TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1

Teaching Philosophy Statement

By Kelley Polasky

Masters Portfolio ED698

Dr. Elizabeth Hartley, PhD

September 5, 2022
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Philosophy Standard

This statement pertains to Standard 1.1, which speaks to the learners’ strengths and

misconceptions related to the facilitation of student learning – continuously striving to foster

learning development via collaboration from family, colleagues and other professionals.

Teaching Philosophy Frame

It is my philosophy that to be an effective teacher; an educator must continually evolve

and adapt to meet the needs of her students. As a teacher builds relationships, intentionality

about her practice, and continually assesses students in meaningful and relevant ways, learning

will flourish. I enjoyed reflecting back to my Ideal Classroom Outline project from my

Classroom Management class. I wrote that paper six years ago, and while my practice has

evolved and grown in the few years I’ve been in the classroom, there are certain aspects of my

ideal classroom that still ring true today. It continues to be my philosophy that to be an effective

teacher, I must build strong relationships with my students and families, be intentional about my

practice and develop and analyze meaningful and relevant assessments.

Creating a space for students to reach their fullest potential begins with relationships.

Establishing a learning community is an art form, one that is continually adapting, improving and

adjusting to meet the needs of students. My role as a teacher is to establish a safe classroom

where students have a sense of belonging and ownership – where they feel safe to take risks and

learn from mistakes. It is my job to build relationships with my students and their families and

be an ally in their learning. In Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain, Zaretta

Hammond (2015) writes,

The teacher acts as an ally to the student in his quest toward independent learning. In this

role, the teacher offers both care and push as needed. The main focus here is cultivating
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the skills to push students into their zone of proximal development while helping them

manage their emotional response so they don’t set off their amygdala, (p. 95).

Students need to feel safe, welcomed, valued, and feel that they have a sense of ownership in

order to take risks and become an independent learner. Maslow’s theory of human motivation

(1943) states that in order for humans to reach their fullest potential, they first need to have basic

needs met. These basic needs include physiological needs (food, shelter, clothing), safety needs,

and love and belonging needs. “These basic goals are related to each other, being arranged in a

hierarchy of prepotency. This means that the most prepotent goal will monopolize consciousness

and will tend of itself to organize the recruitment of the various capacities of the organism”

(Maslow, 1943, p.14). Therefore, to be effective, we must first meet our students’ basic needs. I

have taught at a title one school for the past four years, and we offer students free breakfast and

lunch each day. When my students arrive, even if they are late, I make sure they have time to eat

a breakfast. I recognize that without the time and space to have their basic need of food met, we

will not be able to do much learning. Additionally, I know that each student deserves to feel safe

and valued as an important member of our learning community. Taking time every day to make

and build connections with each of my students lets them know I care about them and value them

as a person.

In addition to building strong relationships with my students, I also believe in building

strong partnerships with families. “What children bring to school from home cannot be left

outside the classroom door; similarly, for a lesson to be truly powerful, it must go home with the

child,” (Tomlinson, 2014, p. 54). In order for students to reach their fullest potential, parents and

teachers need to work in partnership. I send out weekly newsletters to keep families abreast of

our work, and try to speak to families at least once a week. I work hard to ensure that much of
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my communication is over positive interactions. I call families to notify them if their student did

something kind, was successful on a project, or made a new discovery. I invite families to join

in class celebrations, on field trips, and always welcome families to drop in when they have time.

I have an open-door policy so that families feel they are a welcome part of our classroom

community, and I strive to reach out and learn more about each family in my classroom.

In order to help students reach their fullest potential, I need to be intentional about my

practice. I need to be aware of what barriers and limitations my students are facing. I need to

know what my students enjoy, and what are some challenges they face. In the book Teaching

with Intention, Debbie Miller (2008) writes about the power of journaling in her teaching

practice. “I learned the importance of slowing down and being present, of taking the time to

think about and develop ideas, synthesize new learning, and write about what I had learned about

my kids or myself as a teacher that day, and what it might mean for the days ahead” (p. 20). It is

in these moments of reflection that I build a sense of intentionality around my practice. I am

able to think about ways I can motivate and engage my students in their learning. I think about

intervention strategies that I might employ. I reflect on strategic groupings, brain-based research

strategies, family engagement and solutions to problems I might be experiencing. In the practice

of journaling, and reflecting on my practice I am able to tune in more deeply to my students and

develop strategies to assist them in reaching their fullest potential.

Finally, in order to help students reach their fullest potential, I need to understand where

students are in their development and push them forward to the next level. In my classroom I

strive to create relevant, authentic ways to assess my students. Lev Vygotsky (1978) termed the

phrase Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and defined it as, “[T]he distance between the

actual developmental level (of the learner) as determined by independent problem solving and
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the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance,

or in collaboration with more capable peers” (p. 86). It is my job, as an effective educator to

know how to facilitate instruction so that my students can be learning in their ZPD. In Teach

Like a Champion, Doug Lemov (2010) writes about effectively using data to drive instruction.

“Teachers who are most proficient at using data examine them not only to tell them who got

what right and what wrong, but why. They analyze wrong answers for clues to students’

thinking and engage in systematic action planning as a result” (p. 11). In my practice, I routinely

analyze student work to determine strengths and identify misconceptions. I adjust my instruction

according to my analysis in order to meet students where they are and push them to the next

level. Identifying where students are and pushing them forward is an important aspect of being

an effective teacher.

It is my philosophy that to be an effective teacher, an educator must continually evolve

and adapt to meet the needs of her students. I try to keep a growth mindset, one where I will

continue to improve in my teaching practice. I continue to listen, and learn from each of my

students and colleagues. I reflect about my practice and try new ways to make meaningful

impact on student learning in my classroom. I teach using placed-based, culturally responsive

teaching practices to cultivate a classroom of independent learners where each student feels

valued and encouraged. Through authentic assessments, I strive to help students reach their

fullest potential by cultivating skills to push them to the next level. It is my philosophy that to be

an effective teacher, an educator must continually evolve and adapt to meet the needs of her

students. As a teacher builds relationships, intentionality about her practice, and creates and

analyzes relevant assessments, learning will flourish.

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Resources

Charles, C. M., & Senter, G. W. (2011). Building classroom discipline. Pearson.

Hammond, Z., & Jackson, Y. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting

authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Corwin, a SAGE Company.

Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college.

Jossey-Bass.

Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96.

Miller, D. (2008). Teaching with intention: Defining beliefs, aligning practice, taking action, K-

5. Stenhouse Publishers.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2016). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners.

Published by Pearson Education, Inc., by special arrangement with the Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Vygotsky, L. S., Cole, M., & John-Steiner, V. [et.al.]. (1978). Mind in society: The development

of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.