“As a teacher, you are also a learner.” – Dr. Riggle

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

I would not be writing this if it were not for the education that has brought me to where I am today. At first, I’m sure I can speak on behalf of many when I say that I did not first aspire to be a teacher. Instead I wanted to be a Funeral Director, but throughout the end of my middle school year to the end of high school, I had many mentors get me to where I am today along with a passion for the subject of literature. Listed below is my teaching philosophy. In other words what I believe are the fundamental needs to be a great teacher. Being a great teacher can mean many things, but I believe the centralizing idea to have is to build those connections with your students, and maybe, just maybe, they will want to follow in your footsteps and become teachers themselves. These are the things that I believe: 

A classroom should be a place where all students feel welcomed. Ex: Schools, especially classrooms should be a place where students feel welcomed by making sure they understand that the teacher is there to listen to them. It is a place where students should speak and feel comfortable speaking their minds as well. As a teacher, understand that you are not the students’ guidance counselor, but they have to know that you are there for them in a school setting. 

Every student needs an adult role model in their life. Ex: I believe that every student needs a sort of role model in their life. Parents or guardians have to be there for their children and teach them the ways to be civil in our society. 

Students need different types of learning patterns. Many students, I believe, have different learning patterns. Students may learn: visually, hands-on, etc. Ex: Not all students are going to learn in the same exact way that other students may learn. Some students work better with hands-on learning, others may feel like they have the material downpat when they visualize it. 

As a teacher, I will understand that failing helps teachers learn if we want meaningful learning to take place. Ex: It’s the notion that the most meaningful things that we learn come out of challenging situations. I believe that everyday is another day to learn something new and by failing you actually prepare for the next time a situation arises. Failing makes people better learners, so they know not to do that same thing over again. 

As a teacher, I will understand that there will be someone to help you along the way. Starting out at a new school can be difficult, especially going into your first year of teaching. However, there will be staff members there to help you. If I would happen to get stuck, I would reach out to another faculty member that is teaching the same subject as I am and see what worked for example if they taught some kind of assignment that I was going to teach.

As a teacher, I will keep my temper down when getting yelled at by a student or parent, but ask them to share their view first so I can de-escalate the situation. Ex: As teachers, we have to understand that we don’t know what is going on in every student’s life. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to meet the student or parent where they are or try to understand why they are upset and what we can do to fix the problem. 

As a teacher, I will understand my purpose in the school district where I’m at. We must not forget why we chose to teach in the first place. Perhaps we had a certain educator(s) in our past that have aspired us to become educators ourselves. We need to understand that we are not only serving the school, but we are serving the community as well. In the wise words of Dr. Riggle “we are called to serve.”

As a teacher, if I am wrong or I don’t know the answer to a question a student has, instead of rambling, I will tell them I don’t know, but I will find out the answer for them. Ex: Teachers don’t know everything. It’s hard to believe it, but it’s true. It’s important to be honest with your students and with yourself as well. Regarding any question that you truly don’t know the answer to, students would much rather hear you say that you don’t know an answer than try to just explain the answer in a less-confident way. 

Before my lessons that I teach, I will make sure I know the lesson to the best of my ability. Ex: You, as the teacher, are there for the students, and the students are there for you. It may sound a bit cheesy, but they are there in hopes to educate themselves. In order for students to learn something, they have to be taught it and have a comprehensive knowledge of the subject they are talking about. Before any teacher actually teaches their lesson, it’s important to understand the lesson yourself to the best of your ability. That way you can explain it to the best of your ability to your students. 

As a teacher, I will build relationships – It’s important to build relationships with students. Building those relationships will help the student know that you are there for them. They will take those relationships that they have built with you and who knows, maybe one day in the future, they will grow-up to be an aspiring educator just like you. 

As a teacher, I will have fun – the teaching business is a process. We tend to get caught-up in grading, discipline, and our activities outside of school and tends to get a little overwhelming. The most important thing to consider is to have fun. Have fun teaching the subject that you enjoy and have fun having those conversations with the students.

This list is not complete, nor do I think it will be completed in the next 3 years. It will probably be completed when I retire, that way this list will go out to the world for other inspiring educators to see. When an inspiration strikes, it shall be placed on this list. In order for us future teachers to become “good” teachers above are the examples that you have seen which fulfills just a portion of my teaching philosophy. Teaching can be stressful, not just physically, but more so mentally. If it is so tiring, why do we continue to educate children? To respond to this question, I can really only say one thing…. growth. Teaching makes us think, teaching makes us grow, teaching makes us inspire students, teaching makes us grow as humans and enrich the world around us. Below is a quote that I believe sums up what makes a teacher:

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

  • William A. Ward