Teaching Philosophy
By Amber Ricketts
Marian Wright Edelman once said, “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.” As a teacher, I believe that the role of a teacher is more than just providing students with the basic content knowledge they need to become more intellectual beings. Instead, an educator must reach beyond the content they are mandated to teach, and equip students with the life skills they need to grow emotionally, physically, mentally, and intellectually. In order to do this I believe that it is my responsibility to form authentic relationships with my students, thereby, putting on each student’s cloak of sadness, happiness, fear, and morality, and wearing it faithfully.
Each student that walks into the classroom is a unique individual, bringing into the classroom with them many different experiences, all of which should be celebrated. To improve the lives of others I must first improve the classroom environment, and I aim to do that by promoting a supportive classroom community that is a safe place for all students. Free to voice their opinions, their questions, and their comments, and free to take risks, for nothing is ever accomplished until one steps outside of their comfort zone. I intend to provide opportunities within the classroom where I can interact one on one with students, as I learn about their families, their hobbies, what makes them smile, and what makes them frown, while positively affirming them every day.
Once I create an environment where acceptance is valued, I must improve the emotional, physical, and mental state of each child. I believe that learning should be hands on in the form of creative dramatics, digital storytelling, puppetry, and pantomime, and in order to foster this environment teachers must be actively involved, not just depositors of knowledge. I believe that students should see their core subjects as interconnected entities, which extend beyond the classroom and reach out globally. In order for students to see those connections, school must be interconnected with home life. Students’ socioeconomic statuses affect how they see the world and teachers need to look at the world through their lenses, in order to see what is meaningful for them. Perhaps, I will have to be the comedian on Mondays, the singer on Wednesdays, and the actress on Fridays, but it is my duty to create experiences in the classroom which meet the needs of all of my students.
As an educator, I understand that each day is a day to be valued. With each person we meet, whether child or adult, we are transformed. Whether consciously or unconsciously the person we were before each meeting has evolved because of the individuals we have come in contact with. Each child that steps into a classroom is waiting to be changed, so I must supply them with the necessary skills they need in order to change the world they live in.
Each student that walks into the classroom is a unique individual, bringing into the classroom with them many different experiences, all of which should be celebrated. To improve the lives of others I must first improve the classroom environment, and I aim to do that by promoting a supportive classroom community that is a safe place for all students. Free to voice their opinions, their questions, and their comments, and free to take risks, for nothing is ever accomplished until one steps outside of their comfort zone. I intend to provide opportunities within the classroom where I can interact one on one with students, as I learn about their families, their hobbies, what makes them smile, and what makes them frown, while positively affirming them every day.
Once I create an environment where acceptance is valued, I must improve the emotional, physical, and mental state of each child. I believe that learning should be hands on in the form of creative dramatics, digital storytelling, puppetry, and pantomime, and in order to foster this environment teachers must be actively involved, not just depositors of knowledge. I believe that students should see their core subjects as interconnected entities, which extend beyond the classroom and reach out globally. In order for students to see those connections, school must be interconnected with home life. Students’ socioeconomic statuses affect how they see the world and teachers need to look at the world through their lenses, in order to see what is meaningful for them. Perhaps, I will have to be the comedian on Mondays, the singer on Wednesdays, and the actress on Fridays, but it is my duty to create experiences in the classroom which meet the needs of all of my students.
As an educator, I understand that each day is a day to be valued. With each person we meet, whether child or adult, we are transformed. Whether consciously or unconsciously the person we were before each meeting has evolved because of the individuals we have come in contact with. Each child that steps into a classroom is waiting to be changed, so I must supply them with the necessary skills they need in order to change the world they live in.
