Kortney Pelkey

EDUC 290

Doug Rapley

November 1, 2021

Teaching Philosophy

         When it comes to teaching students, I truly believe that there are two things that make

learning possible. The first being that every single child can learn. It could be as simple as

learning a new motor skill or being able to struggle through a longer word they might not know,

or finishing an extremely difficult calculus problem. Regardless of the difficulty level, each

newly learned skill takes time. That brings me to my second point, time. Learning new skills or

material will take a lot of time and effort. As teachers, we will have to learn ourselves that each

student will learn at a different rate, and how we will go about teaching each student matters.

Each student is different and unique, that is what makes teaching difficult, yet so rewarding.

Also, each student should have things that help stimulate learning and because of this, it will help

the student grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.

         This past semester, I have been observing different teachers and how they go about

teaching their classrooms. There have been a few different things that I have noticed from

watching each teacher teach and how the students respond to their teacher’s lesson. The first and

probably most important point is that every moment is a teachable moment. It can get good, bad,

or ugly some days, but there is something to be learned from each experience. The second point

would be that children need a place to feel safe, and sometimes, a student may need to confide in

a teacher to feel comfortable and like themselves. The last point would be to allow the students

to have controlled freedom. Now let me explain, many of the teachers that I have observed,
allow their students to choose what assignments they want to do in class and what assignments

their want to finish later at school or at home. I believe that this is super important for the student

because they are given the choice to choose what they want to do, while still getting all the

assignments and lessons done that you as the teacher needed to accomplish as well. This is a

great way to teach the students responsibility. 

         In the end, as a new teacher, I will definitely need to remember that every moment is a

teachable moment and that creating a safe place for my students to trust me is super important.

It’s also okay to make mistakes because I will learn from them and maybe a handful of my future

students will learn from it as well. As a reminder, keep your head up and push through the

difficult times because, in the end, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.