Running head: TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Teaching Philosophy Statement

St. Thomas University

Katelyn Culberson
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“Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who
understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can
possibly be” - (Rita F. Pierson).

When I think about the teacher that I wish to be, I am often reminded of some of
my favorite teachers that I had during my grade school education. I remember these
teachers not for their academic expertise or the amount of homework they did or didn’t
give, but for their love, commitment, and willingness to advocate for their students.
When asked to characterize effective and influential teachers such as these, the word
“champion” comes to mind. These teachers were champions in my eyes because they
were some of the only people who stuck with a group of children (who weren’t even their
own) for 13 years, and pushed us to be the best people we could possibly be. They went
out of their way to make sure we as students were learning, involved, loved, and
respected no matter who we were or what kind of background we came from. It was
through their dedication to their job, that many of us got to experience school as a safe
place and were molded into the people we are today. When I think about the teacher I
wish to be, I want to be a teacher who is a champion for her students. In the following
few paragraphs I will detail how I plan to live out this philosophy.

I feel that one of my first duties as a teacher isn’t just to teach students academics,
but to teach them how to be good citizens and kind people. In order to do this, I feel it’s
important to establish a mutual respect between the student and the teacher. I want
students to feel that they have a say, and that their opinion is worth hearing- I don’t want
there to be power struggle within the classroom, but a team working together. It’s my
belief that students need to learn mutual respect for others, and the best way to do this is
by establishing respectful relationships between teacher and student. Outside of respect,
it’s my goal to teach students kindness and empathy. In all of my interactions with
students and other adults in the building, I feel it’s important to show kindness and
empathy, so that it can serve as a model to students when they interact with others and
begin to build relationships. I believe respect, kindness, and empathy are such important
characteristics for people to possess, so it’s my goal to both extend and foster these
qualities within my students.

Outside of modelling respect, kindness, and empathy, I also recognize that it’s my
duty as a teacher to provide students with a rich learning experience. To do this, I feel
that students need to engage in hands on learning, as often learning is done best by doing.
In that regard, I also think it’s important to present learning through multiple modalities.
Students are going to learn and regurgitate information in different ways, therefore, I feel
it’s important that my teaching strategies and assessment methods differ in their form,
and that differentiation be implemented when needed. I want all students to be successful
in their learning, and I believe that in order for this to happen, students must be given all
of the opportunities to succeed.

Finally, I think one of the most important duties as a teacher is to build

relationships with students. I plan to do this through getting to know my students better
by attending their extra-curricular events, and through coaching and volunteering. I think
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that when students see teachers outside of the classroom supporting them, this helps
students see that their teachers truly care for them and want to see them succeed in
avenues other than just academics. I want to be the teacher students feel comfortable
coming to, I want to help students work through problems, and be there to celebrate their
successes. In order to help push students to be the best they can be I feel it’s important to
establish a strong relationship with the student.

I feel that as an educator it’s important to be dedicated to my job. I need to be the

adult in a child’s life who will vouch for them, cheer them on, never give up on them, and
push them to be the best person they can be. This sounds like a huge job, but through
modelling respect, kindness, and empathy to students, presenting students with all
opportunities to succeed, and building lasting relationships with students, this may be
possible. When I think about the kind of teacher I wish to be, I want to be a teacher who
is a champion for her students.