Running head: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1

Personal Teaching Philosophy

Kelly Smalley

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2017

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Personal Teaching Philosophy

Thomas Jefferson said that education is the indispensable cornerstone of freedom

(Rippa, 1997, p. 55); to that end, I believe that the purpose of education is to raise up

knowledgeable and responsible citizens who will build upon that cornerstone by making

informed decisions that benefit their community, nation, and world. The principles that make up

my personal teaching philosophy are faith-based and practical: to help students discover and

learn how to use their gifts, build strong relationships, model exemplary character, create a sense

of community within the classroom, and learn the principles of democracy.

Not only are children a gift (Psa. 127:3), but they have been given gifts (1 Pet. 4:10) that

they can use to grow their knowledge. I believe that it is my responsibility to help my students

discover their gifts and learn how to use them in beneficial ways. I am not merely charged with

the task of filling empty vessels with facts; I recognize that even at a young age, my students

come to me with a knowledge base and life experiences as well as God-given gifts, talents, and

strengths, all of which can be used to help them grow in their understanding of the world around

them.

I will not only use this knowledge of my students to meet their needs by differentiating

instruction, using flexible grouping, and providing choices, but I will also help them to discover

ways to use their gifts, talents, and strengths to grow in their areas of weakness. For example, I

might ask a student who is visual to explain a difficult math concept through pictures, or a

student who is musical to create a rap about it. Although in most situations the students must be

able to transfer their knowledge to a standards-based test, I believe that there is value in allowing

them to use their strengths to grow their understanding in their areas of weakness. Part of the
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value is that they end up with a growth mindset when they come to realize that they can learn

concepts that they thought they could not.

Proverbs 16:21 tells us that gracious words promote instruction (NIV). I believe that it

is my responsibility to build relationships with my students and their families in order to

cultivate a learning environment in which students thrive emotionally and academically. When I

show integrity, dignity, and soundness of speech in my teaching (Tit. 2:7, ESV), my students

and their families will be more apt to trust and respect me. Having student trust means that my

students will be more willing to put forth effort in their school work, and having parent trust

means that I will get support from home when needed; both can have a profound effect on my

students growth.

To build strong relationships with my students, I believe that it is important to model the

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal.

5:22, ESV) that I would like for them to use when building their own relationships in our

classroom community and beyond. Being a model of these fruits does not mean that I will not

have control of my class; I will be firm, yet gentle, when needed and consistent in my

expectations so that our classroom community is one in which my students feel safe, cared for,

and able to participate fully.

1 Corinthians 12:24-26 discusses how the body is one although it is made up of many

members, just as the classroom is one community made up of a diversity of students. I believe

that it is my responsibility to establish a strong sense of community among my students so that

they may learn from each other and gain the relational skills necessary for good citizenship.

Since part of being a functional community is respecting the diversity within it, students will be

given opportunities to share about their life and culture as well as their hopes and dreams, and
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the multicultural aspect of the community will be taken into consideration when planning for

instruction.

In the classroom community, I believe that the teacher must always be the authority

figure, but the community should be democratic in nature whenever possible. Students may not

be able to have a say in what they learn, but in my classroom, they will often have a say in how

they learn. I believe that when students are able choose some of their learning activities, such as

computer-based programs, educational games, hands-on activities, or other special activities that

engage them while meeting the standards, they are more likely to be active participants in their

learning. With my guidance, they will also have a say in the rules and consequences (both

positive and negative) of our community. I believe that students are more apt to be responsible

citizens and abide by the rules when they help to establish them.

Education is often reduced to how well students perform on tests, but I believe that we

need to continue to expel that notion. Teaching children how to become functioning members of

a strong classroom community not only prepares them to use their gifts, talents, and strengths to

elicit change for the good outside of the classroom, but it also creates a classroom environment

where they feel safe, where failure is seen as a pathway to success, and where all students respect

and are willing to help one another. Learning does not take a back seat; on the contrary, learning

is enhanced in this type of environment. My goal is to create such a classroom community; to do

this, I will observe my students to discover their gifts, talents, and strengths, and I will work

closely with each of them to build relationships and set academic and social goals throughout the

year. Ultimately, my goal is to see my students leave at the end of the year more intelligent and

better citizens than when they arrived.

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My beliefs about education have not changed from what they were before I began my

student teaching journey. From the time I was a teenager, I have always believed that education

is a way to make our nation strong, just as our founding fathers believed. As a mother of three

grown children, I have been able to observe teachers of all calibers, and those who I admired

most were the ones who had that belief as well. In the classrooms where my children were able

to use their gifts and talents in their school work, they excelled. When their teachers made it a

point to build relationships with both them and me, my children felt cared for, and when they

modeled good character, my children followed suit. Whey they created a strong sense of

community with the democratic ideals of equity and responsibility, my children held to those

principlesand they still do today. What has changed for me is that during my time at Regent

and throughout my practicum and student teaching experiences, I have gained the tools necessary

to create a classroom environment like some of those that my children had, and I look forward to

putting those tools to use in my own classroom.

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Reference

Rippa, S. A. (1997). Education in a free society: An American history (8th ed.). New York:

Longman