Educational Philosophy

Our nation's future rests in today's youth and teachers' ability. As President John F. Kennedy stated, "The education of our people should be a lifelong process by which we continue to feed new vigor into the life-stream of the Nation through intelligent, reasoned decisions." That statement depicts my feelings on education. The education of today's youth must be in continuous motion to improve their comprehension, and it must continue into the next generations. It takes a commitment by teachers to their students to set them up for success. As a Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Army, I witnessed this commitment reflected in the young soldiers I encountered. I want to continue this commitment to ensuring students receive the education they need and deserve. The level of commitment of a teacher is demonstrated in their teaching qualities.

As a teacher, the essential qualities I need to meet this commitment are to be professional, motivated, dedicated, compassionate, flexible, and self-sacrificing. My actions as a professional shall be for the benefit and improvement of my students. As a professional teacher, my efforts shall not intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly treat a student or minor in a manner that adversely affects or endangers the learning, physical health, mental health, or safety of the student or minor (Title 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 247.3(e)). My level of motivation about teaching and my classroom must be high and oriented to help motivate my students. A teacher needs to be dedicated to all students' success (Texas Teachers Proficiencies, 1994). My ability to identify, comprehend, and take appropriate action when dealing with a student's emotional and physical needs shall be just as important. As a teacher, I must be unbiased, approachable, and forthright when interacting with students. I am willing to sacrifice my time to help students complete the essential skills to succeed. These basic skills shall be the cornerstone of my teaching. 

As a solid cornerstone sets a strong foundation, a student's firm understanding of the essential skills ensures a concert education. As a teacher, I assist in attaining this concert education by understanding the student's basic knowledge and learning style and presenting clear goals. Determining students' prior knowledge proves the framework to build more excellent knowledge. As a facilitator of learning, I will use models and encourage appreciation for a student's cultural heritage, unique endowments, learning styles, interests, and needs (Texas Teacher Proficiencies, 1994). To teach the diversified learning styles of my students, I will incorporate technology and cooperative learning. Using diverse methods of instruction, in conjunction with inventive presentation techniques, will ensure getting and maintaining students' attention. Keeping the class's attention and involvement created a productive learning environment for all students.  

The learning environment for the students to be successful requires using technology, cooperative learning, assessments, expectations, and respect. A teacher must stay proficient in communicating with their students. Using collaborative learning in the classroom increases the ability to reach all different learning styles and levels of thinking. The teacher incorporates techniques of inquiry that enable students to use different levels of thinking (Texas Learners Proficiencies, 1994). To ensure that all these other students are reached, a proper assessment of the lesson and the teaching style must be given to the students. This student assessment will allow students to express their thoughts on the learning process. Setting clear and understood expectations makes students aware of what is expected of them and the teacher. The expectation encompasses learning objectives and personal behavior. The anticipation of learning objectives shall be clear and precise. The learning objectives should be posted and reviewed with each lesson. Students must know what is expected of them and what they can expect from the teacher. A clear understanding by the students and teacher of what is expected can eliminate external learning obstacles later. The respect of the teacher to the student and the student to the teacher is gained by this clear expectation. The learning environment presented to the students must meet the teacher's commitment to their student's success.

The commitment to today's youth must be in continuous motion to improve their comprehension. Teachers' essential qualities must be professional, motivated, dedicated, flexible, compassionate, and self-sacrifice. These qualities must be used to set the cornerstone of the student's education. The teacher created a product-learning environment through technology, cooperative learning, assessments, expectations, and respect. The commitment to today's students secures our nation's future tomorrow.

References

John F. Kennedy: "Proclamation 3422 - American Education Week, 1961," July 25, 1961. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=24146.

Texas Secretary of State. (December 26, 2010). Texas Administrative Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators. Title 19, Part 7, Chapter 247, Rule §247.2(3)(e) Retrieved from http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2

Texas Learners Proficiencies, 1994, Handbook for Teacher Certification; Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Tarleton State University, Tarleton State University System Center at Central Texas Revised August 24, 2012.