A teaching philosophy is based on the values and attitudes that each individual educator believes is most important for their classroom. While thinking about my own teaching philosophy, I knew that it would be in a constant state of change throughout my journey as a pre-service teacher and my career in the field. For my first year as a pre-service teacher, creating a base for something that I could add on to and develop was my main strategy and though process. My perspective of teaching is going to evolve throughout my college and career experience, but it’s important to start somewhere.
At the center of my own teaching philosophy is the importance of building relationships and bonds with my students. Fostering an environment where students feel safe and well-connected to the people in their classroom will inspire a hunger for learning and success. In addition, I believe that there is great significance in implementing real life experiences and encouraging sufficient social skills that prepare my students, no matter the age, for their future pathways.
In my future classroom, I will be sure to dedicate much of my time in the classroom creating bonds and building relationships with my students. I believe that without trust, there is nothing. When students are comfortable around me and know that I really do care about them, they will be more likely to want to learn from me. There has to be a foundation based on love and understanding between the students and me as their teacher. Working with the 21C program, I’ve seen this firsthand. Being patient and attentive to my students’ needs makes them feel like I am really listening to them and that I really do care about what they have to say. All they want is for someone to truly love them and get to know them. I try to talk to each child and let them share their interests and experiences with me. I am sure to play with them outside and engage with them during each part of the day, so they know I am interested in their learning and lives. While I may not always be worried about the academic part of the afterschool program, I have noticed a lot of improvement with their fine motor skills, social skills, and manners. These improvements were able to be made because they trusted that I could help and teach them. They understand that they can ask for help and that I will be there to listen to them when they need someone.
To go along with this idea of creating meaningful connections with my students, I also believe that the empathy I show to my students will help them become more understanding and empathetic people. I think it is extremely important for me to take time with my students and be able to fully understand them as individuals. Each student will come into my classroom with different life experiences and circumstances that make them who they are. Many of them will have to go through many difficult times and be subject to misbehave. It is essential for me to step back and meet them where they are at. They have so many feelings that are hard to express and I want to be sure to take the time to put myself in their shoes and grasp where they are coming from. In turn, I believe my empathy towards them will give them an example to follow and they will become more empathetic, emotionally intelligent people. I have seen this working with the afterschool program especially. Throughout the year, my students have developed more care and understanding for each other and the desire to talk about their feelings.
Building an environment that is safe and based on creating meaningful relationships will help set my students up for success, socially and academically. Creating an environment where students feel safe and comfortable will allow them to let go and be themselves. This will also encourage them to dive into their learning and really be unapologetic with gaining new knowledge and trying new things. This past summer I worked as a camp counselor, and I noticed how important it was to create an inviting environment. There was a major difference in each of my campers between the start of the week and the time they left. They completely come out of their shells, they make so many new friends, they have tried things they’ve never done, and they know that there are people who really care about them. This is because we (as counselors) have created an environment that is positive, encouraging, silly, and centered on collective growth. This is something I really want to carry out in my future classrooms.
I believe that camp works because it implements fun into learning, which is something I want to bring into my own classroom. Allowing my students to play and be hands-on with their own learning is what will set them up for success in their future. Creating activities based on key concepts in our units will provide a mix of creativity, problem-solving, and self-discovery. It will allow them to take control of their learning, work with others, and feel a sense of responsibility. We have learned a lot about how making classes new and fun helps students want to learn more and I hope to be able to do that in my classroom one day.
As an aspiring educator, I will be sure to apply real life experiences into my academic lessons. It is essential to try to make learning relatable to the students in order for them to really understand the concepts. Not only is it going to be important to talk about life scenarios, but also to provide them with hands-on experiences. Letting them solve problems together and develop social skills goes into this as well. Making sure that my students are able to interact with each other and work together to learn concepts from class will set them up for success. I remember being in grade school and much more I remembered topics from class when I worked with partners and when it was relatable. I will be sure to understand the perspectives of my students and teach in ways that are appropriate to them.
I believe that applying real life experiences into my academic lessons will also allow my students to find their strengths and use them to their benefit. Instead of confining my lessons to one strength of a certain type of student, having diverse lessons that implement real life scenarios creates a space for my students to find what they are good at doing and how their role is important to the class. When these students understand their own roles and strengths, they are able to take responsibility for their learning and feel like they are an active member in becoming a more well-rounded student. I find that this will probably be an essential aspect of my teaching method and hope to continue to develop skills to bring this into my own classroom.
In conclusion, I find that my teaching philosophy is centered around the idea of relationship building. Along with that, creating an inviting environment that allows for empathy and making concepts relatable and fun for my students while playing into their strengths is essential to making my classroom successful.
