Stone Murray

9/30/2020

Teaching Philosophy

Teaching is unique in many ways, which is why it is an amazing profession. There are different

subjects, different students every period, different topics; it’s a new thing every day. Not many

people can say they have something new happen for work every day. Everyone that teaches

has a different reason for why they choose that career as well. For me teaching has always

been something I leaned towards as a kid. Helping anyone out and showing them new concepts

makes me feel good about myself. However, that was never my first choice stepping into

college. My first major was physical therapy, I wanted to teach people how to improve their

bodies so they can move the way they used to. But after doing an internship, I realized that

wasn’t for me. I looked back to what made me happy as a kid, who inspired me to be better all

the time. That answer was easy for me; It was always my PE teachers/football coaches. They

made me into the person I am today, and I want to do the same for others. I did an internship at

my high school freshman year, and right off the bat I knew I made the right decision switching

my major to PE. I could see myself doing this every day, making kids smile, laugh, healthier and

teach them life skills like my coaches did. I'm overly passionate about this profession, I want to

be like my coaches but at the same time be my own person/teacher and be better than them. I

want to change kids' lives for the best and show them that being active, having fun can benefit

everyone. I'm unique because I have 2 younger sisters which makes it easy for me to

communicate with kids younger than me. Also, I’ve played football, baseball, basketball, and

lacrosse which makes me experienced in sports. I also have seen and watched my sisters play

softball, field hockey, lacrosse, and rowing. Which gives me an incredible amount of knowledge

about various sports. I can give a lot of feedback for others which will help kids master a move.

The value of physical education from k-12 is enormous for kids’ development. This is

where kids learn the stages of movement and can make huge changes from initial, elementary,
and mature. Once kids become mature, they will build self-confidence which then make them

want to participate more. Cognitive function is huge here as well, kids will start learning about

movements and games which will make playing games more enjoyable. This all matters

because as PE teachers we want to teach our kids to be mature in every movement so we can

eventually get to live game play and have everyone playing at the same level. Yes, there will be

kids that are better athletes than others but that doesn’t matter. What matters is making sure

everyone is participating and enjoying the lesson and learning something from it. We want to

limit kids standing around doing nothing and bullying which comes from students picking teams

or picking on kids that aren’t as athletic as others. I will not let my kids pick their teams because

of this; I will always do my best to pick teams the fairest way possible. We are their teachers but

also their friends, we want them to be comfortable in class so we can get the most out of them. I

want my students to come up to me and be able to tell me anything, or after years of them

graduating school coming back to me and tell me how much I meant to them as a teacher. My

goals are simple, be an amazing teacher, be an amazing mentor for them inside the gymnasium

and out and make PE class enjoyable for everyone so they want to come back every class.

My thoughts regarding evaluation/assessment/grading are simple. I want to make sure

my students know they must be at class everyday just like every other class they have. There

will be a pre and posttest for every topic we do. But my biggest grade will come from

participation. I want kids to know that if they show me, they are trying to get better that they will

receive a good grade. In this class you’re only going to make the most of it by how much you

put into it. This class should be fun for everyone, not something they dread going in maybe such

as math or French class.