Evaluation+of+Self,+Students,+and+Teaching

My Personal Philosophy of Education **__ Introduction __**

Every future teacher has their own viewpoints and opinions on aspects of teaching. By the end of one’s teaching career their philosophy of education may have completely changed from before they started teaching. Through experience, I believe my views on education and teaching will alter little by little but the following is my philosophy of education as of now.

**__ Why should I teach? __**

I should teach because of many good reasons. Number one, I absolutely love children. Children and I have always had a connection. I feel that I can reach individuals on a personal level no matter who that student is. Children have always tended to listen and learn from me in the past when I try to teach them even a really difficult thing. I have patience for children, including those with disabilities, more than I do for anyone else in this world. I find it an honor to be part of a student’s education, and want to be able to say, “that’s why I am a teacher” when they succeed at their goals. Secondly, as a teacher I will be able to influence many lives and help students understand what education can do for them and their future. I feel that teachers make all other careers in this world possible and find it rewarding to be the reason why some of my students will move on to college and start a profession. Lastly, so far in my education experience at Northern Michigan University I have enjoyed every class and every assignment in the education program. The enjoyment I get going to college to learn to become a teacher, reassures me that I am in the correct career and will love and be good at my job.

**__ When did I decide to become a teacher? __**

Ever since I was in kindergarten I have said I was going to be a teacher, but a kindergartener is obviously too young to make an official career decision. My junior year in high school, when I knew my college experience was about to begin, is when I decided I wanted to be a special education teacher. I have never changed my mind about my major, and I am really sure about myself that I will not decide to change it in the future.

**__ Who should teach and be taught? __**

I really do believe that it is substantial for teachers to be highly qualified in the subject they are teaching. If there are teachers teaching something they don’t truly understand, then how can they ever expect their students to truly understand the material? Teachers should be certified and have taken all the required courses necessary in their state to become a teacher. Most importantly, I think a teacher should be a person of any ethnicity, age, gender, etc. that has passion for the job. As Salter stated in Chartock’s book, “the difference between a good teacher and a great one isn’t expertise. It comes down to passion.” If there are many potential teachers in this world that have passion for their career, why wouldn’t schools want to hire great teachers over anything less?

No matter what the backgrounds of the students are, it is important that teachers give a fair education and chance to every student. As a federal law states: if a school is funded by the government, students of all races, genders, ethnicities, economic classes, disabilities, and religions should have equal access to that service (pg. 80) I completely agree with the federal law and am really glad that people with disabilities was added into the law. I don’t feel that anybody should be denied an opportunity at education no matter what the circumstances are; even if a child has committed a crime or has a very low IQ everybody has the ability to learn and should be granted that right. This does not mean I feel that a harmful student should be offered access to an education in a classroom with other students, but that dangerous student should still be offered a public education through a different environment.

**__ What should I teach? __**

It has always been obvious to me that I want to teach an elementary level based class, but I never put much thought into what subject I wanted to teach until I babysat a boy who had down syndrome. I realized I was great with him, and I adored every second I spent watching him. I knew what to expect out of him, how to handle tough situations and behavior, and to be patient with him. I think I should teach elementary special education because I will enjoy the challenge of working with students with disabilities. I have always been a competitor which has led me to even compete with myself, doing the most challenging things possible. Teaching special education is challenging but will also be so rewarding. I feel that I can make more of an impact teaching students with disabilities, and I will have the opportunity to establish meaningful relationships with them. Some students with exceptionalities may lack close relationships with others due to their disability and all they need to feel better about their self is a relationship with a teacher like me.

Also, I look at children by their abilities rather than disabilities. This can be difficult for some, including general education teachers. I feel that many times students in the general education classrooms (including myself), take advantage of their education and do not foresee it as a good thing. Students with disabilities need their education in order to live as “normal” of a life as possible. It is necessary and difficult for some students with disabilities to even learn the simplest information. The point is, I feel that students with special needs will truly cherish their education, which makes me feel that I will cherish them as students. I also believe that it is important to make students feel as if they do not have a disability, which with that goal in mind I think I would make a good special education teacher.

**__ How should I teach? __**

I do not believe that teachers should stick to one method of teaching. Teachers may have higher opinions toward some methods over others, but I think it’s important to incorporate many different teaching methods. Teacher’s methods are also going to depend on the types of students and the best way for them to learn, you may have to use one method for half of the class and another method for the other half. Personally I learn better through social interactions with my class and teacher, rather than listening to the instructor read and lecture. I will definitely focus on using socializing as a major resource in educating my students. I will do so by assigning group work, hands-on activities, buddy work, peer-to-peer tutoring, real life applications, etc. By putting desks into groups (like our college classrooms), social interaction would increase within the students to discuss issues and learn together. (Dewey, pg. 300) Not only will this allow students to get the input of their peers but it will also create a community within the class which I feel is so important. For students with disabilities, socializing can be an extreme difficulty of theirs. Encouraging and practicing socializing with their peers should result in an increase in socializing and a better picture on how to respect and use social skills toward others. Through my beliefs I have concluded that I am a progressivist, like Dewey (pg. 300). I believe school curriculum should be focused on problem solving skills (especially everyday problems), and it should actively influence experimentation and discovery. Testing is a touchy issue for me. I always hated tests but I did feel that by studying for them I learned the material well. I feel that through a few more years of education at NMU and hours in local classrooms that I will create a strong belief on the issue. Testing is obviously necessary by law, but how I want it incorporate them into my class is up to me. I’m a big believer in group projects, presentations, reports, journals, interviews, etc. as assessment tools and that tests are not the only answer.

**__ Conclusion __**

Overall, I have a very positive view on education. I feel that teaching and receiving an education are both very rewarding. My major goal as a teacher will be to influence the lives of my students in every positive way possible. I will not go into my career knowing everything, I too will be learning with my students day by day.