Teaching Philosophy
Six years of teaching comes with many ups and downs, and has challenged my preconceptions about what I thought teaching and learning was going to be like. Though my philosophy has transformed over time, it has guided me through several teaching placements and school changes. The relationships that I built with my students, their families, and my fellow educators has been the driving factor in honing my personal teaching philosophy. These relationships have been the most unexpected outcome of my teaching career, for intertwining my life with strangers who end up becoming family has transformed my thoughts, my practices and ultimately, my instruction. Therefore, currently my educational mission centers around three guiding concepts: consistency, love, and advocacy.
In retrospect, I’m not sure if I was a “schedule person” before I became a teacher. But if I wasn’t then, teaching certainly has turned me into one, all for the sake of keeping a routine. It only took me a few months to recognize how much of an impact classroom scheduling, time management, and daily routines have on my students. These facets become the pillars of their day and a framework for them to rest their expectations on, particularly for students who lack consistency in their home life. Deviating from these pillars upsets not only their comfort level, but our collective classroom culture. School must be the safe environment where students garner their sense of security and trust. Knowing what to expect and when to expect it plays a major role in developing this reliability. Additionally, teaching early childhood is even more cause for consistency, not just in organizing time, but also in terms of my expectations for their behavior and actions. For many of my students, our class is their first experience with formal schooling, and their experiences in Pre-K set the foundation for how they form relationships and attitudes towards their educational journey. Expectations for behavior that are clear, and consistently communicated are paramount in cultivating joy and free expression in my little learners.
In addition, everything in my classroom is guided by love, which sounds simple enough. However, after teaching a “standardized testing” grade for my first few years, it was clear to me that love was quickly disappearing from school. The emphasis on performance and achievement was a quantitative measure, and accelerated by external pressure from all sides. Students were treated as numbers and statistics instead of individuals with whom to foster relationships and growth. Therefore, love is the number one principle in my room-from the care that we give to our materials, to the respect we show our friends, to the joy and inquisitiveness we feel when reading a favorite book or investigating how to make something happen in the “discovery” center. I want my children to experience the passion for learning that was so palpable to me as a child during my own schooling. I want to see their eyes wide with anticipation when estimating and counting the number of seeds in a pumpkin; I want them to ache with curiosity to find out what happens in the next chapter of our read-aloud book. The ideas they are exposed to now become part of their character like nothing else can.
Love is the guiding concept in my non-academic instruction as well. I teach my students that if our thoughts and actions are founded in care and compassion for others, we accomplish our goals and much more. I credit my teaching placement with having the unique position to influence a child’s identity, and develop their true sense of self. With this opportunity, I seek to prioritize tolerance and exploration of cultures outside of our own, and to celebrate each other’s exceptional qualities, in times of personal struggle and collective success. My mission is to have my students regard our inter-personal differences as assets, not obstacles, as we are all irreplaceable pieces of the puzzle.
Further, advocacy is a major drive of my mission as a special educator, and in the culture I seek to cultivate in my classroom. Teaching students with exceptionalities charges me to be their voice when they are still learning how to ask for what they need and want. It is my professional and moral responsibility to advocate for the needs of my students, and in turn, empower and teach them to advocate for themselves. Navigating the educational path can be cumbersome, and wrought with difficult options. It is my goal that my students have the self-awareness to make choices that best suit their needs, and allow them the highest level of independence as possible, while partnering with and supporting their families. Additionally, I seek to embolden my students to advocate for the rights and needs of others. Through candid conversation and first-hand experience, I want my students to recognize that each individual is deserving of an excellent education, and we all can contribute to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow, regardless of our unique needs. Love, in my classroom, is the highest form of activism.