Professional Philosophy Statement

Being an educator is one of the most criticized fields of profession and certainly one I did
not see myself pursuing in my undergrad. Through meaningful experiences tutoring children I
fell in love with the idea that I can be a change agent for the future generations and provide my
students with what I never had -- a role model. I will not only be a role model, but an
African-American male who is driven to seek change in underprivileged urban communities.
A quote that embodies my statement is from Conrelius Minor's book titled “We Got This: Equity,
Access, and the Quest to be who our students need us to be.” Minor writes, “We are in this
profession because we believe they (our students) have the answers.” The answers are in better
words our future and our own children's future. We will soon be relying on the students we
interact with daily to make important decisions to our communities and to our country and life as
we know it.
Expanding my students minds to ensure they understand that we are learning from them
is a vital message to be sure is evident in my classroom. A goal of mine as an educator is to
empower and motivate each and every student in their career to be intelligent, confident, goal
setting global citizens. On top of that, I also want to change the generic teacher perception for
students, in part by serving as a role model in being an African-American male educator. I want
to use my perspective and ethnicity as a driving force behind my instruction, not shying away
from difficult conversations and social topics but inviting them into my classroom for safe
conversations.
I will professionally facilitate and highlight student discussions and welcome all students
and their respective backgrounds with open mindedness and curiosity. I am an approachable staff
member open to constructive criticism, always striving to become a stronger educator who is
willing to assist any colleague or student in their struggles. Being a business entrepreneur, social
interaction is something that I am passionate about because of the relationships that blossom
from it. A way that I have connected with a lot of my students in my student teaching experience
thus far is through sneakers and contemporary topics.
Sharing common interests and transitioning that to an educational pathway is a thin line,
however when executed correctly can result in inviting learning environments for all students.
My cooperating teacher told me something very intentional during our first week of class. “No
child comes to school wanting to misbehave and not learn, this is typically a direct result of their
home lives.” This statement proved as insight into the importance of investing into my students'
backgrounds and living situations as these can adversely affect their academic performance
within the classroom. 11 million children come to school every day hungry, and we need to see
their actions within the context of their lives.
A component of educating the youth that I have learned in my time at Hope College is
the idea of differentiating instruction and creating a setting that best fits students’ needs. This can
be exemplified by my passion for collaborative assignments in the classroom and incorporating
useful elements of presentation when best fit. Students who begin to craft strong presentation
skills will stand out amongst their peers in the coming years academically and socially as leaders
and trailblazers for new ideas. We need to drive instruction towards significant and applicable
instruction that my students will be able to utilize academically and in the real world.
I will emphasize the reality of all instruction in my classroom and how it applies to their
lives. I can demonstrate this by providing personal examples and consistently involving students
in the flow of discussion, allowing every student to have the opportunity to comment and be an
active learner. Consistency is a trait essential to my drive in education; the most consistent
educators have the most influence on their students. Setting the standard from day one with your
expectations and continually revisiting these goals for your classroom is vital. Modeling them
will result in a positive learning environment.
A strong educator must be organized, reflective, critical, and attentive. Attentiveness
comes in context when reflecting on your lessons and student behaviors. Being critical with your
reflections is important, also utilizing PLC (Peer Learning Community) in your district is a great
way of learning from your colleagues the new techniques you can implement or alter to enhance
your teaching. Active learning goes beyond the classroom and can be applicable to students in all
avenues of their lives.
My passion for writing and literature has led me to be an English Language Arts
educator, where the importance of assessments is immeasurable. Being able to understand your
students' capabilities is crucial to targeting, identifying, and then differentiating instruction to
best align with each student's diverse needs. I have been curating an expansive diverse classroom
library with intriguing age appropriate text selections for my students. I also plan to become
involved with school organizations such as Calling all Colors and Black Student Union. Every
classroom will have a broad range of students' capability to read and then comprehend the text.
Observing student behavior and allowing yourself adequate time to accommodate students will
result in a healthy learning environment that meets all students where they stand.
Cooperating with the building ESL, Speech, and Special Education staff members is
another great way to gain a better understanding of your students as their work is more hyper
focused on specific areas I am not trained in. I realized that my experience with an IEP in my
own education history has allowed me to identify and accommodate students in ways my
experienced cooperating teacher had not thought of. This is a strength I noticed early on, and
taking unconscious action has resulted in improved students' academic proficiency.
Being an educator is no easy task, however I am extremely excited to begin my career as
a change agent, as Conerlius Minor would put it. I will tirelessly work to ensure all my students
are given equal opportunities and receive the same level of attention and guidance to the best of
my capabilities. Implementing practices from my undergraduate program paired with my
personal intuition will allow me to become a successful educator in our country.