I chose to share my teaching philosophy for you all. I learned how to clarify my goals and objectives with my volunteer work and how to incorporate concepts I was interested in class while writing this.
I will use my teaching philosophy to guide my work with fifth grade classes at East Knox Elementary School and Wiggin Street Elementary. I serve as a helper to the teacher and an additional resource to the children who need one-on-one extra help. From what I have experienced, students like having a “helper” in the room. I have the valuable resources of time and being a relatively new addition to the classroom, meaning that in my time in the classroom I can focus on each child who comes for help without having a preconceived notion of who they are and what their abilities are. At the age of ten, children are developmentally in the Industry vs. Inferiority Stage, according to Erikson. I work with a social studies class and a science class, so I will keep in mind that working on specific tasks will make the children feel empowered. To make sure that this is occurring, I will make sure to give them any instructions or explanations necessary so they know what to do and what their objective is within science experiments and social studies projects. I will take advantage of my position as an “extra” teacher to give students the one-on-one time and explanations that they need, and I will treat each child like an individual and make sure that they understand the purpose of what we are learning. I will be aware of the fact that having some sort of challenge is good for them developmentally, but I will also be sure to lend help if they get frustrated.
The kids are known to get restless during class, but I will ask them politely to quiet down, rather than snap at them or punish them. I will make any praise I give very specific to the work that they are doing and any unique aspects of it, i.e. “I like how you found a new way to do the experiment that takes less time. Could you show me how to do it?” I will ask the students questions because it will give them a chance to explain their processes with different experiments or answers on worksheets, and it will also help when someone gets a wrong answer because we will reason through it together rather than I give them the correct answer if it’s already graded.
I will function as a second set of eyes for the teacher, because I am able to give more one-on-one help with any emotional problems or frustration in the classroom. I will endeavor to be useful in the classroom by respecting the teacher’s wishes that I work with students individually who need extra help, but I will also build a relationship with the students so they know that coming back to work with me isn’t an intimidating prospect. I will do this by keeping my voice calm while explaining, greeting each student cheerfully when they approach the table, and telling them if they need help with anything else to just come back again. I will make sure to keep a positive attitude and realize that a student’s overall intelligence and potential is not based on one test or worksheet-and I will let them know that by focusing on the material rather than the number right or wrong. If they complain about the amount they got wrong, I will tell them that we can still learn the information and that the grade they got doesn’t determine how much they will know, only how much they did know.
I will keep Alfie Kohn’s ideas on learning in mind, particularly the idea that the best learning is collaborative. If two students working in a pair have two different answers are unable to find out who is correct, I will encourage them to explain their reasoning and only intervene when I see a teaching opportunity to clarify what was said. If a group comes back to my table, I will make sure that all members are listening to one another when they propose ideas. I will facilitate collaborative learning when appropriate, and individual help when appropriate. I will be an “unconditional teacher” by keeping in mind and addressing the needs of the child, particularly if he or she seems to be expressing anxiety over their work.
My main goal is to help facilitate learning by giving the individual attention that students in the school system often don’t receive. In both the classrooms, there is one teacher and over twenty students. There are times where it seems that she is speaking to three or so students at once, all with different concerns. My presence will allow her some reprieve from the emotionally difficult work of tending to the needs of over twenty individuals, and the students some reprieve from the possible fear or guilt that they may be bothering her with their questions.
My philosophy is most influenced by Alfie Kohn’s books, because I believe that above all, children should be treated as individuals and teaching should focus upon unconditional support. The relationship should come first, and being an “extra” teacher in the room will help maintain the student-teacher relationship by adding a new person who is able to act as a mediator and an alternative to the main teacher when appropriate. My assessment will be based on how comfortable the students are approaching me and the quality of the relationships that are built, and their improvement while learning material.
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