I
believe that the purpose of education is to provide students with the tools to
becoming successful and productive members of society. As an educator I am responsible for equipping
the students with these tools and the ability to be life-long learners. This
philosophy is based on approach to education that aims to create individuals
that are well-rounded and capable of excelling both morally and intellectually
in life.
As a
teacher my purpose is to teach my students in a way that makes their learning
relevant and applicable to their own lives. Every day in my classroom I provide
my students with real world examples that relate to the concept that is being
learned. I work to activate the students’ prior knowledge and establish a
purpose for the content that is being taught. I also adjust my teaching methods
when necessary if any of my students are struggling with mastering any learning
objective. I am responsible for ensuring that I am using a variety of teaching
strategies and methods that fit the needs of each individual child. I look to
my coworkers so that I may learn new methods and strategies that may prove
useful in my own classroom. I incorporate technology whenever possible to motivate
my students to participate in the lesson. I use PowerPoint games to reinforce
learning as well as to make learning fun. I am also responsible for providing
my students with a safe environment for learning. My students need to know that
they can come to me with any questions in reference to their school work or any
personal matter they may be dealing with inside or outside of the school. I am
not just a teacher for my students I am a form of guidance.
I learned the different approaches I use to
education from my own personal experience in school. My best teacher in school
always used a variety of techniques to ensure that all learning objectives were
met. She also made her students feel comfortable to raise their hand in class
whether to ask or answer questions. She helped me to realize that you need to
be flexible, so you can be willing to vary your teaching methods based on the
needs of your students. My worst teacher helped me to understand that you
cannot teach students that are uncomfortable in your classroom. He spent too
much time in class belittling his students, and providing negative feedback on
assignments that did not seem relevant to the curriculum. He was proof that students
will not want to try and will not be successful if they fear being chastised by
their teacher.
Also, as a teacher I know that I am
responsible for teaching my students accountability and responsibility. As
students they need to learn to keep up with their own assignments, supplies,
and to be capable of taking charge of their own learning. I set high
expectations for my students, and it is their job in return to meet these
expectations. Being capable of fulfilling my expectations for them helps
prepare my students for real life. The students need to learn that they are responsible
for themselves, and that when they go out into the real world they will be held
accountable for all of their actions. They also need to be capable of
self-directed learning for when they attend college. When they are in school
students need to learn the curriculum as well as the skills necessary to
succeed in society. I am responsible for teaching these skills and my students
are responsible for acquiring them.
My educational philosophy is that
students need to be taught the skills necessary to succeed intellectually and
morally in life. As an educator I must provide students with these skills by
connecting their learning to the real world. I must provide a safe environment
for my students to learn while holding them to high expectations. I want to ensure that my students are capable
of being successful, functioning members of society as well as life-long
learners.
How is having your philosophy down in
writing helpful to you?
Having
my philosophy down in writing is helpful to me because it reminds me of my
focus in the classroom. The students are what my job is all about. I am there
to help and inspire them. When I read through my philosophy it reminds me why I
do what I do. It also helps me to reflect on my approach to teaching and change
my approach when I feel it is necessary to ensure the success of my students.
Stephen Downes’ Educational Blogging
I see
blogging as having the potential to be a method for my students to use to write
about their learning. One of my assignments for my students, at the end of each
unit, is to write a reflection of their understanding of unit and pose
questions that they may still have. The students could read one another’s
reflection blogs and utilize the comment option to answer each other’s
questions. This would be a great tool for students to communicate what they have
learned and to learn from one another. I also see blogging as having the
potential to be a great way for students to expand their learning. The students
can take any concept that they are learning in school and go more in depth into
the topic through research. The student’s blog would be the perfect place for
them to publish their research and findings for their classmates and others to
read. This assignment would be a great way to get students to use higher order
thinking skills and challenge them to grow academically.
I do
not believe we have met our potential for blogging based on Stephen Downes’
article. The reason I believe we have not reached our potential of using
blogging in education more frequently is because the topics that fit our
curriculum do not grab the interest of our learners. As teachers we are so
caught up with what learning objective needs to be covered, and what prepares
our students to ace the next standardized test coming their way. We have to
make time to give students assignments that allow them to reflect, criticize, question,
or react to an issue or idea that is of interest to them. If we make time for
this we can make blogging a useful tool for our students to conduct research
and communicate their thoughts and findings.
Creating a Culture for
Teaching and Learning:
Out of
the six areas that were outlined in the article, Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning, the sixth area, Collegiality is What’s Needed, is what
stood out the most. At my school the teachers work very well together and are
more than happy to help each other out. We however do not involve our students
in staff development. It is interesting how the article states each teacher
should bring 2 to 3 students to technology training. The students really are
the best teachers at times and teach some skills better than the teacher can.
It would be more productive for the trainers to teach the students directly how
to utilize some technology so they can go back and show their peers.
Expectations for this Class:
My expectations for this class are
to learn how to utilize technology in my classroom to benefit my students and
enhance my lessons. I realize that my students are more technology minded than
I was when I was in school. My students find technology to be fascinating and
engaging; they can spend countless hours on the internet and never be bored. I
am hoping to learn in this class a variety of ways to incorporate more technology
into my lessons to get and keep the interest of my students.
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