Teaching Philosophy
As someone who has studied education from both a traditional academic and the career and technical education angle my philosophy of teaching differs from that of other educators. I believe that students need to learn academic principals through the lens of real world application. I feel that all the things students learn during their educational career can be applied to their lives.
As my primary focus in education is Business I believe strongly in motivating students through real world application. I feel that any students who are traditionally considered “low achievers” are truly just lacking a reason to achieve. Preparing students to not only be able to spout out facts but to be able to apply concepts teachers have armed them with to achieve in a career, whether continued academia or another avenue is what they choose.
I want to prepare my students to find a career in future, not just a job. The goal of my classes is to provide them with the skills to be productive, educated, and employable members of society. Albert Einstein once said “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one as learned in school.” As time fades the memory of principles of Geometry and interpretations of Shakespeare it is the ability to interpret, to think critically and to reason that we hope to linger in the repeater of our students. As such I feel that it is important to ensure that our students feel a certain ownership of what they learn. Regardless of the subject it is vital that students know why they are learning information and skills and how it applies to them.
When it comes to teaching English Language as a subject there are a few principals that it is important to ensure that an educator is taking into account. Students need to have a reason to read. They need to be motivated to read. It is my opinion that this need to pay attention to student motivation goes hand in hand with the responsibility to choose young adult literature wisely. Choosing texts that are relevant to students and applying them to their lives is the best way to ensure that they are motivated to learn. Give them a purpose for what they are doing, not an ultimatum.
It is important to have engaging writing assignments for students to accompany their literate pursuits. The idea of right and wrong answers when it comes to interpretation has to go out the window. It is more important that the topic we provide our students with evokes a well thought out answer than to get the carbon copy of our own opinions. In both creating writing assignments and facilitating discussion it is our goal as educators to push our students to think outside the box.
There are technical standards that need to be met for students to continue to succeed in testing and a college environment. It is important to meet these standards. Looking at these standards and aligning them with our lessons is important and more efficient than trying to build lesson plans around them. Teaching the standards is great but they have no place as dictators in our classroom.
Looking at new criticism theory vs. reader response is beneficial to students as a whole. Having a familiarity with new criticism theory helps students think outside the box and look at something from a different angle. Equipping students with these tools is both beneficial and crucial to help them flourish.
To see my more extensive teaching philosophy pertaining to Career and Technical education please see the link at the bottom of this page. As a whole I believe that, regardless of the subject area, it is most important to arm our students with the skills they will need to succeed after high school. By giving them these tools we as educators succeed.
As my primary focus in education is Business I believe strongly in motivating students through real world application. I feel that any students who are traditionally considered “low achievers” are truly just lacking a reason to achieve. Preparing students to not only be able to spout out facts but to be able to apply concepts teachers have armed them with to achieve in a career, whether continued academia or another avenue is what they choose.
I want to prepare my students to find a career in future, not just a job. The goal of my classes is to provide them with the skills to be productive, educated, and employable members of society. Albert Einstein once said “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one as learned in school.” As time fades the memory of principles of Geometry and interpretations of Shakespeare it is the ability to interpret, to think critically and to reason that we hope to linger in the repeater of our students. As such I feel that it is important to ensure that our students feel a certain ownership of what they learn. Regardless of the subject it is vital that students know why they are learning information and skills and how it applies to them.
When it comes to teaching English Language as a subject there are a few principals that it is important to ensure that an educator is taking into account. Students need to have a reason to read. They need to be motivated to read. It is my opinion that this need to pay attention to student motivation goes hand in hand with the responsibility to choose young adult literature wisely. Choosing texts that are relevant to students and applying them to their lives is the best way to ensure that they are motivated to learn. Give them a purpose for what they are doing, not an ultimatum.
It is important to have engaging writing assignments for students to accompany their literate pursuits. The idea of right and wrong answers when it comes to interpretation has to go out the window. It is more important that the topic we provide our students with evokes a well thought out answer than to get the carbon copy of our own opinions. In both creating writing assignments and facilitating discussion it is our goal as educators to push our students to think outside the box.
There are technical standards that need to be met for students to continue to succeed in testing and a college environment. It is important to meet these standards. Looking at these standards and aligning them with our lessons is important and more efficient than trying to build lesson plans around them. Teaching the standards is great but they have no place as dictators in our classroom.
Looking at new criticism theory vs. reader response is beneficial to students as a whole. Having a familiarity with new criticism theory helps students think outside the box and look at something from a different angle. Equipping students with these tools is both beneficial and crucial to help them flourish.
To see my more extensive teaching philosophy pertaining to Career and Technical education please see the link at the bottom of this page. As a whole I believe that, regardless of the subject area, it is most important to arm our students with the skills they will need to succeed after high school. By giving them these tools we as educators succeed.
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