My Teaching Philosophy
"Philosophy is a theory or attitude held by a person or organisation that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour"
About Teaching as a Profession
The profession of teaching is a broad and complex one to define. As a third year pre-service teacher, having only had seven weeks and three days of being in a classroom acting as a teacher rather than a student, I would say that my view of the teaching profession as a whole is still somewhat limited. However, from reading text books and talking to experienced teachers and my own experiences these are some snippets of what I perceive teaching to be:
“Good teaching, well done, is both hard and satisfying. It is intellectual, emotional, physical work and it is also socially responsible work.”
- Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu, 2008, p. ix
“The teaching profession:
- is perceived poorly by the public
- often has a lack of resources for its schools
- has increasing workload and increasing demands placed upon it in serving increasingly diverse student populations.
- Fetherston, 2007, p. 15
“You’re doing TEACHING at uni? Why would you do a silly thing like that?”
– Miscellaneous acquaintances, 2009 – 2011.
“You know, I think most people who like acting could be teaching. You get up in front of your class and you always have a different act to put on. Today I have been a disciplinarian, a comedian, a tourist guide, a nagging parent and a concerned friend. Just at school! Phewwww!”
– My Dad, Teacher of 32 years, sometime over my childhood!
It is clear that there are a huge number of opinions about the profession of teaching and what it entails, as well as its value.
I believe teaching and the way the profession works is determined by an individual’s values and beliefs in general. That is why it is so hard to pinpoint exactly what teaching is because for each individual person it is different.
What Makes a Good Teacher?
Figure 1.1
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Recipe for the ‘perfect’ teacher. Source: J. Moyles. Cited in Marsh, 2010, p. 4
Impossible to achieve? Perhaps.
I think a teacher has to try and have at least a little bit of some of these characteristics.
As a teacher I want to be a guide and mentor, as well as a positive role model. Above all, I want to be a GOOD teacher, whose students find success with rather than failure. I strongly believe that to be a good teacher you have to continuously strive to be a good person, because you have so many young sponge-like minds watching your every move. Teaching shouldn’t be about power and authority, although sometimes that is a dimension. “Teachers must pay particular attention to the fragility of students” (Marsh, 2010, p. 5). I think teaching and learning should be about communicating and interacting in the classroom. A school should be as much about socialisation and learning how to be a good person as it is about academia. That is why I will try to never humiliate, belittle, favour, or make sarcastic or derogatory comments to/about my students. Teachers need to be keen observers, diplomats and a font of knowledge. I think teaching is about being an optimist and a realist at the same time: never giving up in trying to see the good or potential in a child or person, but being able to see the faults in order to effectively show how to correct them.
I know from growing up with parents who are both teachers, that the profession is extremely hard work. I have experienced the stress, panic and worry over my students whilst on prac myself. It’s going to be hard work. I have seen my parents up late countless times over the years preparing lessons, marking work and trying to get resource orders in. I have seen them come home from school to collapse in the kitchen over a cup of tea and a biscuit saying “Well, I’m glad that’s over for today!” However, that’s the realist in me talking. The optimistic side of me just keeps saying: “There must be a reason Mum and Dad get up and go to work everyday.” It can’t just be for the money, they’re both too clever to have stuck with a career for thirty where it’s simply hard work and no reward. On prac, I have seen the rewards: The rush you get when your planning pays off, and the kids simply want to rush into the classroom to use the play dough you spent two hours making the previous night for Mathematics; the kids talking out a dispute instead of coming and involving a teacher; the innocence and arrogance of little kids as they walk out of the classroom at the end of the day knowing that they can give something a go and it doesn’t matter if they don’t get it right straight away because they will eventually.
I know that this probably sounds naïve and too optimistic, but that’s how I see it now. I hope in ten years that I still see the profession of teaching in the same way.
Why choose Teaching?
With lots of people questioning my choice of university degree in my first year and even now, I had to be pretty sure of what I wanted. I want to be a teacher because:
1. I want to help others to succeed.
2. I enjoy working with kids.
3. I enjoy being challenged and active all day.
I now stand up for myself and my chosen profession, because of those three reasons. Where else can you go to work and face so many different things everyday, every week and every year?
References
Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R. & Le Cornu, R. (2007). Teaching: Challenges and dilemmas. (3rd Ed.). South Melbourne: Thomson.
Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming a teacher: Knowledge, skills and issues. French's Forest: Pearson.
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