Teaching Philosophy

Emilie Belanger

     

     Much of my work over the past 20 years has been in education, and my experience tells me that certified teachers have an immense opportunity to shape the world. In a world that is often chaotic, the opportunity to shape hearts and minds is a serious task. There are three purposes and principles that I think are necessary for establishing a culture of learning.

Teachers should maintain a personal moral underpinning and set the tone of kindness and respect that they would like to see in their students. This underpinning or backbone is essential to being a strong teacher. Barbara Coloroso suggests that to have a backbone is to be firm, but not unmovable with students. I believe a teacher’s backbone will serve as the source of her treatment of her students; with a loving, yet firm source, a teacher can be keyed up to treat students with kindness and respect. As a result, that kindness and respect will infect students’ relationships with each other, and this will contribute significantly to the classroom environment.

     In addition to having a backbone of kindness and respect, a culture of learning also demands that students are engaged and feel cared for and safe. The democratic principles given in Rudolf Dreikurs’ philosophy will be invoked in my classroom; students will participate in the creation of classroom rules and will be fully engaged in the learning and direction of the class. Also, it’s important to see diversity in culture, civil status, and academic ability in the classroom as an asset. It is necessary that teachers differentiate instruction and demonstrate that each student is deeply valued. Additionally, I will give individual care to each of my students. Students who feel free to make mistakes, who feel safe, and who are confident will be the best learners. In this type of classroom culture, students are challenged academically while resting in the assurance that the teacher likes them and wants them to succeed. I will work hard to create this type of environment.

     While ensuring that each student is cared for and safe is very important, encouraging academic curiosity and confidence is paramount. Presenting content in a way that’s accessible and interesting, whetting students’ appetites for knowledge, and stirring in them the desire to excel academically is a teacher’s responsibility. Using teaching strategies that meet the academic needs of each individual student while fulfilling requirements based on state standards, teachers should provide students the opportunity to achieve and advance academically. I want to instill academic confidence. My students will feel good about who they are as a student, with all of their unique gifts and weaknesses. They will understand where they need to grow academically, and they will face this challenge encouraged.    

     The purposes and principles that will shape my teaching, and ultimately the character of my students, are a very serious matter. Solid teachers will have a strong backbone of kindness and respect. They will involve their students in the direction their class is taking while caring for students and creating a safe environment. Another primary purpose of a teacher’s job is to ensure academic achievement and confidence in students. If I can operate guided by these practices, I believe I will be proud of the outcomes produced in and by my students.