Philosophy of Teaching Essay -- Teachers Education Careers Essays

Philosophy of Teaching As I think back to teachers in my past, many images come to mind. I remember teachers that were kind, patient and understanding. I also have memories of teachers that were short tempered, angry or just plain lazy. Some were eccentric, while others taught with a relaxed teaching style. So I ask myself, what separates the good from the bad? Why are some teachers so effective while others fall short? What in fact makes a good teacher? Obviously these are not easy questions to answer. All I can do is share my own opinions and beliefs on qualities that I feel make a great teacher. As teachers we have an overwhelming responsibility to prepare students for the rest of their lives. When they leave high school or college they should be trained to meet the challenges, and be prepared to handle any number of new and unusual situations. I feel that school puts too much emphasis on what some may consider to be core subjects. The essentialism approach to teaching is the most common, however I feel it is not the most effective way to prepare students for the real world. Essentialism does have its place in education, however I feel students are forced to learn too many useless facts and skills that they will probably never use. In the long run do all those algebraic equations really help when you are entertaining clients or planning a business trip? These are good skills to have, and it is important to know facts about the world we live in, but we must also include real world problems and situations. In my opinion the best approach to teaching is progressivism. I feel that the best way to prepare students for the real world is to put them in real world situation... ...porate other subjects into the learning process. If they are drawing the human form I will suggest the research of human anatomy. I will encourage my students to learn about the history of art and in doing so they will learn valuable lessons on the history of the world. My students will learn math skills as they take a photograph and double or triple its size to recreate it on paper. In my classroom I want to not only help children develop their art talent but encourage them to explore and investigate the world around them. Learning can and should be fun. If students can draw on their interest then there is no limit to what they can learn. We all have a natural instinct to crave knowledge. I hope as a teacher I can stir that instinct and help my students learn a variety of valuable skills that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.