Running head: STATEMENT OF PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPY

Statement of Personal Teaching Philosophy

Natalie King
Regent University
November 6th, 2016

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Philosophy of Education
My teaching philosophy is very student centered. Anytime I am tasked to make a decision
about my teaching or management styles I start with my students and think about what would be
the best for them. One of the main reasons I feel so strongly about this is because my philosophy
is heavily influenced by my faith, specifically the way Jesus taught His followers. Jesus always
thought about others and how He could best reach them in order to spread Gods word, which is
why I am a firm supporter of using differentiation in my classroom. I know that every student is
different and must be approached in a way that best suits their learning. Whenever I plan out my
lessons I try to incorporate as many different learning styles as possible so that I am not always
having the students write or read, but that I am providing them with different opportunities to
learn. Also by providing them with varying levels of the same work I am able to reinforce and
challenge my students without slowing down or rushing though material. Jesus used these same
principles when He would talk to people He never relied on one method of interaction in order
to pass along His knowledge.
As I stated, my teaching philosophy is very student centered and that starts with building
relationships with my students and their families. Having personal relationships with each one of
my students is very important to me; when a person knows someone cares about them and wants
them to succeed they are more likely and willing to put forth effort. During my first placement I
noticed that the students who I was able to build a deeper relationship with were the ones who
were going the extra distance on their work and really challenging themselves on activities I
assigned them. In particular there was one boy who, when I first started, was not doing his work
and was rushing through the work he did complete. Instead of saying this child was unreachable,
I did what Jesus would have done I showed him more love and went out of my way to find

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ways to connect to him. I tried to learn what his interests were and I used them to connect what
we were doing in class. After two weeks there was a major change in this child; he suddenly was
completing all his work and was doing it well. Even my teacher noticed the change I created in
him, and all I had done was care. As a Christian teacher I feel even more compelled to make a
connection with every child in my room. Jesus never turned away someone just because they
were different or challenging. He made the effort to find a way to connect with every person He
came in contact with, which is something I strive to do each and every day. It is not enough to
say all my students matter, I must do it.
Lastly, one important aspect of my teaching philosophy is my belief on how I should
present myself. One verse that also guides my philosophy is Titus 2: 7-8 which states In
everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity,
seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you
may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. It is not enough, in my opinion,
to just focus on what and how to teach a subject, it is equally important to think about the
personal impact I am making on my students. This verse sums up the importance of being aware
of what I say to my students, parents, and colleagues at all time. It can be easy to follow others
ideas, not staying true to who I really am and what my philosophy truly stands for, especially
depending on the environment in which a work. My faith has definitely contributed to my strong
stance on this; Jesus always stayed true to his convictions even during the toughest times.
Evolution of Beliefs
Although my teaching philosophy has not changed a considerable amount throughout my
student teaching experiences, there are aspects that have. One aspect in particular is in regards to
lesson planning. During my student teaching I learned that it is okay not to accomplish

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everything I set out to do which is something I never realized before. Throughout my

substituting experiences, I would always make sure to get through the lesson plans that were left
for me because I felt that I had to get everything done. Even during the first portion of my first
student teaching placement I had this same mentality. I would rush through material too fast
because I planned it, so it had to be done. I quickly learned that the students werent retaining
any of the material I was rushing through and I found myself having to reteach many of the
students. Now that I have been making my own lesson plans and had more experience with it,
Ive learned that it is okay not to finish. It is not bad to run out of time for every aspect of a
lesson and to continue it the following day. I have realized that I would rather be a day or two
behind in pacing than to gloss over material and leave my students confused, only having to
spend even more time teaching and explaining it all over again.
Another aspect of my philosophy that has changed is my beliefs on classroom
management. I have always gone back and forth when deciding what type of management
system to use in my class; should I go a positive reinforcement, a clip chart, a token economy, or
just verbal warnings and notes home? Until my student teaching experiences I truly had no
direction, but now I see that a good classroom utilizes multiple management systems at one time.
In every classroom there is going to be at least 20 different personalities, which means that a one
fit all mentality will not work. This was a learning moment for me because I quickly learned that
what worked for most of the class was not working for a small percentage of it and I was
challenged to solve this problem on my own. For example, in my second placement most of the
students respond well to a positive recognition system, yet there are two students that need a
more strict system. It has definitely been a great experience to learn from my teacher as I
watched her react on the fly to address this particular student needs and how to best handle

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them, without effecting the rest of the class too much. I now realize that there are multiple layers
to classroom management, and that even when I think I have the strongest management plan in
place, things will still go awry. I have always been a perfectionist and controlling person to a
certain degree so realizing that no matter how much I plan and prepare there will still be
unexpected situations that I cannot control has been tough. As my student teaching progresses I
am learning how to adapt on the fly and move past the challenges that arise in my classroom. I
also learned that its okay to use different management styles on different students.
Statement of Goals
As I leave college and begin my career as an educator there are many professional goals
that I have. First is that I want to reach each and every one of my students, both academically
and personally. I will never let one of my students get left behind because they were deemed too
difficult. It is very frustrating to hear other teachers, or even parents in some instances, say that
the child isnt teachable or is too difficult to work with because I believe that every child is
capable of amazing things. My goal is to leave an impact on every student that comes into my
classroom for years to come so that they always know someone cared about them as a person,
not just as another seat.
My second goal is to create a positive, welcoming classroom environment. I want my
students to always feel comfortable coming to me with any issues or problems they ever have. I
also never want them to feel embarrassed to ask me questions; I do not want my students to ever
feel that I am unapproachable. In order to achieve this I will implement a comprehensive
classroom management plan that not only takes care of behavioral issues, but fosters a
community environment. During my first placement my teacher truly embodied a community in
her classroom from day one, making sure that respect is our number one classroom rule. In order

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to accomplish this I will continue to build relationships with each of my students: getting to
know what they are like academically and also getting to know their personal interests and life.
Building a relationship with my students and their families is a crucial aspect of achieving my
goal.
Conclusion
As I walk into the classroom each day I view it as an opportunity to start a new. Yesterday
may have been great, or it may be been challenging, but what matters is how I approach the
present. It is my job to foster each students abilities and help them reach their goals, dreams, and
achieve what they see as impossible. Yes my job is to teach language arts, math, social studies,
and science but teaching is much more than that. Teaching is about taking a child and showing
them that they are special and can accomplish anything they set their mind to with some hard
work and dedication.