PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING 1

Philosophy of Teaching

Angela Graham

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 201

Susan Bridges
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PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING 3

Philosophy of Teaching

I have always been influenced by a lot of people in my lifetime from teachers to family

members. Everyone in my life has a common connection which is; everyone has been a teacher

in my life. I always thought it would be noble to pay it forward by becoming a teacher. I have

always love to learn and was always excited to grow. I believe learning and growing are two

important things to consider when you become a teacher. Many people have sacrificed their time

to make sure that I grew into a creative, knowledgeable, and caring person. I would just like to

say, “Thank you,” by shaping the next generation of students.

Past, Present, and Future

I have always wonder what I would be like inside my own classroom. I would drift off in

my grade 9 English class, and would place myself in front of the class while giving direct

instruction. My English teacher was so real, Mr. Lee was the father I have never had. He had a

way with words that kids could relate to, and everyone would beg their counselors to be in his

English classes for the following year. I always wanted to make an impact like Mr. Lee did, to

have kids in an urban school excited to learn and ready to grow up. That was the most impactful

time in my school career. My next experience for why I wanted to become a teacher is not a

positive one, but an influential one. I had just moved to a new area, a nice area. Where I grew up

was not the best neighborhood, so my teacher would focus on behavior management than direct

instruction. “Now, I will start over in a new school!” So much for being stoked about my third

grade year. My teacher was a complete nightmare, so mean and too real. Unlike Mr. Lee, Mrs. S

was too real, to the point I did not want to go to school. My mom always tells me how that was

my worst year in school. Mrs. S would remind us how horrible and slow we are in whole group

and during centers. One time she told a classmate that the cafeteria lady had cut his parents
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fingers off to make the beef sticks, just so he would stop acting up in her room. That situation has

always stuck with me, and I knew I did not want other kids to experience the same things I’ve

endured in Mrs. S class. From that moment, I have always wanted to become an elementary

teacher at my old school, just as a reminder that we can overcome our fears after all. My career

has been well at CCSD, I have had a lot of opportunities to work in different programs, different

schools, and work with many of students and teachers. By having an extensive amount of

experiences in my career, I believe I have the skill set to work in any room. Flexibility and

humbleness are two skills that I have mastered in my career. Edutopia has an amazing amount of

information for field observation. At first, I was really overwhelmed with summarizing my field

observations, because I really wanted to make sure that what I’ve have been applying in my

current field was similar to my observations. What I have gathered in my field observation is that

not every teacher runs the same script, and teaching is not black and white.

I believe that I have a mixture of different philosophies and orientations that I can bring

to the classroom. I live by a progressive and behavioral philosophy, in which the student knows I

am focused on their own personal needs and wants but I am counting on their behavior to

determine their future. Teachers need to give their students the opportunity to learn by doing. I

believe having a positive leadership role can assist on the classroom management. By

experiencing two different perspectives of teaching from a student’s point of view, I have learned

how to redirect my instruction. 2021 has been an interesting year, and to still watch the news to

learn that some schools still practice segregation techniques. Recently, a young African-

American woman was denied her valedictorian title for no reason. The title was given to her

runner up, which cost her a full ride scholarship. At the moment, she’s in the process of suing her

school district for the loss of her title and scholarship. When we revisit the time Ruby Bridges
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first day of school, we believe that was a long time ago. Majority of the teachers did not want to

work with her because of the times. How is one fostering the role of an educator, but refuses to

provide education? Unfortunately, that was only a few decades ago. The timeline always ensures

me that we have an oath to make sure every kid has a proper education and a promising future.

At the moment I am still trying to gather more information about learning strategies that will

blend well into my classroom. I am a huge fan of visual learning and cooperative learning. Peers

are influenced from each other and show different insights that I have probably overlooked

during my lesson. I will approach student diversity, student learning, and variability/assessments

by an open minded model such as, progressivism. Empathy is a great skill that I have possessed.

Being empathetic coverers a lot of characteristics like gratitude and optimism, you will need a lot

of both characteristics to maintain a classroom. I also am a firm believer of accountability. I’m

accountable for my student’s education as much as they are. If I drop the ball on a subject or

lesson, which could potentially change my student’s life choices, I would not want to have that

on my shoulders or in my heart. From here going forward, I will take more classes to enrich my

mindset and build my personal development. Ideally, I will continue education at College of

Southern Nevada, then transfer to Nevada State. When I graduate, I will already have a career

within CCSD, and I will focus on working as a speech therapist. Currently, I have volunteered

with my job to help students with online learning and working besides veteran teachers while

observing their learning styles. Lastly, I will continue to study for my Praxis until I am ready to

obtain my teaching license.