Philosophy of Education By Katherine Kalmes
I believe that we, as teachers, have the most important job in our society. Looking around me, I know that almost everyone has learned from a teacher – it is our common denominator. We have the obligation then, to do right by our students – our scholars. They are our future and we want them to succeed. I believe that the purpose of teaching is to provide scholars with the strategies and skills necessary for them to be functional, active and successful members in our society. Not all of my students will go to college and I can’t assume that they will. It is my job though to give them the respect, care and time they deserve and help them in all areas of life: the hidden curriculum. I think that we must instill the passion for lifelong learning, literacy and growth in our students. For me, that does not only refer to academic areas but also learning how to live and be a human being. It sounds like quite the task to take on, but I feel that since I had teachers who taught me those things and cared, why can’t I return the favor to the next generations. These beliefs will impact my teaching in that I will be more of a facilitator who encourages change and active learning in my students. Learning is a two way street which is my way of thinking about Vgotsky’s idea of the zone of proximal development. In other words, I cannot throw information at my students and assume they will catch and understand it, and at the same time I cannot leave them to find the information with no background knowledge. I must give my students the structure and scaffolding they need in order for them to learn and be critical thinkers. Although having a plan to be a well-‐rounded teacher is great, I believe it cannot be achieved unless I provide an environment in which my students feel comfortable and respected. My classroom will be an environment that is not only conducive to learning but conducive to creating a classroom personality. I believe that learning should be a fun experience and I want to include my students’ personalities and interests into our classroom. It will be an area in which my students can share all of their ideas and every student’s voice will be heard. This idea not only applies to their verbal voice but also to their creative and written expression. Student’s artwork and projects will be displayed around my classroom and students will be given endless opportunities to write. This gives the students a chance to express themselves on their own terms without the threat of time disappearing. Also, on average, people only remember five percent of what they do not write down. As a result, I am a firm believer in James Britton and Janet Emig’s idea of “Writing to Learn.” Writing to Learn refers to informal writing tasks that take place during a lesson or outside of class to spark students’ critical thinking. I believe that the only way you learn something is by writing it down and actively comprehending the information. As a result, I use numerous research-‐based writing strategies in my lessons including Quick Writes, Think-‐Ink-‐Pair-‐Shares (TIPS) and Sharing Whips. My goal as a teacher is to create lifelong learners who not only appreciate the world around them but it enjoy it as well. There is so much to learn and experience in this world, and I want to instill that joy in my students. I have a passion for English and our small 26 letters. To me, the most amazing thing is what those 26 letters can do; they form millions and millions of words, thousand upon thousands of books and an infinite number of ideas. If something as small as 26 letters can accomplish that big of a feat – what can a classroom of 26 students accomplish? I believe, they can do everything and anything and I want to help them get there.