Reflection Paper

In this paper I will discuss why I want to become a teacher, some of my personal characteristics that will make me an effective teacher, how I will stay current in the field of education, and how I will maintain my passion about teaching. Finally, I will include my teaching philosophy.

I want to become a teacher for a few reasons, mainly to be able to shape our future by helping to teach our children. Becoming part of the learning process and actually seeing a student finally understand something could not be more rewarding. Education is priceless, a necessity, and important to the emotional growth of any child.

I feel that some of my personal characteristics that will make me an effective teacher are to teach by different learning styles, not just one and only one; to have a diverse learning environment, have good communication skills, have confidence in myself and belief in what I am teaching or passing on, be willing to admit to making mistakes (that I am only human as are my students), and to have knowledge of the materials in which I am teaching and ample planning and preparation time. The most important characteristic I feel I have is that I tend to bring out the best in people. I emphasize good qualities in others and am not afraid to point these qualities out (great rapport).

Staying current in the field of education is important. I plan to do this by taking continuing education classes, go to lectures on education and different subjects, and by mentoring, advocacy for the profession and school quality, and to leadership. Keeping up with technology's advances is another great tool to keeping current in the field.

My own teaching philosophy is that education is important to me for a number of reasons. I believe education is fundamental in forming a person's beliefs, attitudes, esteem, and aspirations. It is a foundation upon which we determine our future and goals. Although I know that I will probably never gain prestige, wealth, or status by working as an educator, I firmly believe that there is simply no other profession for me. There is nothing I could do with my life more fulfilling or meaningful than to assist a child acquire knowledge about the world in which we live.

The philosophy of education is the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. This can be within the context of education as a societal institution or more broadly as the process of human existential growth, i.e. how it is that our understanding of the world is continually transformed (be it from facts, social customs, experiences, or even our own emotions). (K-12academics.com, 2007). My philosophy of education begins with instilling the continuing desire to learn within each student. I believe that each child has a different style of learning and that my job as an educator is to meet the needs of all my students. I believe that each student goes through the same basic ordering from concrete to semi concrete to abstract in conceptualizing ideas; my job is to present lessons in a relevant manner so that the material is presented in an appropriate manner for each student. I recognize that there is no one way to learn nor is there only one way to teach, rather there are a range of effective teaching methods to be employed to ensure that all children acquire an understanding of the subject matter.

Since knowledge is the sum of all experiences, each bit of material presented in school, at home, and in social settings adds to one's knowledge base. To cease to learn is to cease to live. As an educator, I will promote the desire for life-long learning by ensuring my classroom will be conducive to all types of learners. In order to provide for individual differences I will utilize a variety of teaching and learning experiences. My goal as a teacher is to inspire students to care, to be passionate about ideas, issues, and people beyond their immediate scope of existence. Incorporating many learning experiences and vigorously fostering high expectations will allow students individual growth and promote the importance of life-long learning. Interactions between the students will be a major benefit to the learning process in my class; group work will be a big part of my style. Teams will be used as often as appropriate.

I would consider myself to be under the Progressivism teaching style or at least that is how I perceive I will be as a teacher. Progressivism is based on the belief that education should be child-centered rather than focused on the teacher or the content area. Progressivism acquires the ability to function in the real world and to develop problem solving skills. In my classroom I will emphasize the skills needed to help solve the problems my students will face in the real world. I will provide learning groups, learning tasks, and learning assignments that build character and ability to problem solve and feel confident in today's world. In my classroom, I will continually give feedback and knowledge to those who readily accept it. I hope to point each of my learners in the right direction that is best for them. I believe each student is an individual, whether that meaning in the way he/she learns, he/she acts, or he/she contributes to the learning environment. The learning environment in my classroom will be collaborative, team-based, and democratic. My learning environment will consist of my classroom and its contents adapting to the needs of the children, rather than the children adapting to my classroom and the content being taught. Progressivism teaches the learner to continue on the learning path and to make them able to adapt to the changes in the world around them. Personally I think in my classroom I will be more hands-on and use creative learning activities. I will ask questions to make sure they understand the content and be there to guide them as well. The real world is forever evolving and changing, why not teach children to adapt to their world? I will use the transformative style of lesson delivery. This means that there is a give and a take between the teacher and the student. It also means that I will value my students input or interest in the material. There will be choices in my classroom. I want my students to know that education is the most powerful and life-determining force that exists in society today.

All of this is of course not set in stone, I know my philosophy might change after I have some experience; in fact, I am looking forward to seeing how accurate my vision of my teaching style is.