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Guisette Ortega

Teaching Philosophy

Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which [one] can use

to change the world.” As an educator one has very important responsibilities. One has to be able

to meet the students’ needs, help them achieve their goals, and help them strive towards success.

In order to accomplish everything that one wishes to see in their students, one has to be able to

determine what they want their students to accomplish. As an educator, one has the power to

make a difference; to teach the students to make a difference. One has to set their own goals, set

their own roles within their classroom, and know how they wish to relate with each student. For

an educator to be an effective teacher there are certain qualities that one must possess. The

qualities are all due to one’s teaching style and one’s personality, so they vary from person to

person. The qualities that one possesses will help incorporate their instructional strategies within

their classroom and help with their classroom management techniques. However, as educators

are limit isn’t the classroom, learning is everywhere. An educator has to know how to connect

with the community; how to integrate what they are teaching with everything else in the outside

world. It may seem like an easy job, but one has to be able to understand the “how” and the

“why” they are doing something in order for the students to understand the exact same thing.

Like any educator, I want my students to succeed. I want my students to set their own

goals, so that I can enforce them; such as: getting better grades, participating more, asking for

help, doing all their homework, etc… I also have my own goals that I would like to see my

students achieve. I want my students to realize that in order to learn they must struggle, to fully

understand a concept. I want my students not to give up when something seems impossible.

Many children have different things that they struggle with; they just cannot let that get in the
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way. I know that for a student with a learning disability it may be hard to comprehend something

as quickly as students without one. However, they cannot forget that they can get extra help and

as much as they need. Nothing is impossible. I also want my students to be able to express

themselves. I do not want them to keep their ideas to themselves, even if they are good or bad.

As a student, there were times when I knew the answer to something but never actually shared

because I thought I would be wrong. I do not want the same thing happening to my students. I

want to be able not only to teach them but to learn from them. My role as a teacher is to be a role

model to my students. I want them to be able to trust me and come to me for help without

hesitation. Some students believe that teachers cannot understand what they may be going

through, but in reality sometimes you just need someone to listen to you and I want to be just that

person. However, although I want a friendly relationship with my students, I should still get

respect. I understand that I am their teacher; therefore, I cannot be their actual friend. The roles

for my students will be to come ready to learn. Yes, it is acceptable for them to come in and

share things about their life but there are certain times for that. They have to come prepared to

class and willing to get an education. Otherwise there is not much I can do because I cannot

force someone to do something that they do not want to do.

I believe I possess many good qualities that will make me an effective teacher. Even if a

student does not seem like they want to get an education, all I can do is motivate them to want to

learn. I think I am a good motivator. I have motivated myself to come as far as I have come now.

Even when things did not seem to go the way I planned, I did not step down. Instead, I found

another way. Another good quality is that I am very passionate. I have been passionate about

becoming a teacher ever since I was a young girl. I will not let anyone tell me that I cannot do

something when I know that I can. People, who are passionate about the things they do and the
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things they like, get respected. I also believe that I am a good leader. I am confident about the

things I do; I speak my mind, and show determination without being afraid to be looked down

upon. I am enthusiastic about many things and I am willing to work with a group for the better of

my students. I will evaluate all students fairly and based upon their level of knowledge. I want to

have a friendly enough relationship with my students in order to understand their capacity of

learning, and how each and every one of them learns.

The instructional strategies that I would like to incorporate in my classroom are as

followed: organization, active participation, note taking, student worksheets, individual work,

hands-on work, demonstrations, homework, lectures and presentations, group activities, and

testing. I am a very organized person and I believe everyone should have the tools to have

organization skills, especially in a classroom setting. When it comes to active participation, I

encourage all my students to participate and share their ideas with everyone. I will not force a

student to participate if they do not feel comfortable doing so. For example, if I ask a question

and no one raises their hands then I will not call on a student because they either do not know the

answer or feel uncomfortable. However, I will strongly suggest that they do participate by giving

them participation points. I believe that having students take notes on their own accord will help

them to better understand a concept and actually pay attention other than just giving them typed

notes. Group activities are important because they can rely on one another to get the work done,

which will be conducted in smaller groups to make them feel more comfortable. Individual work

is also important because it helps the student determine whether they understand something or

not. Assessments, on the other hand, helps me determine whether a student understands

something or not. It also helps me reflect on my instructional activities and plan for the next

lesson. Hands-on work and student worksheets help calm the student down and gives them some
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relaxation time, instead of listening to me teach. Demonstrations, lecturing, and presentations are

good when teaching a new concept but doing it all the time will get boring. Presentations will

also be required for the students to do because then I am not the only person teaching the class.

Some classroom management techniques that will help me with my instructional strategies

are positive attitude, enthusiasm, making sure that I have everyone’s attention. Monitoring is also

a technique because it will help me keep the class on task. I can monitor by walking around and

checking on their progress. Using a normal voice instead of yelling all the time will help students

realize that they should have a normal speaking voice as well. I will also be addressing what I am

looking in the classroom setting and enforce them to the best of my ability. This will include

behavior issues as well as academic. My lessons will always be interesting to not lose interest in

my students. My lessons will include connections to the community and world, so that my

students know why they are actually learning something that they can relate to. It is always good

to teach children what is going on in the world, and how they can incorporate what they are

learning with the outside world.

In conclusion, my educational philosophy includes many different things. Out of all the

four educational philosophies, I mostly relate to progressivism. Students need to be able to

experience in order to learn. Sitting around in a classroom and not being able to connect with

what they are learning will not stay with them for long. As a teacher, I am there to guide my

students to figure out what their true interests are. Students have to be able to interact with his or

her culture with the knowledge they have and eventually will get. Their knowledge as well as

their education will grow if they are willing. I am willing to apply everything I have learned in

my previous years and the years to come in order to be the best teacher I can possibly be. I have
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the power to make a difference within my students and they have the power to make a difference

within themselves as well.