Educational Philosophy Statement

Teaching is a second career for me. Having spent more than thirty-five years in

corporate America, an environment rich in opportunity and cultural diversity, yet still

emblematic of society’s many ills, I find myself at long last in a position where I can

give back and contribute to the education of young people. In so doing, I’ll seek to

utilize much of the perspective I’ve gained in the business world and leverage it to

guide and enrich the scholarship of my future students. Paramount to this new

endeavor will be my advocacy of an educational philosophy that promotes a learning

environment where there is fair and equitable access for all students to learn to the

best of their ability, in ways that are most appropriate for them, that embraces a

multicultural and anti-racist approach in the classroom, and which acknowledges and

celebrates diversity while valuing the unique qualities inherent in every individual.

Today’s classrooms are dynamic environments where student populations are

represented by a broad contrast of races, ethnicities and nationalities. Further

contributing to this diversity are learners with different languages and religious

beliefs, others who come from varying socio-economic classes, students with differing

gender and sexual orientations, and some who have learning or physical disabilities.

To create the kind of desired learning environment that is consistent with the

educational philosophy I wish to promote, it will be critical that I possess a

multicultural perspective. Simply stated, this is an ethical responsibility centered

upon appreciating, understanding and valuing the unique attributes and qualities of

other cultures and diverse groups in addition to my own.

When considering my philosophies about education and how I will approach my role as

a teacher in a diverse classroom with many different kinds of learners, there are

several strategies that I will seek to develop and use to ensure that I am offering a

fair and equitable learning experience that address the needs of all students. Perhaps

most important will be that which is centered upon creation of an authentic, trusting,

one-to-one relationship with each of my students. I want them to know who I am and

more importantly, I want them to know that I care, that I have a genuine interest in

them as unique individuals, and that my role as their teacher is to guide and help

them succeed in reaching their goals. To do so, I will create an environment in the

classroom that is inviting, open, accepting and non-judgmental. I want my classroom

to be a welcoming place where each student is comfortable in expressing him or

herself because they know that their input, perspective and opinions are worthwhile

and respected, and will be appreciated by their teacher as well as their classmates.

In line with this philosophy will be promotion of a classroom value system that will

help my students to understand that difference does not equal deficit and that

similarities, differences and accommodations between their abilities and those of

their classmates need to be acknowledged and supported.

My educational philosophy also involves creation of a classroom environment that is a

destination for discovery, a place where imaginations are fired and learning is

augmented with unique and diverse learning materials that are presented within a

context that recognizes the contributions of many cultures. My goal will be to

present a learning environment where experiences are offered that are relevant and

meaningful and which includes content that is structured to address the histories and

experience of peoples and cultures who may have been left out of previous

curriculums. To ensure that I am meeting the needs of all of my students, I will

approach my teaching with an understanding that recognizes how each individual

learns differently. One size certainly does not fill all; to be truly effective and to

provide an equitable learning opportunity that recognizes and addresses the needs of

each of my students, my educational philosophy will include a teaching approach that

utilizes a wide variety of immersive, creative and differentiated instructional

strategies and assessment techniques in order accommodate the unique learning

differences, cultural experiences, language and literacy skills of each student. Core

to this will be a top-of-mind focus for creation of engaging subject matter

instructional experiences that are accessible, comprehensible and that utilize a

variety of learning modalities such that each of my students can learn in ways that

promote the best possible opportunities for them to achieve optimal outcomes that

will inculcate deep transferable understandings. The most essential concepts and

skills that my students should know and be able to do as a result of their learning in

my classroom will center upon their ability to think critically in order to connect

ideas, recognize patterns, and identify concepts as a means for effective articulation

and expression of their own ideas, such that they can construct their own

understandings and apply what they learn in meaningful ways that will be useful and

relevant in their own lives.

In order to do so, I will pursue an educational approach for fostering learning in

everyone where development and utilization of literacy and 21st Century skill-sets are

the centerpieces of my pedagogical instructional philosophy. Students learn and

respond in a multitude of ways; by applying a creative approach to the selection,

development and integration of fresh, unique or unconventional teaching

methodologies and modalities, and by leveraging new technologies to drive

improvements in student literacy, communication, and collaborative classroom

participation in ways that are fair, equitable and value contributions from others, I

will seek to broaden opportunities for all of my students to participate and contribute

such that they can learn in exciting, engaging and productive new ways that work

best for each of them.

I plan to approach my teaching from a constructivist perspective. In my classroom,

learners will be actively involved in the process of meaning and knowledge

construction; they will lead and create rather than receive and process. Learning will

be a hands-on, collaborative adventure, a creative endeavor to be pursued and

embraced, and the true value of the learning experience that takes place in my

classroom will only occur when every student realizes that their opinions, insights and

contributions are important and worthwhile. The instructional environment I offer

will indeed be the domain of my students; they will be the owners and creators of the

learning, meaning and knowledge that originates in their own classroom. My role as a

21st century educator will be to motivate, facilitate and guide my students in their
learning, and in so doing, enhance their educational experience by challenging them

to think critically and openly consider alternative points of view.

My educational philosophy includes creating and maintaining a foundation for

classroom behavioral norms that will be based upon advocacy of acceptance by each

student for taking and owning personal responsibility for their own behavior and

actions, promotion of an expectation that all student interactions will be

characterized by mutual respect for one another, and that their behaviors and

engagements with one another will be governed by an appreciation for each person as

a unique individual who possesses valuable and different talents, skills, opinions,

insights and experiences. It will be my responsibility to model the desired behaviors

that I want to develop in my students. I will also seek to build mutually beneficial

relationships with the parents and/or guardians of my students. I recognize that some

parents may not speak English and that my inability to speak their language must not

present a barrier for effective interactions. My educational philosophy includes a

mandate for helping parents or guardians, especially those with diverse backgrounds,

to gain trust in the school and in me; I will thus seek to develop opportunities to open

and maintain effective lines of communication with them in order to foster

meaningful, productive relationships between myself and my student’s families.

An articulation of my educational philosophy would be incomplete were I not to

reflect upon my own understandings about myself as a teacher. I think my main

strength, and the attribute that will serve me best in my own classroom, is an ability
to feel empathy for and identify with my students. It may have been a long time ago,

but I still vividly remember my own struggles and challenges as a student, as well as

those of my classmates. My learners today will most certainly face these same kinds

of challenges; indeed they will also contend with other issues and obstacles that

simply weren’t part of my world when I was a young learner. That said, and even

though there is a substantial gulf in our ages, I think I have the capacity and ability to

understand and feel what my students are experiencing from within their own frame

of reference, and am thus well positioned to serve them from a position of mentor

and guide, in addition to my primary role as their teacher. Another personal strength,

and a trait that I hope to instill in my students, is an enthusiasm for learning and a

wonderment for the world about them. To do so, my goal is to make subject matter

comprehensible for all students, and to engage them by planning and designing

learning experiences that are meaningful and relevant to their own lives.

This last mandate to plan and design meaningful learning experiences for my students

may be indeed be one of the most important attributes of my educational philosophy.

As I reflect upon how to stay true to my educational beliefs, to grow as a professional,

and to transfer my appreciation of knowledge attainment and enjoyment of learning

to my students, I realize I must always continue with my own educational journey.

This means maintaining the mindset of a learner as well as a teacher, to take frequent

advantage of new opportunities to further my own skill-sets, and to be aware of what

it means to progress as a professional educator: learning means growing, and growing

means developing new insights that translate into true understandings.