My Teaching Philosophy :: Education

My Teaching Philosophy Being an effective teacher is very important to me. I have had many teachers that I will never choose to model, but I also have those who were so wonderful that I will always hope to become like them. Every educator I have had has affected my life in some way and helped me to develop my ever changing philosophy of education. As I begin my journey into the world of art education, I will take all of my experiences with me as learning tools for the future to help me become an effective teacher. I will achieve my goal of becoming an effective teacher and positive role model by developing my views on the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of a public education, curriculum and plans for my professional development. Taking a look at my views on the nature of students, I have come to realize many things. Children are born with a natural curiosity. They are excited by discovering new things. Every child is a blank canvas that is begging to be painted upon, desiring to be shown their world. However, a child’s learning ability relies on factors than a basic human instinct to learn. These two factors are heredity and environment. I believe in multiple intelligences and there is no standard to say one child is more intelligent than another, but due to genetics, some children naturally learn more quickly than others. This has been evident in my own life. An example is the students I observed for Education 210 were divided into groups according to their math abilities. This division was not to separate smart from unintelligent students, but to allow the students to learn at a level best for them. Each child learns at a different rate; some just catch on faster than others. I believe that environment has a much stronger effect on a students learning ability than heredity does. The child who is encouraged to learn is much more likely to succeed than one who is not encouraged.