TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1

Teaching Philosophy

Charlotte Baum

Liberal Studies 401

Marina Gillmore

23 April 2020
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Over my time as a Liberal Studies major I have come to understand the type of teachers

that are needed in the workforce and the type of teachers that are not. Teachers should have a

determination to set up every student for success. In order to do that, it is important to keep an

open hearted classroom. A classroom should welcome students of all experiences with open

arms. By connecting with all learners' backgrounds and personal struggles, educators can engage

their students, as well as teach them. If teachers incorporate a variety of human experiences in

their classroom, they open the minds of their students to things that they may have never

considered or encountered before. Using experimentalist and existentialist forms of teaching, I

will understand my students apart from one another in order to teach them at their pace to make a

classroom of successful students.

An important key to inclusivity in the classroom, is interpersonal relationships. I have

learned from personal experience and through observations that collaboration projects are an

amazing way to develop social skills. Collaboration can help prepare students for real life jobs

and help them consider all the factors that play into whatever they are working on. It will also

allow students to connect on a deeper level with one another and understand their likes and

differences. One of the biggest problems students experience in middle school are the social

pressures that can influence them to not think freely. Middle school can be great for collaboration

because of its social exposure. I don’t want my students submitting to social norms that restrict

them to box-like thinking. I refuse to allow petty social norms in my classroom, so I hope that

those ideals will carry to the social aspects of my students. That being said, I have found that

there is more to teaching than just what is next in the book. Teaching students moral values and

how to handle real life situations is just as important, if not more important, than the things we
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get from the book. Exposing students to group work and projects that require critical thinking

skills can benefit so many aspects of their educational career. Things like mutual respect,

leadership skills and equal opportunity can be taught through collaborative projects. Multiple

choice tests and basic worksheets are not helpful in expanding the personal train of thought.

Rather than continuing with the same, go with the flow of society, I want to open my student’s

minds to deeper ways of thinking; not just in the classroom but the real world too. I don’t want to

just give them the answer and get on with their lives. I would rather my students struggle with

social interaction and personal accountabilities in middle school than years down the road when

there is no time to fix it. Using progressive forms of teaching, I am able to set up every single

student in the room for success. I want to open as many minds as possible to help create a society

filled with love and inclusivity.

To reiterate, I want to set up each of my students for success, no matter their situation. In

order to do that, I need to be flexible. In the book Teaching Hope, there are various stories where

teachers show their flexibility. One story stood out to me in this case because it explained the

story of a boy who was not given the same opportunities at life as everyone else. A special

education boy named David, “...appeared to be as serene as the Dalai Lama himself.” (Gruwell,

163). The story goes on to tell David’s educational career. This particular teacher did not seem to

take any sort of helpful action, because it was something they had never experienced before.

While I know a teacher’s job is not to counsel students, I can’t help to wonder what kind of

impact this one would have made by simply expressing their worry. There is a solution to every

situation for every individual. I am the type to take it upon myself to give every single student
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exactly what they need and when to ask for help. I commit to doing whatever it takes to make

sure each of my student’s leaves the classroom with knowledge in all frames.

Leading by example is a vague statement, but it means the most to my philosophy. I will

conduct a classroom of inclusivity. By going out of my way to offer open arms to everyone, I

hope my students will be inspired. I want to make sure my students are inclusive and

understanding of each other, so in a way they can lead each other. If every student feels

comfortable expressing themselves in my classroom, a certain comfortability will become of my

students. When I say lead by example, I don’t just mean with my students. I mean with my

co-workers, my classmates and anyone I meet. Examples of inclusion will be at the top of my list

in all cases. My philosophy is inclusive of all people and considers the ever-changing knowledge

of society so it can not be just one thing.

Various situations and people can test a teacher’s philosophy everyday. Another part of

my philosophy is to make sure that it is adaptable. I do not just have one way of doing things and

I am open to change. The only thing that I want to make clear is my determination to make every

one of my students successful. Students can not only be prepared through values taught in

textbooks. There is something deeper about teaching that makes me so excited to be a teacher. I

may not be able to open the minds of all my students but I do plan on taking my time and

pushing my students in that direction. Forms of collaboration will help this philosophy because it

forces students to work together to get the best outcomes. They will face many situations

collaborating with each other like: students who don’t want to work hard, students who work

really hard, students who are afraid to work hard. As our work-rates are multi-faceted, every

detail of existence is. Facing each-other 's details will offer the opportunity to learn about the
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way society conducts its systems and influence mind’s to question and understand all facets on a

deeper level. Opening their minds to all forms of interaction will hopefully just make them more

considerate people overall. Giving multiple solutions for each student to use, will get everyone

involved in an equitable way. There is a quote that says something like you can’t judge a fish on

its ability to climb a tree. That is an important teaching quote, considering we are not all from the

same middle-class family of four. Equal opportunity is important to my teaching philosophy

because when everyone gets an equal chance to be a genius, the genius pool gets smarter;

meaning that when society and its education system limits opportunity it limits society as a

whole. I am someone who fires on all cylinders in order to make people feel welcome and

accepted.

Giving my students a deeper understanding of the information that I am teaching and how

it relates to them matters to my teaching philosophy. In order to do this, I will allow students to

blossom how they please. Overall, I will have a classroom of trying new things and expanding on

new ideas. My classroom will be a place of safety and comfort for all students. I am a person

who cares a bit too much and I like to think that it will be made apparent in my classroom as

well.

Works Cited
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Gruwell, Erin. Teaching Hope: Stories from the Freedom Writer Teachers and Erin Gruwell.

Broadway Books, 2009.