Teaching Philosophy

By: Keann Moncrieffe

There is no right or wrong philosophy when teaching students unless it doesn't benefit

them. Choosing how you want to teach students and finding ways for them to fit into your

teaching style can be challenging. Students learn in so many ways, and sometimes, the way(s) we

teach ends up meeting only a portion of our students' learning needs. This is why progressivism

is one of the best philosophies to have when teaching.

I love the progressivism philosophy because it connects the information we cover in class

with their personal lives, which is immense for students. After all, when you involve something

in their lives, they will likely remember those pieces of information. It also shows these students

how essential this information is.

Not everything we teach students has a connection to their lives, but if we try to connect

as many of our lessons as possible, that will help them thrive.

Progressivism is essential to me because when I was in school, I struggled a lot regarding

questions about the materials we were learning. "Why are we learning this?" "How will this help

me in the future?" etc. I want my students to go through a different experience with learning

materials than I did. This is why I bring in connections and show them how our learning

materials may help them in their futures. It has been bringing more engagement and excitement

about some of our topics.

I recommend all teachers to do this within their classrooms. We should remember the

goal is for students to learn, not just for us to go through materials we need to get through.

Trying to remember or make it a part of your classroom routine can be tricky, but once it is in

place and used correctly, it makes an amazingly positive impact.