Marietta Schoolmaster

September 28, 2014

Philosophy of Education

I believe that education is so much more than mastering the standard. I believe that
teachers have the power to be a positive influence for each student in their classroom. All
students are ultimately in a classroom to learn a certain curriculum and grow in that area,
although, it is my belief that leaders of education can do so much more. I will do my best to give
my students a feeling of personal purpose by allowing them to see and appreciate their full
potential both in and out of the classroom. As a future leader of a classroom, I want to lead my
students through the learning process to a place of personal confidence and reassurance.
Ultimately goal is to get each of my classes to feel passionate about being a student and realize
the power of learning a second language. Teaching them that a second language is so much more
than grammar and syntax, but an open door to endless possibilities. In any subject I teach, I know
that my standard, my objective, my focus is my students.
I want to keep the students engaged by displaying my passion for the information, as well
as being a model and resource of the academic concept. I will do everything in my power to
reach every students academic potential. I am convinced the best way of doing this is featuring
as many methods of instruction I can. My students will participate in a mix of individual, partner,
and group activities. Giving individual students the chance to develop their learning style, in
addition to practicing others, is something I strive for. To the best of my ability I will challenge
those who need the extra push and support those who may need additional explanation. Through
the use of up to date resources and teaching styles the students will interact both socially and
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academically with their classmates. I feel like the internet has so many opportunities, especially
for foreign language teachers. Using primary resources for students to experience true language
and cultural examples will be reachable through the active use of technology. Also, I feel like the
students will be more susceptible to the knowledge when technology is used. Every child is
different and in order to develop the classroom as a whole, there will be times that I need to
change styles of teaching.
My classroom will be a positive and accepting environment. In a foreign language
classrom, there is a certain level of uncertainty and doubt during the learning process. Through
behavior management, I will do my best to promote students acceptance and comfort with
mistakes. As a teacher I know that I will feed off of students positive actions and their self-
awareness. I strive to create a classroom where students are self-evaluating and able to
understand the behavior goals I have set for them. I am looking for my student to accept others
personalities, while still feeling like they are participating in a safe environment. Through a
guidelines contract, I will work collaboratively with my students to agree on behavior
expectations. Having students write the guidelines in their own words will help them better
understand what I am looking for. By clearly setting standards, displaying the process, and
creating a culture of equality, I think managing behavior will be a learning process rather than
punishment without explanation.
Assessments are used as a tool for teachers, more than student. It is a way to gauge
information attainment and how the teacher is effectively presenting the information. I don't want
students to have anxiety about performance assessments, both formative and summative.
Through my time learning about being a successful teacher I really connected with the
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assessment for learning concept. The idea that as a teacher I am assessing students as a tool to
fuel my teaching, rather than assessing to judge the students is key. That is an understanding that
I want the students to have as well. I feel the need to implement various forms of formative and
summative assessment to test the students as well. As a student I loved constant feed back, as a
teacher I will use formative assessments to provide that to the students who need it. I want to use
a mix of check points, reflections, projects, and presentations, as well as traditional methods to
assess my students. Using various methods to gauge progress will allow all different types of
learning styles to shine. The more frequently I apply these evaluation strategies the better
understanding I will have on my classrooms academic performance.
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