Developing a Teaching Philosophy, Essay Example

It may be safe to assume that many, if not most people who become teachers have given considerable though to how they will teach, and what kind of teachers they will be. Such consideration, in fact, likely begins long before most teachers even enter college to begin earning the degrees and certificates they will need in order to begin careers as educators. It is also very likely safe to assume that most people find that, over the course of their educational development to become teachers, their initial teaching philosophies have evolved significantly as they have acquired theoretical information and logged time in classrooms as observers, interns, or assistants. It may be presumptuous to assert that this is the case for everyone, but it does stand to reason that the years spent learning how to become teachers will shape and refine the personal and professional perspectives and philosophies of most teachers. Developing a philosophy of teaching is a uniquely individual process, combining information learned in classrooms, textbooks, discussions, observations, and personal experience. This process assures that competent teachers will share some fundamental professional attributes while also manifesting a singular, personal approach when bringing those attributes to bear with their future students. The following paper contains a discussion about some of the theoretical and practical information and personal considerations that can help to shape the teaching philosophy of a language arts educator.

There is no question that all the elements of the educational experience combine to help students learn to become teachers. Even though most students who choose Education as a major probably have some sense of what and how they will teach, they are still going to be exposed to a wealth of new ideas in the course of the years they spend in college. There is inherent value in all of these various elements, from lectures from professors to self-directed research projects to informal discussions with fellow students, friends, family or future professional peers. At the core of all these elements, however, are the fundamental elements of ideas. Ideas are the currency of thinking and the dividends of knowledge. For students who are learning to become teachers, there are innumerable ideas to consider about how to teach, and even why to teach. Many of these ideas have been explored and examined to such an extent that they form the bases of various theories of education. It seems, in fact, that for every possible idea about how to teach a certain subject, how to structure classes for a certain age group, how to handle a certain type of student, or virtually any other possible circumstance, there are one or more educational theories related to that idea (and more often than not these theories conflict with or outright contradict each other).

This may be the single greatest challenge a teacher faces as he or she is making the transition from the theoretical and hypothetical world of education that takes shape over the course of a few years in college to the practical reality of the classroom. There are far too many ideas, far too many theories about how, what, and even why to teach for any single teacher to master even a small portion of them. There are, in fact, far too many theories and ideas about education for the typically new teacher to even recall all of those that he or she studied in college. The best possible outcome for most new teachers will be that they have absorbed the basic tenets of some great ideas and theories, and that these tenets will provide a sturdy foundation, a solid starting point, from which they can begin their voyage as teachers.

It is that realization –that the end of college is merely the beginning of learning how to be a teacher- which should be at the core of any viable philosophy of teaching. Regardless of what is learned in college, teachers are going to learn much more once they get into their own classrooms in front of living, breathing students. That said, however, it is still helpful for new teachers to choose from the theories and ideas they have learned along the way to help prepare themselves for the moment when they first venture into their classrooms. Language arts teachers, for example, can choose from a wealth of theories and ideas about how to help their students develop literacy skills. In an era when differentiated instruction and inclusive classrooms are the order of the day, it is helpful to learn about and internalize theories that embrace this approach.

In the 2007 report entitled “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World,” a committee of educators published a set of recommendations about teaching foreign languages (hereafter “FL”) that are largely based on the fundamental idea that our increasingly globalized world demands that teaching FL be contextualized as a practical, real-world exercise. The report promotes the idea that “many factors in the world today make advanced study of languages and cultures appealing to students and vital to society” (Pratt et al, 2007).  Simply put, this committee’s recommendations are predicated on the notion that FL education is not –or at least should not be- a theoretical or hypothetical process; instead, it is a process that has implications in the broader cultural and social settings in which students will function as they go on to higher education and the workforce. The committee asserts that FL departments at the level of higher education must “radically transform themselves” (Pratt et al, 2007). While this advice is offered in the context of FL, the basic assumptions and recommendations on which it is based are relevant to all aspects of literacy education.

This notion that the study of language is an inherently practical matter is picked up in a discussion of teaching philosophies entitled “Charting ‘Unexplored Territory’ in the Social Foundations: Pedagogical Practice in Urban Teacher Education.” In this discussion, author and educator Sonia E. Murrow (2008) discusses her personal philosophy of education as well as the processes by which her university-level students endeavor to develop their own philosophies.  Murrow emphasizes the overarching significance, and even necessity, of embracing an inclusive approach to education. Murrow also notes that many of her students are committed to the idea of promoting “reform in urban schools” (Murrow, 2008); such reform is based on ideas about inclusion and differentiation that are becoming fundamental to a contemporary approach to education at all levels of instruction and learning.

Ferando Mino-Garces (2009) discusses the concept of “knowledge construction” in the context of teaching ESL to Spanish-speaking students. Mino-Garces’ article notes that “language learning theory has shifted from a highly guided to a more open learning process” (2009), a theme that is increasingly common and increasingly emphasized in contemporary discussions about language arts education. Differentiation and inclusion are not just shaping language arts classes; these approaches are being used to inform the shape and content of education in virtually all areas of instruction. They have particularly significant implications for FL and ESL students, however, as such instruction is no longer the primary domain of the theoretical. Students of previous generations may have been more likely to study foreign languages as little more than an educational exercise, but in the contemporary era the study and use of FL are increasingly common in everyday life. This is a phenomenon that is only going to grow, and educators are increasingly called upon to consider the broader social implications of their instructional modes (Feryok, 2012).

Every teacher will develop his or her own personal teaching philosophy, and these philosophies will grow and evolve over the course of their teaching careers. While there are no specific theories or ideas that must be absorbed by every teacher, the broader principles of inclusive, differentiated education have seeped into nearly every contemporary educational theory. When cultivating a personal teaching philosophy, it is imperative that teachers find the theories and ideas that best suit their needs, while also embarking the overarching philosophy that every student they meet will present an opportunity to teach and to be taught.

References

Feryok, A. (2012). Activity Theory and Language Teacher Agency. The Modern Language Journal, 96(1), 95–107.

Mino-Garces, F. (2009). Learning for Life, a Structured and Motivational Process of Knowledge Construction in the Acquisition/learning of English as a Foreign Language in Native Spanish Speakers. International Journal Of English Studies, 9(1).

Murrow, S. (2008). Charting “unexplored territory” in the social foundations: Pedagogical practice in urban teacher education. Educational Studies, 43(3), 229–245.

Pratt, M., Geisler, M., Kramsch, C., McGinnis, S., Patrikis, P., Ryding, K., & Saussy, H. (2008). Transforming College and University Foreign Language Departments. The Modern Language Journal,92(2).