PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

“The hopes and dreams of youth are in our hands; their goals and aspirations are shaped through
encounters with us…teachers have a powerful impact…choose teaching to share your life with young
people and to shape and touch the future.” –William Ayers

While this quote best sums up why I have chosen to become a teacher, the statement is truly
overwhelming. It is a huge responsibility to give to one human being. Parents are given the job of
nurturing one of their own children’s needs, but teachers are given the job for twenty to thirty children
who are not their own. Their influence within the meso-system of a child’s life is crucial to their years of
cognitive, social, and physical development. One bad teacher has the ability and power to lower the
child’s capacity to learn and their intrinsic motivation to work towards their goals. One good teacher can
raise a child’s spirits to new heights, open up doors that weren’t recognizable before, and shoot self-
esteem up to the stars because the child feels he/she can accomplish anything. Not everyone can do it,
or do it well.

I have chosen to rise to the occasion and accept that challenge. In doing so, I believe that many
things must take place in a classroom and in a teacher’s mindset. The keys to a successful school year at
any grade level are, in my opinion, the following:

 I believe that there is no such thing as perfection regarding a teacher, a student, or a whole
classroom.
 I believe that students should be given the benefit of the doubt and should be free from past
labels when entering a new classroom.
 I believe that every child has the ability and the brain capacity to learn, but in different ways.
Therefore, education is necessary for every child.
 I believe that every child has a right to feel safe and secure in his/her classroom and likewise feel
as though what he/she has to contribute is important and valued in my classroom.
 I believe that a school, or a teacher, cannot fix the problems that society already has, but it is
his/her right to expose students to diverse viewpoints and ideas that exist without imposing
value judgments upon them.
 I believe that when a teacher disciplines a child, he/she must emphasize that was the wrong-
doing, not the wrong-being, that is the problem.
 I believe that a teacher can learn just as much from his/her students as a student can learn from
his/her teacher…

…and I intend to.