Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

Education is much more than memorization, drilling, and testing. Despite the current organization
of content, standards, and testing in the United States, the true purpose of education is to develop the
intellectual minds of students to prepare them for the global community, one that will present many
changes, challenges, and social issues. Our goal as educators is to guide youth through their education
and development to prepare them as best as possible for their adult lives. We create the future global
community by influencing the very people that it will be comprised of. Specifically, in my classroom, I have
three main goals that will shape my every decision: encourage and foster a love for the Spanish
language, create an individualized safe space that every student feels that they belong in, and create
critical and open-minded thinkers who are eager to learn and change the world they live in.

In a perfect world, every student that leaves my classroom will have discovered a newfound love
and appreciation for the Spanish language, and they will continue to use it in their everyday lives.
However, I understand that in most cases, students do not retain what they learn from their foreign
language classes nor do they particularly care. To be more specific, my goal is not to get every student to
love Spanish, but rather to support and encourage those that do find their curiosity pulling them towards
the language and culture. Students are commonly afraid to showcase their true passion and love for
learning in fear of being labeled or judged by others. It is my job as the educator to make students feel
comfortable with their own passions and to explore them with an open heart and mind. Within the
classroom, this looks like allowing my own passion to show in my instruction. Learning does not have to
be boring, and neither does instruction. Being upfront with my students about my love for the Spanish
language and culture and actively encouraging the same passion from my students sets the example that
it is okay to share that same interest. Some strategies to implement this include the use of
comprehensible input, positive and constructive feedback framed with optimism, and genuine student-
teacher relationship building to give my presence and role significance, thus giving my passion for
Spanish more credibility.

In order to build these relationships and make students feel comfortable in the classroom to
actually explore their own interests and passions, I aim to make my classroom a safe space. I leave the
description of “safe space” vague with intention. I want it to be that every individual student has the
chance to make my classroom a safe space in their own sense. Perhaps a student wishes to use my
classroom as an escape, leaving everything but Spanish outside the classroom door. On the other hand,
maybe a student really needs an adult in their life they can trust and go to for advice and mentorship. No
matter how students define safe space, I want to give them the opportunity to create it. Doing this requires
a general understanding of respect, caring, and honesty in my classroom and my instruction. I must be
kind, caring, and supportive yet still professional and organized in every one of my decisions. This means
grading papers equally and consistently but also offering and providing individualized feedback and
support. It requires a complete dedication to the language, culture, and material in the classroom. Every
interaction with my students must be based in a mutual understanding of my own goals to care for and
support them. Everything I do from grading to talking to demonstrating skills must be done in a way that
exemplifies my dedication to the class as a whole and the students as individuals. Once students observe
this and clearly understand my point of view, then they can mold the classroom as they seem fit. I present
myself and my room as a flexible space. It runs on the same fundamental principles of respect, caring,
honesty, and responsibility no matter what, but it can shape and shift to meet the desires of each
individual student.

The final and most important philosophy of mine is that, as educators, it is our duty to guide and
support students through their years of school so they can develop the skills necessary to enter the adult
world as influential intellectuals. Not everything I teach about the Spanish language and culture will
automatically set students up to be open-minded critical thinkers ready to bring social change to the
world. However, the daily interaction I have with students and the passion for and support of them that I
explicitly show and develop will. I am a Spanish teacher, but I am an educator that teaches students how
to view and change the world around them using Spanish as the method of instruction. I will theme unit
plans to focus on overarching questions and open-ended discussions that require investigation and
critical thought rather than just simple grammar and superficial “culture” goals. Using the Spanish
language and the Spanish-speaking world as case studies, I will expose my students to the different
opinions, policies, and lives that are present in this world. I will work with them, teaching them how to
explore different perspectives and how to view it with an open mind and critically analyze them. As a class
we will work through answering these overarching questions, but there will be no true correct answer. I
am modelling the realities of the global community in which they will find themselves in the future. My
instruction will open them to the world of contradictions, arguments, and perspectives, and it will begin
showing them how to handle these on a smaller scale within a Spanish class before they are exposed to it
in the real global community.

Overall, my goal as a teacher is to create caring, open-minded intellectuals who critically analyze
and challenge the world they live in. Doing this requires more in-depth, profound instruction in a space
that students view as safe and genuine. I will shape my behavior, my policies, and my instruction methods
around these ideas. I will be a mentor for my students and a role model as I proudly and genuinely display
my passion for both the subject and the wellbeing and success of my students. Together, we will work in
the development of their passions, skills, and intellectual presence as well as my own, ever challenging
ourselves with the aim of self and shared improvement.