My Teaching Philosophy

By Cody Potts

When it comes to what kind of a teacher I would like to be, obviously the sky's
the limit. I want to be a mentor, a friend, a leader, a companion, an educator, and a
plethora of other things. One thing I know going into this profession is that my ideals
and opinions are naturally going to change from experience in the classroom. Until I am
in there, being stared down by 30 teenagers judging my clothes or my hair or my voice,
or my teaching and yet being able to experience the immense gratitude of a simple
thank you for helping that one student out of a dark place, then, and only then, will I
begin to truly understand my Teaching Philosophy. So, until that point, this is my ‘Before
The Job Teaching Philosophy’.
So, where to begin? Well, what is the point of education- why are we fighting so
hard, creating group chats amongst ourselves to vent and cry? Why are we putting
ourselves through this- this torture and frustration? I think I can speak for all of us that it
is not because of the abundance of money we will all be making, but maybe, because
we all want to see this world in a better place. We understand that a good teacher can
deliver course content to you in a way that you understand, then they pass the class
and never see you again. However, a great teacher, or perhaps even more important, a
memorable teacher understands it’s about more than just delivering content and making
sure the students can hit certain benchmarks. It’s about making sure the next
generations (yeah, we’re going to get pretty old everyone), are prepared to take on the
world and know that adults have their back. A lot of students are coming from distant
families or abusive homes or homes where their parents belittle them due to their age. I
believe it is the role of the parent to be able to encourage their child to come to class
and to learn and to strive for more. I also believe that it is the role of the parent to
provide a safe, loving environment for their child where their only worry is on their
school work and hopefully not too much else. However, I understand that this is not
always the case for some students. Therefore we have the bittersweet opportunity to
show them that we don’t see them as less, but as an essential part to our future and the
key holders to their own.The purpose of education is to not only know where to put a
comma or when to multiply by 2piR^2, but to learn who you are, how you learn, and
what you want. The purpose of education is to prepare you for the rest of your life, and
us as future teachers,we have the opportunity to be a first step towards that journey.
Alright, so what is the teacher’s role in education? I believe that while the teacher
is the “expert” in the subject area they are teaching, they are not the “dictator”. What I
mean by this is that- as teachers, we hold most of the information that the students
need to know, but the students also hold a lot of power in terms of telling us about
today’s world and their own. Without the student’s input on who they are and where they
come from, we won’t necessarily know the best way to educate them. This goes into the
student’s role in education. The student plays a very vital role in the process of
education. Without the student’s input, the teacher will not know how to teach them
most effectively and how to handle certain situations. Without the student, there is no
teacher, and visa versa. It is a mutualistic relationship, one can not exist or succeed
without the other. That is why I see the student not as a lesser person, but as an equal I
have the fortunate opportunity to educate. My end goal as a teacher is to do everything
in my power to ensure that my students go on to succeed past myself and see them
build this world up with the self empowerment and knowledge that they are truly capable
of change.
Well, where does that bring us now? I know I’m not the only future teacher who
views things the way I do. I am looking forward to being able to finally fulfill what I have
been wanting to do for some time now. I always find it hilarious looking back on how
much I dreaded school to only want to go back for the rest of my life. However, that is
exactly what fuels me to want to go back. If I have the opportunity to make sure that, at
least for the hour I’ll see them a day, they feel better or enjoy their time, then I would
have done my job. My life was saved, quite literally, by three teachers I had in High
School. My English, Spanish, and Choir teachers. Without them I would not be here, not
at ASU, not in the Teacher’s College, and honestly, not alive. So, I have first hand
experience with how much of an impact an educator can have on one's self, and I can
not wait to get into the field and stress, and cry, and get upset, and love every moment
of my experience.