have a burning passion for it. The flame will quickly burn out if one does not have that urge that tells them to keep pushing forward. My second belief is that teachers must be knee-deep in their students learning experience and thus, have students just as involved in the curriculum. Personally, I do not see my student’s benefiting as much from my instruction if I am always at the head of the classroom doling out lessons as they dole out answers; teaching and learning should be an experience rather than a practice. My third belief is that teachers are not perfect and should not be held to such a high standard. Many students think that teachers are the end-all be-all of knowledge, but the truth is that we make mistakes and we do not know everything within our content area, but we can surely find the answers. I intend to make my classroom and my teaching style a creative one. The indirect instructional strategy seems like a great place to start because it is the one with the least boundaries. I love this strategy because it is student-centered, which gives students more confidence in their learning capabilities. A chief principle in this strategy is that the process of learning is just as important as the product. Often times, students learn more from the work they put in than the actual answer itself. The focus of work is usually personalized for students. Learning does not seem so hard when students can relate the content to their own lives. This strategy tends to promote creative and meaningful learning as well as long-term learning. Content reaches students even more when it is something they will carry with them outside of the classroom. This strategy also sets up a great avenue toward reflective discussions before, during, and after a lesson. This gives students an opportunity to think deeper on the subject individually, in groups, and as an entire class. While I can see myself relating mostly to the indirect instructional method, this does not rule out the other methods for me. I think being able to take different parts from each method helps the teacher as well as the class avoid being pigeon holed in one set strategy. Being a creative teacher is all about being able to go with the flow and the unforeseen changes of everyday. To be truthful, I cannot name the theories of learning and motivation or any educational research off the top of my head, but what I do know, is that students respond well to teachers that are there for them. Students deal with more issues outside the classroom than many people give them credit for, which can ultimately affect the way they learn inside the classroom. Students want to learn and make something of themselves, and sometimes it is not their fault when they have a hard time doing so. One of the best quotes I have heard in my professional year is that, “Middle school students don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” For me, this quote surpasses all the information I have learned of theories and research, and although it is geared toward middle school students specifically, I believe it stands for all students because regardless of grade level, all students need to know is that we care. My experiences of being a student myself will surely help me when the tables are turned and I am the teacher. I think the most important thing is that I know firsthand what it is like to be the student in an English classroom. I know the feeling of excitement and fear because English can be fun as well as frightening for a student. I know the feeling of intimidation when surrounded by students I felt were much smarter than me. I know what it feels like to not want to speak up for fear of sounding silly or just being wrong. I also know the feeling of joy when reading a novel that really hits home with my personal life. I can relate to the student that cries after reading a heartfelt book or the student that just wants to chuck the book at the teacher because it was the most unbearable thing they’ve ever had to read. I can keenly remember those feelings in high school because I still felt them in college! I do not plan to forget all these feelings when I become the instructor. I think it is vital for all adults to remember how they felt when they were in their own teenage shoes. Being able to relate to students will undoubtedly help to make the classroom more comfortable and more conscious. I will try to eliminate the fear they may have as best I can and choose material we all think can be meaningful in one way or another. One aspect of my college career I will always carry with me is when I was a minor in theatre. Although I did not continue on that track, I had such amazing experiences in all of my theatre classes and events. I am a lover of the arts and hope to bring an air of that love to my English classroom as well. The wonderful thing about English is that it is a content area that hits upon so many others, especially theatre. Just reading along as another reads out loud for the class can turn into a theatrical activity. Having students form groups to perform their own interpretation of a work is another great way to bring theatre into the instruction. Also, field trips to see plays have always been done, but actually bringing actors into the classroom to perform for students can be such an awesome way to get students to see a work live and within their reach. The theatre is undoubtedly something that will be a vast influence in my classroom. Cultural diversity has always had a huge spot in my life before I even thought of becoming a teacher, so it is something that will naturally follow me into the classroom. When I envision my classroom I have always pictured a “wall of respect” where there are set rules for everyone to read that have been made up and agreed upon by my students and me. This is something that I would do the very first day of school because I think it has to all be laid out to start a successful year. Personally, one of the rules I would want on the wall would be “no name calling or teasing relating to ones diversity” whether that is race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or disability, etc. This also includes words that can be seen as “terms of endearment” like the N-word. People have taken this word and turned it into something so-called “good,” but I still find it offensive, and if one person in my class finds it offensive then it should not be said. It is important to understand as a class why each rule is important to have. Even if all do not agree on the exact rule, we can still agree on the level of respect that is expected. Because cultural diversity is so important to me, I would make a point to weave it into my lessons. I would pick course material that is diverse in nature and allows students to read, discuss, and write about students that are not exactly like them. If there are certain materials that I do not have a hand in picking then I would make sure to lead my students into an assignment that makes them think about this same material in a diverse way. For instance, if we are reading a novel about an African-American family I would ask the students to think about what the experience would be like if this family were Asian or Indian. I believe it is imperative to touch on diversity in the classroom because students need to be aware that the world outside of their homes is a diverse one. It is important in these modern times to include all the sections of diversity, which include social justice and social inequalities. Many students may think that diversity only includes ones race and ethnicity, but the fact is that it includes sexism, sexual orientation, and persons with disabilities. Especially with the recent rise of bullying in schools, it is now more than ever that we need to have these in-depth conversations about acceptance. My unit plan is entitled “Accepting and Understanding Differences,” and this reflects the ultimate goal I have for my students within the unit and the entire school year. This unit focuses on three main aspects that usually affect students while they are in middle school and high school: social status, social grouping, and sexual orientation. Discussing these life issues and being able to relate them to literature will undoubtedly help students understand and gain interest in the diversity that surrounds them. This unit uses a few great novels to reach and challenge students to think about high-level issues they may not have normally thought about or discussed with their peers in an English setting.
I have had teachers all my life, some good and some bad, but I have not had any truly worth remembering until I became an English major in college. I have had several amazing professors in my time at Towson, but one that sticks out is Dr. Jack Cole. The great qualities in Dr. Cole as a person and as an instructor were not hard to miss. First and foremost, he had passion. I could always tell that his ultimate goal was for us to succeed far beyond his course. He always urged us to think outside the box and past the surface answer of a question. One of the most important qualities that I hope to possess when I finally start teaching is patience. He never ever lacked this quality with us. There are countless teachers I remember for their frustration and anger toward me for not understanding, but Dr. Cole was the epitome of the patient and helpful teacher.
My most adamant belief about this profession is that you will go nowhere if you do not have a burning passion for it. The flame will quickly burn out if one does not have that urge that tells them to keep pushing forward. My second belief is that teachers must be knee-deep in their students learning experience and thus, have students just as involved in the curriculum. Personally, I do not see my student’s benefiting as much from my instruction if I am always at the head of the classroom doling out lessons as they dole out answers; teaching and learning should be an experience rather than a practice. My third belief is that teachers are not perfect and should not be held to such a high standard. Many students think that teachers are the end-all be-all of knowledge, but the truth is that we make mistakes and we do not know everything within our content area, but we can surely find the answers.
I intend to make my classroom and my teaching style a creative one. The indirect instructional strategy seems like a great place to start because it is the one with the least boundaries. I love this strategy because it is student-centered, which gives students more confidence in their learning capabilities. A chief principle in this strategy is that the process of learning is just as important as the product. Often times, students learn more from the work they put in than the actual answer itself. The focus of work is usually personalized for students. Learning does not seem so hard when students can relate the content to their own lives. This strategy tends to promote creative and meaningful learning as well as long-term learning. Content reaches students even more when it is something they will carry with them outside of the classroom. This strategy also sets up a great avenue toward reflective discussions before, during, and after a lesson. This gives students an opportunity to think deeper on the subject individually, in groups, and as an entire class.
While I can see myself relating mostly to the indirect instructional method, this does not rule out the other methods for me. I think being able to take different parts from each method helps the teacher as well as the class avoid being pigeon holed in one set strategy. Being a creative teacher is all about being able to go with the flow and the unforeseen changes of everyday. To be truthful, I cannot name the theories of learning and motivation or any educational research off the top of my head, but what I do know, is that students respond well to teachers that are there for them. Students deal with more issues outside the classroom than many people give them credit for, which can ultimately affect the way they learn inside the classroom. Students want to learn and make something of themselves, and sometimes it is not their fault when they have a hard time doing so. One of the best quotes I have heard in my professional year is that, “Middle school students don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” For me, this quote surpasses all the information I have learned of theories and research, and although it is geared toward middle school students specifically, I believe it stands for all students because regardless of grade level, all students need to know is that we care.
My experiences of being a student myself will surely help me when the tables are turned and I am the teacher. I think the most important thing is that I know firsthand what it is like to be the student in an English classroom. I know the feeling of excitement and fear because English can be fun as well as frightening for a student. I know the feeling of intimidation when surrounded by students I felt were much smarter than me. I know what it feels like to not want to speak up for fear of sounding silly or just being wrong. I also know the feeling of joy when reading a novel that really hits home with my personal life. I can relate to the student that cries after reading a heartfelt book or the student that just wants to chuck the book at the teacher because it was the most unbearable thing they’ve ever had to read. I can keenly remember those feelings in high school because I still felt them in college! I do not plan to forget all these feelings when I become the instructor. I think it is vital for all adults to remember how they felt when they were in their own teenage shoes. Being able to relate to students will undoubtedly help to make the classroom more comfortable and more conscious. I will try to eliminate the fear they may have as best I can and choose material we all think can be meaningful in one way or another.
One aspect of my college career I will always carry with me is when I was a minor in theatre. Although I did not continue on that track, I had such amazing experiences in all of my theatre classes and events. I am a lover of the arts and hope to bring an air of that love to my English classroom as well. The wonderful thing about English is that it is a content area that hits upon so many others, especially theatre. Just reading along as another reads out loud for the class can turn into a theatrical activity. Having students form groups to perform their own interpretation of a work is another great way to bring theatre into the instruction. Also, field trips to see plays have always been done, but actually bringing actors into the classroom to perform for students can be such an awesome way to get students to see a work live and within their reach. The theatre is undoubtedly something that will be a vast influence in my classroom.
Cultural diversity has always had a huge spot in my life before I even thought of becoming a teacher, so it is something that will naturally follow me into the classroom. When I envision my classroom I have always pictured a “wall of respect” where there are set rules for everyone to read that have been made up and agreed upon by my students and me. This is something that I would do the very first day of school because I think it has to all be laid out to start a successful year. Personally, one of the rules I would want on the wall would be “no name calling or teasing relating to ones diversity” whether that is race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or disability, etc. This also includes words that can be seen as “terms of endearment” like the N-word. People have taken this word and turned it into something so-called “good,” but I still find it offensive, and if one person in my class finds it offensive then it should not be said. It is important to understand as a class why each rule is important to have. Even if all do not agree on the exact rule, we can still agree on the level of respect that is expected.
Because cultural diversity is so important to me, I would make a point to weave it into my lessons. I would pick course material that is diverse in nature and allows students to read, discuss, and write about students that are not exactly like them. If there are certain materials that I do not have a hand in picking then I would make sure to lead my students into an assignment that makes them think about this same material in a diverse way. For instance, if we are reading a novel about an African-American family I would ask the students to think about what the experience would be like if this family were Asian or Indian. I believe it is imperative to touch on diversity in the classroom because students need to be aware that the world outside of their homes is a diverse one. It is important in these modern times to include all the sections of diversity, which include social justice and social inequalities. Many students may think that diversity only includes ones race and ethnicity, but the fact is that it includes sexism, sexual orientation, and persons with disabilities. Especially with the recent rise of bullying in schools, it is now more than ever that we need to have these in-depth conversations about acceptance.
My unit plan is entitled “Accepting and Understanding Differences,” and this reflects the ultimate goal I have for my students within the unit and the entire school year. This unit focuses on three main aspects that usually affect students while they are in middle school and high school: social status, social grouping, and sexual orientation. Discussing these life issues and being able to relate them to literature will undoubtedly help students understand and gain interest in the diversity that surrounds them. This unit uses a few great novels to reach and challenge students to think about high-level issues they may not have normally thought about or discussed with their peers in an English setting.