Education and Teaching Philosophy - Essay Example

Winning in the room The enormous amount of reading required of us as college has made me introspective of my own teaching philosophy.I have gained a lot of meaningful insights that apply to the teaching profession. The points discussed are those that I personally agree with and recommend to make the classroom experience a truly unforgettable one for educators and students alike. Language is powerful and awesome in the sense that a line or two from poetry (which has a language of its own) can stay with a student for years and years, and continue to inspire. William Ernest Henley’s poem: “Invictus” (meaning “unconquered” has inspired many as student to attain success in life. The lines in particular are: “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” At a reunion thirty years after high school graduation, an old teacher of Literature was moved to tears when asked by his classmate what he remembered about her teaching, he quoted a few lines from Omar Khayyam. He even explained how the latter’s words helped him survive while he was pursuing further studies in a university far from home. All this after a decade and a half, as though the class went through the lesson only yesterday. The boy who had turned into a man claimed that Omar Khayyan’s philosophy enabled him to survive while pursuing further studies in a university far from home. I. Reading Reading, which is an integral part of language allows the reader to take in the human experience. Reading is a way to explore worlds and travel through time. A good teacher can introduce to her classes, great men of the past. These great personalities, perhaps no longer in our midst can still serve as role models for the young and inspire them to great deeds in the future. Students shouldn’t read books because they are forced to. Rather they should find deep personal meaning in a book and find themselves reflecting on it even after they’ve put it down. There should be books that change every student’s life. Here are some steps the students should take to gain background knowledge and become motivated to read. Then they actually read the text in which the readers develop a basic understanding. Then they re-read the text to extend their understanding, interpret, analyze and critique the selection (This second reading could be done orally during the lesson itself. The teacher allows the students to read orally certain paragraphs to justify their opinions with evidence from sources on the text itself.). Preview activities include brainstorming and anticipation guides. Teachers also show the students how to monitor their own understanding as they make decisions about hot to adjust their reading and ask themselves questions to determine what to read carefully, what to read quickly, what not to read anymore and what to re-read (especially when the selection is quite long and there are other subjects to study). Teachers should ask open-ended questions during the lesson and build on students’ ideas, and questions to move students into deeper thinking. They encourage a range of textual interpretations. My thoughts: If you don’t do this, creative thinking and participation will be discouraged. My experience with Asian learners particularly Korean, is that they are more willing to talk to one another in small groups than for the student to stand out from a large group and share in front of the group. Also, teacher training in Asia tends to put greater emphasis on rote learning, memorization and coming up with the one “right” answer. Teacher-training in the West encourages high-level thinking and creative activities. The above is especially true in Korea, where the Western way of learning is often in conflict with the Korean way of learning. Korean parents want their children to be swamped with tons of work and often seem unconcerned with the learning value of these massive volumes of work. For example when I taught SAT to Korean students, they had to memorize fifty words a day which is not practical in terms of long-term memorization. However, the program was designed to satisfy parents. It has been said that experience is the best teacher. Exposing students to a variety of hands-on experiences enriches their lives. Experiences such as field trips are strong motivators for teachers to get into reading. Before a planned educational experience, students may be prompted to read about it so they would know what to anticipate, at the same time, elicit excitement in getting a real taste of what they have read on print. After the experience, their knowledge may be enhanced with more reading to solidify their learning. Doing book reports may be a painful reality for students, and may dread its compliance. Adding a twist to these reports may do the trick in getting them excited about it instead. Students enjoy adding their own personal insights and letting them create a preferred story ending to a book they have been reading can make them be more critical of the story they have read so they are consistent with the details. A practical discussion or debate on some issues on the book may likewise stimulate critical thinking and perhaps get them into deeper research on the matter at hand. Writing Writing has a variety of purposes: to impress, inform, persuade, entertain, clarify. Writing is a means of communication and enjoyment and a marketable lifelong skill. Students in high school are about to enter the workforce or apply for college admission. As they become aware that the text they create represents who they are as literate beings in the eyes of their audience, they become strongly motivated to master the essential skills of correct written communication (53). Teachers let students know about opportunities to publish themselves in school and outside. They encourage students to take part in writing contests, writing letters to editors of newspapers, etc. These activities are highly encouraging. Teachers’ oral and written comments about individual student work help students see the effect their words have on the reader and help them think about how the composition can be changed to communicate their meaning more effectively. The standard procedure to follow in successful writing hasn’t changed for decades. 1. Students must pre-write (in which a cluster of ideas and information is gathered around a central point.) 2. They must organize in which the purpose determines its form. Outlining is a great method for this. 3. They must draft. 4. Revise with changes based on the responses of others. 5. Edit to fine tune for grammar, punctuation and spelling. 6. Post-writing so a writer can reflect on the effect of writing on the audience. 7. Publish to share with others. Writing allows us to seek out new ideas and sift through them before sharing them with others. It is essential from the start to have understood clearly what has been read before attempting to say or write something sensible about it. After one has selected ideas about what one has read, he will have no qualms about sharing them in speech or in writing. Keeping a journal is an effective strategy in capturing thoughts in writing. As students have enough practice in this, they will see the value of recording their thoughts, feelings and insights and may refer to these in expressing themselves to others. Allowing students to write in their journals freely without fear of being judged or edited on grammar will encourage them to write, and eventually, such practice will make them realize their grammatical or spelling mistakes. Doing reflection papers on articles of their choosing is another way to get students into reading and writing. Requiring them to do a reflection paper regularly on topics they are interested in may be one project they will not be hesitant to do. Classroom Control The most important ingredient is the classroom culture and relationships between teacher and students and also among the students themselves. “Teachers make fairness and respect for individuals a cornerstone of their institutional practice.” (35) It seems common for teachers to judge and label “bad students”. Students must feel free to take creative risks, offer conjectures and question the assertions proposed by others. They must be able to have their ideas challenged as validated without fear of rancor or embarrassment (39). Experienced teachers are wise to encourage self-expression among their shyer students. Through their tact and encouraging comments, they are able to get these students to share verbally in class. Good teachers should truly enjoy working with young people so long as she does not forget her age and actually identify with them. She must not forget that she is their teacher, their guide and leader and not “one of them” “Knowing” the student means being familiar with their fears, the dreams that inspire them, the issues that stir them and the causes they are willing to fight for. I had a student named Michael who often talked out of turn, made inappropriate comments, etc. he frustrated another teacher enough to make her throw an object in frustration. However I believed in being patient with him and constantly pushing him by keeping him after class and having one-on-one chats with him about his behavior. I think he really appreciated the respect I gave him and he respected me for being firm with him. Teachers should be comfortable with whole class, one on one, cross age or other grouping strategies. This is reflective of the fact that the working world highly values varying backgrounds and abilities. Teachers need to monitor this work so that each student is respected and given a fair chance to participate (35). There are always students that aren’t as popular as others. For example, I had a student named Sara who did not feel confident around other students and was often teased. It was difficult to get her to work in groups even though the girls she worked with were nice to her. I encouraged her to participate by constantly reminding her that I wanted to hear her opinions and her voice as I passed by. I developed camaraderie with her by writing emails to her. All she needed was a friend and by treating her with respect and humor, I was able to get her to be more involved than she had ever been. Her mother deeply appreciated this and Sarah still writes me though I am halfway around the world and I try to encourage her to explore her intellectual interests and be confident and participate. An example of teaching in a way best for the students: When student attention shifts away from the original lesson plan, the effective teacher must asses whether the shift is useful and go with the enthusiasm, or refocus student attention and steer class activity back to the lesson plan. The teacher has to fall back on awareness and flexibility in similar situations so the aims and objectives of the lesson may not be lost. Sometimes the teacher needs to follow her instincts; but the seasoned teacher falls back on experience which almost always works. Classroom management begins with a teacher’s well-planned lesson. Incorporated in it are anticipated reactions, questions or even behaviors that the students may have in response to the lesson. Teachers likewise plan for such events so when it surfaces in class, they know how do deal with it. An insightful teacher is one who may be a step ahead of her class. However, most of the time, she is “in step” with them as she focuses on their needs. Assessment Accomplished teachers also use assessment to gauge the success of their own instruction on student progress. After thoughtful reflection, teachers make mid-course adjustments and refinements both to their instruction and types of assessments. They may recognize, for example, when content needs to be taught again or when the pace is too fast or too slow for the students. “This is a big problem in private academies in Korea, where the emphasis is placed on accomplishing work quickly and in mass. Teachers should stick to their own conscience and teach in a way that is best for the students and hope that the end speaks for itself. Students in Korea are too focused on finishing homework, finishing tests, memorizing and then dumping information. Rather, lessons need to be ingrained into their minds. The traditional grading of students using quantitative methods may well be supplemented with qualitative ones. This may only be done with a teacher’s keen and impartial observation of student performance and behavior. Giving students immediate feedback on their work allows them to self-evaluate and think up of better ways to improve their performance. Narrative reports done by teachers for each student may be too tedious for a teacher whose hands are already filled with never-ending tasks. However, documenting a student’s school performance and behavior to share with parents makes it a tool to fall back on for future planning. Anecdotal reports may also be used to help teachers place students in classes most appropriate to their skill level and needs. It may even be helpful when students are recommended for diagnostic purposes outside school. Read More