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Esmeralda Luna

Robert Shkorupa

EDU 202

October 28, 2020

Philosophical Portrait

Throughout my early years of schooling I always pondered the reason for going to

school. As I got older the reason for going became more and more blurred every year, the only

logical reason that came into my brain would be that I am only going to school because my

parents made me not because I wanted or needed to. It was not until I started my journey to

become an educator myself that I started to reflect upon the meaning of education and the history

behind it. When I started my journey I was only a sophomore in high school, I choose the

teaching and training elective offered at my school not knowing that I had unintentionally choose

my future career path. I took that class for three years, and with every year I started to finally

gain some answers to my questions regarding why education was important. I realized the true

impact teachers and education can make in life, I for one remember every outstanding teacher I

have had throughout the years, as well as the ones who were not the best. Each one of those

teachers have impacted my life which in turn has helped mold my pedagogy into what it is today.

The main point of my pedagogy would be to ensure that my students trust me as their

teacher. This is extremely important factor because if the students trust me they will be more

than likely receptive to learn what I am teaching. I want my students to feel like they are in a safe

space when they are in my classroom because that is something that most of my teachers never

did for me as a student. As a student the most frustrating thing a teacher could do would be
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belittling me for not understanding certain aspects of what they were teaching, which in turn

made me not want to try in their class because I never felt comfortable asking for help. My main

goal as a future educator would be to ensure that none of my students feel the same way I did

about education. I want to expand their curiosity by encouraging thinking outside of the box, I

want my students to live up to their full potential, and that involves them not being afraid to ask

for help. I can achieve this by frequently assuring my students that I will not judge them for

asking questions or seeking help, I will also reassure my students that I will always be there if

they need someone to talk to. By constantly reassuring them they will want to live up to the high

expectations I have set for them.

By setting up high expectations I am aware that some students might struggle to achieve

them, which is why another point in my pedagogy would be understanding why my students

behave the way they do. A teacher will never really know what happens in a students life outside

of school, they could be facing troubles at home that affect the way they learn and behave in

class. This is why it is important for a teacher to empathize to what a student is going through,

instead of using traditional punishments for misbehavior I will try to get to the root of the

problem and offer solutions, sometimes all a student needs is someone to listen to their concerns.

The reason I am so adamant about a teacher having empathy towards their students is because

when I was in high school I had a lot of family struggles that took a toll on my mental health,

which in turn affected my grades in class. All I needed at the time was someone to understand

what I was going through, helping my students through their problems will make them better

students in the long run.

Having the opportunity to educate younger generations is not an easy job, in today’s day

and age methods of teaching are changing at a rapid pace, but something that will more than
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likely remain the same would be students learning from each other. Students learn best from each

other, which is why I will implement student centered learning into my pedagogy. A classroom

centered around students will promote student participation, help with critical thinking, and will

in turn correlate with student success. Ways to achieve a student-centered classroom would be by

dividing up the class into groups, encouraging discussions, and always getting student opinions

on ways they feel most comfortable learning. I firmly believe that students should have the

option to choose how they learn the topics being presented to them.

Although there is no official way of teaching, we can figure out effective ways to create

student success. My pedagogy has been influenced by experiences I have gone through

throughout my years of schooling; every positive and negative experience I have had has

impacted the way I view education. As a future educator I am hoping to turn someone’s negative

experience with school into a positive one. I want my future students to realize that education is

extremely important for their future and that school is important despite the struggles that come

with it. I believe that all students are capable of learning, it just takes an effective teacher to push

them towards the right direction.