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Marc Jenks
Professor Shkorupa
EDU 202
20 October 2015
Assignment F: Philosophical Portrait of Myself
Websters Dictionary defines teach as: to cause or help (someone) to learn about a
subject by giving lessons; to give lessons about (a particular subject) to a person or group; to
cause or help (a person) to learn how to do something by giving lessons, showing how it is done,
etc. My values system is rooted in behaviorism, which means that we are all a product of our
environment and stimuli. We become who we are as a result of unending input from our
nurturers, siblings, friends, and peers. To the youth in our community, teachers are nurturers.
I have a personal definition of what it means to teach: to share part of yourself with those
who you nurture through example. I am not a licensed teacher yet. I do not have a college degree
yet, but I am already a teacher. I have embraced many opportunities that came to me to instruct
and lead teen-aged youth and adults as well. I have been a scout leader for boys who are ages 14
and 15. I have had them placed legally in my care for up to an entire week at a time. I have
taught many lessons in my churchs Sunday school. I have instructed and trained adults in
religious lessons and given dozens of sermons to up to 200 people. The best way to master a
principle or subject is to teach the principle or subject. My experience in the theater of scouting
and religion is sufficient for me to declare that in those areasI am a teacher.
I believe that the mind has an infinite capacity to obtain knowledge and experience. The
teaching and principles that I have received in this semester alone has reminded me of that. With
the confidence that I brought into the beginning of this course, I have been shown how much I

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still have to learn because of the leap of knowledge I have obtained in the past 8 weeks. With
credit given to the curriculum and professor, the greatest gains I have made have been from the
field observation of real teachers in their real classrooms teaching real students.
I recently completed a ten hour observation assignment in a middle school. I took seven
pages of detailed notes. The assignment did not specify how many teachers I should observe. I
assume that some of the EDU students observed only one or two teachers. I had a very engaged
principal who took time to set up a schedule that placed me with ten different teachers. They
were purposefully selected with variation in mind. As I reflected upon this, I realized that they
were not just the best teachers as he had assembled a dream team of his most impressive
instructors. One or two were unimpressive and had obvious flaws in their classroom management
styles. I learned as much from them as from the ones that I intend to pattern my style after.
The other most influential part of this courses curriculum is the chapter in the textbook
on education philosophies. These are the five areas of education philosophy: Essentialism,
Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, and Existentialism. I am a mixture of
Essentialism with a leaning toward Progressivism and Perennialism to support the Essentialism. I
will teach from the accumulated knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the
traditional academic disciplines (Essentialism). I will also draw from our past cultures great
books. Some of my students will be predisposed to higher learning, leadership, innovation, and
influence toward others. Some will be more disposed to successful vocational professions. Aside
from these affirmations I admit that the real world has great lessons to give and as students
connect their new knowledge with things that are happening right now in their world, each of
their potential is limitless.

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I could find fulfillment in teaching many subjects. I am on course to teach Earth Science,
and chose this because I feel that I can ignite imagination in the minds of my students in this
subject. Biology, chemistry, and physics are the rock-solid disciplines of science in high school,
but the young minds end up there because of earth science. Every child with a dormant scientist
inside wonders and imagines in the earth science area. They see a giant moon creep up over the
mountain and wonder why its so big. They see a shooting star and make a wish, wondering what
it is and where it came from. They discover volcanos and always want to do the volcano project
for the science fair. They go to the beach and wonder at the power of the waves and the vastness
of the sea. They go camping and marvel at the glacial carved canyons of Yosemite or the Grand
Canyon. They get older and want to explore caves, forests, and twisting slot canyons. They hear
about climate change and worry that their world is changing. Earth science is the start of every
young scientists wonder, and I yearn to be a part of that.
I love to read and write and have found a modest ability emerging that would make me an
excellent writing and literature teacher. I considered the perceived effect that the students would
have from my influence as an English teacher, because from a high school students point-ofview, and English teacher is a boorish teacher. I have recently been reconsidering becoming an
English teacher. I compared my writing proficiency to those students around me and saw a need
in them that might not have been if they had better developed skill in high school and middle
school. If secondary school is meant to prepare students for higher learning, the greatest skill
they can acquire in high school is to write well. I may not be seen by my students as a teacher of
influence, but I would influence them more in that subject than any other. That has strong appeal
for me.

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I originally wanted to be a history teacher. There are such enriching lessons that can be
learned from historys triumphs and tragedies, and my passion is inextinguishable. I am
fascinated by conflict. I believe that to avoid conflict, people and nations need to reflect on the
cost and the loss that came from conflicts of the past. History is so much more than a record of
discoveries and wars. It is social science and we can examine our past through the lens of any
school subject and see mistakes and advances that can be applied to our success now. I am not
going to teach history, because the surplus of history teachers is large and the available courses
are low in availability, so I have eliminated history teaching as a viable pursuit, despite my
interest in it.
I may teach science and I may teach English. I know that in five years I will be a teacher
of young minds. I hope to have an infinite effect on them and those they will influence in their
lives. In my observations, I watched an honors science teacher lead her class through meditation,
deep breathing, and yoga for ten minutes. When the class got out of hand, she would peacefully
bang a gong to get their attention. She was an existentialist and the lesson plan for the day was to
learn about waves. There was very little instruction and I must assume that the class had already
read about the topic because it was not sufficiently covered. How can a student taught through
existentialism methods become qualified for a job interview? How can their competency be
measured in a common core world? Of the five philosophies, this one is the only one that I flatly
reject. I was most impressed with a teacher that had excellent structure and control of his
classroom. I learned the most from him. He was an English teacher who kept his students
engaged the entire time. His teaching ability is very high and it is not measured by the subject
matter, but by his education philosophy and skill in managing the students in the classroom.

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