RUNNING HEAD: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Personal Teaching Philosophy

Niyoria McKinnis

Regent University
RUNNING HEAD: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Introduction

Children are our future. I believe, as a teacher that each and every child can bring

something special to the world. I believe that it is important to have a classroom where each

student can shine and discover who they are and express their own opinion by using accountable

talk during lessons. Accountable talk, I feel is a great way for students to express their opinions

in the classroom without hurting their classmates feelings. I know in my first student teaching

placement I used this during lessons and the students really seemed to enjoy it. I also created an

accountable talk anchor chart for the classroom. This helps the students learn to respect and

accept one another and embrace the differences between everyone in the classroom.

My goals

All classrooms are filled with different abilities and learning styles. It is my role as a

teacher to give my students the tools to bring fourth their knowledge. To accomplish this I

always manipulatives, videos and other things that spark student interests so they are able to

learn easier. All of my lessons I taught during my student teaching experience had differentiation

involved. Yes, it does take time to think how to differentiate lessons, but in the end student

success goes up. I love to incorporate themes, projects, group work and hands on learning in

order to make my students active learners.

I also love the idea of morning meetings in the classroom. This just creates a caring and

safe environment for students to learn and grow. Morning meetings are a great way to start the

day full of learning. Even if the morning meeting is just for two minutes I feel this is very

important to set the mood for the day. In my second placement I have incorporated morning
RUNNING HEAD: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

meeting activities from the morning meeting book I have from one of my classes at Regent.

Students love the activities I have started in the classroom.

When you are a teacher there are three things that tie into one which are

mentoring, coaching and teaching. A child may be dealing with day to day challenges and

mentoring guarantees a young person that there is someone who cares about them. Whether it is

at the elementary, middle, or high school level, coaching gets the students fired up with their

imaginations engaging them and motivating them to succeed. Of course teaching is educating

and imparting knowledge. This is the most fundamental part of a teachers job. Every teacher

teaches a different way but having these three values will make you unique ant then you can

being your personality, your experiences and your ambitions into the classroom. Find something

that makes your students successful. Getting to actually know your students and make

connections is another wonderful thing that I feel all teachers should do starting in the beginning

of the school year. You have to make everyone feel a part of the class when teaching. Student

teaching has really opened my eyes on how it is to be an effective teacher and I have grown so

much during this process. I cannot wait to have my own classroom, so I can implement my

philosophy into the classroom.

Evolution of Beliefs

Teaching has always been a dream of mine. If you think about it everyone has got to

where they are in life because they had a teacher. A teacher is someone who gives instruction

and communicates skills. Ever since I was in third grade I have always wanted to become a

teacher. I think my third grade teacher influenced me to become just like her and become a great

teacher. My third grade teacher was amazing she not only taught us, she was there for all of her
RUNNING HEAD: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

students in every way they needed her. I think that teaching is a great job; I wouldn't want to be

anything else. Teaching is such a rewarding job because you get to make a difference in your

students lives and help guide them to make the right choices in life. Interaction is very

important, whether it be on educational grounds or recreational activities, it is a lot more fun

interacting and learning with kids.

While in college I worked at a preschool and worked as a lead toddler teacher. I have

been working with children since the age of 15 and I absolutely love it. I just love seeing the

progress they make overtime. I feel that teaching is what I'm called to do. My passion is to make

a difference and influence children and guide them as they grow up. I want to be a teacher

because every time, I see a young child learning it warms my heart. I want to lead them in the

right path to become productive people in their communities. As a teacher, you can help young

people to reach their goals, give them a sense of power over their destiny and you can guide and

nurture them. As a teacher I must motivate, inspire, and encourage my students to strive for

success. I believe the purpose of education is to help students prepare for the real world by

helping them become independent citizens and by providing them with knowledge needed for

future careers. Working with my toddlers has given me a lot insight on what it is like to be a

teacher. Moving from a preschool classroom to my student teaching experience has really

opened my eyes and I am able to see what kind of teacher I want to be for my students.

Classroom management and learning how to deal with your students, is another important

thing to remember. Many teachers go into this profession not knowing how to manage their class

appropriately, which causes them to become stressed out. I remember a speaker coming into one

of my classes at Regent classes saying that said 22 percent of teachers quit in their first five years

of teaching. They quit because they do not know how to manage their class properly and do not
RUNNING HEAD: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

have the skills and knowledge to do so. They also quit because they have no set plan on how to

run their classroom or their students. When you are teaching it is really important to have a plan

and stick to the plan. When you are consistent your classroom will feel less stressful and you will

be able to handle the classroom so much better. There are three As to remember when being

consistent and the first one is attendance. Teachers should be present everyday so they can teach

their students. The second one is attitude. I have always been told it is important to leave

attitudes at the door only and once you enter the classroom no attitude allowed. The third is

academics, because school is important. It is also important that in the classroom we create high

learning anxiety, so students can pay attention more. An example of this would be discussing a

topic and calling on a random student and asking them a question to see if they were paying

attention. By doing this, the students are learning that they have to pay attention so they wont be

embarrassed in class. When you train them, you can manage your class better. If you do not train

them they will be difficult to teach. I also feel that you have to have positive reinforcement. You

have to learn what phrases to eliminate from your vocabulary and how to talk so your students so

they will really listen.

Integration of faith

As a teacher it is my responsibility to reach all of my students. Teaching is one of the

gifts of the Holy Spirit and it is a necessary and valuable part of life. Jesus, of course, was the

greatest teacher, and He is often referred to as Rabbi or Teacher (Luke 13:10 NIV). In His

teaching, our Lord used illustrations (Luke 7:3132, NIV), which is what I used to connect with

my students in the classroom. The students learn so much better with visuals. We have different

gifts, according to the grace given to each of us (Romans 12:67, NIV). Teachers have the

supernatural ability to clearly instruct and communicate knowledge of faith. Overall, Jesus
RUNNING HEAD: PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

always taught with the best interests of His students at heart; always, which is the path I am

trying to take in my teaching. While attending Regent I have seen many ways to differentiate my

instruction in the classroom to meet each and every one of my students needs. Yes, it may take

extra planning time to make sure every lesson reaches all of our students, but in the end all

students will understand. Their success should be the most important thing we think about when

creating our lessons. As I create my lesson I think about how I would be able to learn the lesson.

I know while I was in school I always learned easier with manipulatives and songs. Every

student should be engaged and focused on each lesson. We are all created different and with

different gifts. So when students come to your classroom they each come with their own abilities

and talents, so it is important for us to learn that. In Romans 12:4-8, it says,

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christs
4

body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given

you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is

serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage

others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability,

take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it

gladly. (NIV)

This scripture lets us know that although we are all members of the Body of Christ, we do not

all function the same. So our challenge as a teacher is to find the best way to instruct each

student in our classroom.