Influences in My Teaching Philosophy

Past positive learning experiences from excellent teachers have impacted my personal

teaching philosophy. As a student, I have always excelled under a teacher who I knew cared for

me as a person and genuinely wanted me to succeed. I had a math teacher in grade 12 who really

cared that I did well and helped me with all my questions. I struggled in math, but he guided me

through it and believed in me. He encouraged me to take the higher-level math and promised he

would guide me through it. Based on this experience, I really value supportive teaching as well

as encouraging students to reach higher than they thought they could, and I hope to incorporate

this in my own teaching.

My teaching philosophy stems from making students believe they can do anything they

want to even if they think they can not. Teaching and learning are fundamental experiences you

can not put a price on. For a teacher to be able to direct a student to a more knowledgeable place

than they were before is such an uplifting experience because knowledge is power. Education is

a necessary tool to navigate the world most effectively. Its main purpose is to help students see

and interact with the world. Students have unlimited potential that needs to be unlocked so they

can succeed. If we believe in our students, they will succeed at the goals they put their minds to.

Learning allows for self-improvement and the ability to do better than the day before. In my

classroom students will know that I believe they can achieve any goal they want with hard work.

Good teaching is clear, and concise, well explained, and direct but also adaptive,

involved, and interested. The teachers that made the most impact in my life were the ones that

you could tell were interested in what they were teaching as well as how you were doing. They

were patient and caring yet firm. I really valued these qualities as a learner because I understood

the subjects and succeeded. These are the qualities I want to carry with me when I become a
teacher. I want to aim to help students feel comfortable in my classroom by fostering an

inclusive community that is a safe place to share and participate. I want the students to know I

care about them and value their success. I want my students to trust me and know that I believe

in them. I want to push them to do their best and reach as high as they can. Teach that technology

can be used for self-discovery and research to achieve that lightbulb moment. I want my students

to know I value education and learning, and I want them to grow with my help. Students all have

untapped potential that can be unlocked with the right guidance and support.

The students in my future classroom will know that they can accomplish anything with

hard work. They will know that knowledge is power and that it is valued. A student can grow

immensely with positive support and I want to be the person that guides them in that direction. I

was lucky in my student career that I had good teachers who believed in me and pushed me to

reach higher than I thought possible. I want to do that for my future students so they can

accomplish things they do not think are achievable.