Collaborative Education
My personal teaching philosophy stems from the belief that education should be student- and community- centered. By studying my students’ individual growth and learning methods, and by appreciating and utilizing my students’ diverse backgrounds and cultures to make lessons more relevant and engaging, I believe education can be much more than just a top-down way of disseminating knowledge. Instead, education can be about partnership and collaboration. Student-centered education builds and empowers a community of young adults who develop a keen sense of multicultural advocacy, global citizenship, and effective communication. By creating an atmosphere of trust, partnership, and respect, schools become a place for mental, social, and emotional growth. I believe classrooms should be a place where students are held to very high standards with the knowledge of the full support and positive thinking of their teacher and their peers, and it should promote risk-taking, goal setting, engagement, and self-motivation. To help students reach their full potential and shine within my classroom’s educational community, I will create a positive and productive classroom atmosphere and differentiate my instruction so that everyone is included. One of my favorite methods for this is the inquiry centers approach, but my teaching will also include cooperative group work, journaling, directed reading-thinking activity, and reciprocal teaching, in addition to direct instruction.
An important tenet of my teaching philosophy is that education supports access, equity, and opportunity to developing young adults. As Obama stated in 2010, “a world-class education is a prerequisite for success…[and it] is also a moral imperative – the key to securing a more equal, fair, and just society” (add source). Education provides students with the skills and knowledge they need to become productive and caring citizens within our society, and it gives students of very diverse backgrounds the same foothold and same strengths to succeed. Reading exposes a student to experiences, ideas, and skills beyond what they would otherwise grasp; writing creates communication, promotes story telling, and helps illuminate the observations, critical thinking and analyses unique to each student. With these activities as a constant in an English classroom, in addition to the social interaction inherent in discussions and class activities, students come to understand cultures unique from their own while appreciating commonalities across difference.
My philosophy of education lines up closely with scholar Nancy Sommers’ in her writing, Across the Drafts. She states, “when students respond to feedback as an invitation to contribute something of their own to an academic conversation, they do so because students imagine their instructors as readers waiting to learn from their contributions, not readers waiting to report what they’ve done wrong on a given paper” (255). I believe that there should be less of a distinction between teacher and student in English classes, and more of an emphasis of the dialectic relationship between writer and reader. I want to foster a community where every student feels valued. I believe all students want to achieve; they want to be a writer - someone creative and unique with a distinctive, powerful voice. In my classes, I want to help students confront those identities as realities.
I have a strong belief in the power of English within education for many reasons. English is a vital part of the school system because it first teaches students the basic rules of language and then the intricacies of communication; it cultivates skills beyond memorization and summary, allowing students to perfect their ability to analyze and deconstruct stories and the historical, social, political, and philosophical viewpoints they illustrate. It also empowers students through the development of strong, independent voices, as they learn how to build an argument and communicate it effectively. Through education, students are able to ultimately understand that one’s choices of words as a writer can be as important as and indeed inseparable from one’s choices as a voter and consumer. Furthermore, English’s inclusion and appreciation of diverse perspectives and dissimilar interpretations fosters open-mindedness. Beyond tolerating others’ views or differing interpretations of a text, students learn they must fully understand and recognize the value of an opposing argument. The goal is to teach students that there is no single “truth” about a text. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development stimulates me in that my goal with students is to help them shift from concrete operational thinking to formal operation thinking. Formal operational thinking can be enriched through “[analyzing] logic,” “[encouraging] scientific thinking,” and “use peer learning” (O’Donnell et. al., Educational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009. Pg. 91). By utilizing these strategies in a single English classroom, students gain a plethora of life-long skills that will apply in their future careers and in their personal lives. I believe very deeply and am incredibly passionate about improving the lives of the people I care about, and I will always care for all of my students with as much commitment, aid, and knowledge as I can provide, because I sincerely believe that education is the key to success, happiness, and social harmony.
An important tenet of my teaching philosophy is that education supports access, equity, and opportunity to developing young adults. As Obama stated in 2010, “a world-class education is a prerequisite for success…[and it] is also a moral imperative – the key to securing a more equal, fair, and just society” (add source). Education provides students with the skills and knowledge they need to become productive and caring citizens within our society, and it gives students of very diverse backgrounds the same foothold and same strengths to succeed. Reading exposes a student to experiences, ideas, and skills beyond what they would otherwise grasp; writing creates communication, promotes story telling, and helps illuminate the observations, critical thinking and analyses unique to each student. With these activities as a constant in an English classroom, in addition to the social interaction inherent in discussions and class activities, students come to understand cultures unique from their own while appreciating commonalities across difference.
My philosophy of education lines up closely with scholar Nancy Sommers’ in her writing, Across the Drafts. She states, “when students respond to feedback as an invitation to contribute something of their own to an academic conversation, they do so because students imagine their instructors as readers waiting to learn from their contributions, not readers waiting to report what they’ve done wrong on a given paper” (255). I believe that there should be less of a distinction between teacher and student in English classes, and more of an emphasis of the dialectic relationship between writer and reader. I want to foster a community where every student feels valued. I believe all students want to achieve; they want to be a writer - someone creative and unique with a distinctive, powerful voice. In my classes, I want to help students confront those identities as realities.
I have a strong belief in the power of English within education for many reasons. English is a vital part of the school system because it first teaches students the basic rules of language and then the intricacies of communication; it cultivates skills beyond memorization and summary, allowing students to perfect their ability to analyze and deconstruct stories and the historical, social, political, and philosophical viewpoints they illustrate. It also empowers students through the development of strong, independent voices, as they learn how to build an argument and communicate it effectively. Through education, students are able to ultimately understand that one’s choices of words as a writer can be as important as and indeed inseparable from one’s choices as a voter and consumer. Furthermore, English’s inclusion and appreciation of diverse perspectives and dissimilar interpretations fosters open-mindedness. Beyond tolerating others’ views or differing interpretations of a text, students learn they must fully understand and recognize the value of an opposing argument. The goal is to teach students that there is no single “truth” about a text. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development stimulates me in that my goal with students is to help them shift from concrete operational thinking to formal operation thinking. Formal operational thinking can be enriched through “[analyzing] logic,” “[encouraging] scientific thinking,” and “use peer learning” (O’Donnell et. al., Educational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009. Pg. 91). By utilizing these strategies in a single English classroom, students gain a plethora of life-long skills that will apply in their future careers and in their personal lives. I believe very deeply and am incredibly passionate about improving the lives of the people I care about, and I will always care for all of my students with as much commitment, aid, and knowledge as I can provide, because I sincerely believe that education is the key to success, happiness, and social harmony.