Paper 3D - Secondary

My Philosophy of Teaching

            One primary task for teachers is reflection; they must constantly be thinking of how to make their teaching better.  When thinking about self-improvement, good teachers have to develop their own personal strategies based on existing theories and models; they then utilize those strategies to make decisions in the real classroom.  My personal philosophy of teaching will be a guide for me to make the connection between education theory and actual teaching.  This guide includes my choice of models, justification for choosing these models, and, most importantly, a plan for applying said models in the form of teaching styles and lessons.  In addition, it will provide me with strategies and techniques with which to manage my students and adequately motivate them.  Finally, my philosophy will guide me as I address diversity and multiculturalism in the classroom.

            Although I will not use ideas from only one model of teaching, humanism will be my primary guide to developing strategies in all areas of teaching.  This model seems most applicable to all aspects of teaching (lessons, management, motivation, discipline) because it attempts to develop every part of the student.  In the cognitive areas of teaching, humanism attempts to give the student control of his/her learning; it emphasizes a variety of teaching techniques such as constructivism, group discussion, cooperative learning, and self-directed learning.  Students can grow socially through group discussion, cooperative learning projects, and a healthy classroom climate.  Furthermore, with the idea of confluent education, the teacher connects students’ feelings and values with subject matter.  Outside of academics, humanistic teachers strengthen students’ emotional stability by listening therapeutically to their students with empathy and compassion.  Spiritual growth is another equally important part of student learning which humanists facilitate by encouraging self-reflection and “values education.”  Finally, physical growth and activity are integrated into lesson plans as students do things instead of only listening, talking, reading, and writing.  I believe that humanism is appropriate to use when teaching English because the subject matter allows for a great deal of creativity, cooperative learning, and group discussion of emotions and values.  Furthermore, high school is probably the best environment in which to implement humanism because it is the point in adolescents’ lives when they are thinking and discovering a great deal about themselves as people, which is exactly what humanism strives to facilitate: growth as people.

            As I prepare to teach the English curriculum to high school students, I will take several concepts from humanism and apply them to my choices of what and how to teach.  First, I will be sure to teach “young adult” literature to my students.  This specific genre of literature discusses characters and problems to which students can relate.  “YA” literature fits very closely with a humanistic approach because students can discuss the emotions of the characters; they can apply the lessons and morals to their own lives; and, most importantly, they actually enjoy reading because of its relevance.  In addition, YA lit works very well with such humanistic teaching styles as group discussion, values education, and creative, student-chosen group projects.  For example, when reading about a young Black character who is enduring racism, students could discuss the ethical dilemmas associated with such a problem and then develop a creative group project such as a skit or short story, showing how such a problem could be resolved.  Not only does YA literature work very well with specific humanistic strategies, but it also compliments humanism’s overall goal of developing the whole person.  Because it encourages youth to become life-long readers, this genre of literature is crucial in every literature classroom, at least as a supplement to the usual canon of “classic literature.” 

            When teaching writing, I will implement techniques from various models.  First, grammar and mechanics are a crucial foundation for quality writing; therefore, I will emphasize these basics before moving on to the broader goals of writing.  For this I will most likely utilize Madeline Hunter’s method of “direct instruction.” When teaching antecedent agreement, for example, I will state what we are learning and why, then begin to explain the steps of correct usage.  Next, I will go through some sentences modeling the identification of a pronoun and its antecedent, showing how the mistakes can be changed and so forth.  I will probably not spend extended periods of time directly instructing, but it will be a substantial part of my teaching of this level of writing.  To teach the broader aspects of writing such as organization, thesis, clarity, and varying sentence structures, I plan on using the cognitive expository approach to a limited extent.  I will teach the idea of thesis and focus, for example, by giving an advance organizer, then explaining the general purpose of a thesis and what it is.  After that, I will gradually explain more specifically how a thesis works, where it goes in an essay, and how it relates to the rest of the essay, constantly referencing an example essay all the while.  After showing how theses should be grammatically constructed (relating to prior knowledge), I will summarize the lecture and assign some theses construction exercises or an actual essay.  Finally, in my writing classes, humanism will be a guide for how I assign journals.  I will regularly require my students to write insightful introspection, applying their writing ability to the knowledge of self.  I strongly believe in self-reflection as a crucial aspect of the growth of an individual; therefore, my students will write about their own lives in their journals.  I will collect the journals, but they will be able to specially mark the entries which they believe are too personal for me to read; however, I will require them to submit a substantial number of un-marked entries.  By encouraging introspection, I will help the students grow as writers and as emotional, social, and spiritual people. 

            I plan on using humanism as my main guide for classroom management; however, I will rely upon other methods as well.  One theory which I will use a great deal is Ned Flanders’ “Interaction Analysis”; this approach creates a situation of mutual respect between the teacher and students.  I hope to gain the respect of my students by using Flanders’ indirect influence.  Because indirect influence concentrates on the students’ feelings, ideas, and demeanors, it can be an extremely helpful guide to humanistic classroom management.  In the English classroom it will not be difficult to facilitate student learning through discussion and student input as opposed to lecture.  I plan to leave answers of interpretation up to students.  For example, if we are reading poetry, I will not assume that there is one correct interpretation; instead, I will simply ask students to share what feelings the poem ignites in them or what the author might have been thinking when s/he wrote this poem.  This will help each student feel a sense of importance and positive contribution to the class.  I also feel that I have an ability to maintain a sense of comfort in the classroom by utilizing humor and goofiness – everyone needs some time to be silly. 
            As far as discipline goes, I will use humanism and Dr. James Dobson’s rules for management.  Dr. Dobson emphasizes authority, but not authority through fear.  I will aim for a middle ground between authority and friendship.  I will set definite rules and deal with small misbehaviors early in the year with clear, strong, yet respectful and brief statements which say: that is inappropriate and will not be tolerated; next time there will be consequences.  Understanding the needs of my students will be another way I will deal with misbehavior.  I plan on helping my students meet those needs, whether they are attention, power, revenge, or failure avoidance, through positive behaviors instead of negative ones.  I will utilize “cooperative discipline” by meeting privately with misbehaving students individually and discussing what the problem is, some possible solutions, and a plan to substitute good behavior for bad.  I will always express how much I want that student in class and how much I value his/her contribution to class.  I will focus on therapeutically listening to the student’s opinions and on the student’s strengths.  By always putting students first, I will gain their respect and create a fun, comfortable classroom environment which discourages misbehavior before it happens.

            Motivating my students will be one of my highest priorities as a teacher.  I will do this mainly through teacher and task factors.  First of all, I will be sure to use a variety of teaching styles and give different kinds of assignments.  For example, I might assign an essay on a certain novel, but for the next novel, I would allow students to do a creative project of their choice. This will help give students with differing needs and varying learning styles motivation, and it will prevent students from getting bored by one overused task.  In addition, students will be actively involved in classroom tasks as often as possible, keeping them busy and keeping their interest.  Next, assignments will be relevant and of appropriate difficulty and quantity.  As a teacher, I will motivate my students through enthusiasm, humor, and, most importantly, high expectations.  There will be time for fun and jokes, but I will make it clear that I expect them to work hard – work for which they will be rewarded.  Although I did not directly address reward/avoidance and intrinsic needs, I believe that good teacher and task factors will provide students with rewards and punishments and help meet their needs of safety, comfort, and self-esteem. 

            As classrooms become more diverse, teachers are realizing the need to incorporate multiculturalism into their classrooms.  James Banks has developed four levels of integrating multicultural education into the classroom.  Although it will not always be possible, I will try to use the “social action approach,” involving my students in the community whenever possible.  Whether or not this level is feasible, I will use the “transformation approach” and assign literature from various ethnic groups, discussing the issues those groups face.  In order to meet the needs of the various learning styles and levels in my classroom, I will frequently provide time for individual and group work, allowing students to work and learn at their own pace while I act as a facilitator of their learning (adaptation of “learning styles” approach).  For example, I will give time in class to do group projects, and each group will be able to move at their own pace; I will simply be a guide and answer questions.  When I become a teacher, I will have to address diversity both in the subject matter that I teach and in the students to whom I teach that subject matter.

            Among all the models of teaching, I agree most with humanism; however, I realize that it has its weaknesses.  By using ideas from various models, theories, approaches, and techniques, I have constructed a philosophy of education which will be a guide for my teaching.  It will provide me with direction to make decisions based upon sound educational theory and give me the freedom to be a unique teacher who teaches individual students – adolescents – people.