My Philosophy of Education
Why do you want to be a teacher? Being education majors, I think this may be one of the most common questions that many of us are asked whether it be by a family member or getting interviewed for a job. Besides the more generic answer like, "I love kids"- why do you really want to become an educator? For me, I knew pretty early on that going into education was something that I wanted to do. It was not until my high school years that I truly found out the reasons that I wanted to be a Special Education teacher. Going out and experiencing exceptional and below average teachers gives you tools to try and be an excellent teacher yourself. If you think about the top three best teachers you ever had or worked with, you should wonder: what do they have and how do I get it!? So far, these experiences have majorly helped shaped my philosophy of education.
If I had to sum up my philosophy in one sentence it would be "All students deserve excellent teachers." I like it because it is simple and to the point. A students' quality of their education should not depend on the funding of the district they live in. No matter the economic status, all students deserve to be taught by teachers who strive to be excellent in their craft. If you are not passionate about being an educator, it is only going to damage future generations. Yes, that might sound a tad bit dramatic but I feel that teachers have such an influence on the way a child turns out. It only takes one person to inspire someone else into doing great things. If a teacher does not really want to be in the classroom, why would a kid really want to sit in and listen to what they have to say? From my own experiences, things like scripted lesson plans and 'teaching to the test' have also put a lid on not only the students' imagination, but the teachers as well. I feel they should be used as guidelines only.
An exceptional teacher is always a life long learner. In order for my students to ask questions, I have to ask questions. I think that some of the worst teachers I've ever had are the ones that always thought that they were right and did not want to learn past the curriculum. In my opinion, this is one of the flaws in perennialism. Nothing that would really change is taught and this very much so limits the students the right to an imagination and to be curious and ask questions. That being said, I really did enjoy all the aspects of experience based learning that progressivism brings. It really embraces change which is good because we all live in a world where one of the only things consistent in life is change! All of the philosophies that were discussed in class had their pros and cons but I was glad to hear about them because they each had valid ideas to bring into our own classrooms.
The best of the best special education teachers that I have observed so far all share a couple of the same qualities. Most importantly, they both truly love their job and take a personal interest in their students. I love that they are willing to go the extra mile to cater to the many and diverse individual needs. They also stressed to me that as a teacher you are going to make mistakes, not all lessons and ideas that you throw out are going to be successful, and that is okay! Both of them could go with the flow and not get so caught up in all of the technicalities.
In conclusion, I think that the best kind of teacher is a passionate teacher. If a teacher is passionate, the want to constantly better yourself and your students will come naturally. A passionate teacher will always see endless potential in their students because everyone deserves to have someone believe in them.
