Tori Fidanza

EDUC 290-001W

Doug Rapley

04 April 2018

Teaching Philosophy

Our ability as human beings to absorb and acquire knowledge starts young. Before a

child ever enters a classroom, they have already started to learn a language, recognize letters and

numbers, count, reason, problem solve, and the list goes on. It has been said that children are like

sponges, they pick up on knowledge that is before them by observation first and then on their

own. It is crucial that teachers of elementary students understand that the students they have been

given an opportunity to teach are at an age where they need to be excited about learning. Being a

teachers I should strive to ensure students are engaging in the material, even if the concepts may

not be complex due to the students age, the time frame of learning is critical and will build the

foundation of their educational paths.

Ensuring all students will reciprocate the material in a knowledgeable fashion means that

I as the teacher must deliver the information in a way that identifies with each type of learning.

Learning is done on a broad spectrum that can be broken into categories of learning styles:

visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Aiming to teach with each aspect of learning styles in mind will

allow the lessons to be well rounded, therefore allowing the students to be more apt to

understand the material at hand. Though a student may learn best with a certain type of style, it is

not the only way they can understand and comprehend the material. I must have lesson plans that

hits all the styles of learning, to ensure that students better understand something they would not
have if it were solely taught in one style.

The success of managing a classroom of elementary students who may or may not be

excited to learn will depend a lot of the delivery of lessons, and how well it resonates with each

student, along with the environment of the classroom. Aiding in a child’s education is a highly

valuable and significant task to undertake, arguably a student’s life path may depend on it.

Environmental factors have an equal part in the outcome of a child as well. From a

teachers’ perspective I should aim to do all that they can to ensure the children they are teaching

are getting their best chance. This requires getting to know the children and making sure the

space is comfortable. They must be comfortable with me as their teacher along with the

classroom environment to learn in. Familiarizing myself, and my students, will be the first step to

providing an optimal learning environment. From there I will understand my students and will be

more able to teach lessons that will be delivered in the best possible format and style.

Expectations of a teacher should reflect the needs of the students. I should always aim to

provide material that is inviting, educational, and thought provoking. I should begin each day

with the intentions of helping my students learn. This is done by first ensuring the lessons will

connect with each student—this starts with knowing my classroom. Being a teachers of young

minds I must also be flexible in their ideas of expectations. I may have set out to teach a lesson

in a certain manner, only to realize it isn’t reaching the students and changes must be made at

this point to ensure that the students come first.

The ability to understand and relate to different people of different cultures or religions,

or even social demographics is going to be a huge asset when entering a classroom as a teacher.

It is my mission to aide in the education of children that come from any background from

different cultures, family life, parenting styles, religious orientation, and social statuses. A
teacher must enter their classroom with any opinions or bias kept to themselves, they cannot

express these personal views into the classroom. A teacher needs to be unbiased and openminded

to the diversity each child brings to the classroom. I find it especially important to ensure that

this is done in elementary classrooms as the children are in the middle childhood stage and

“…opportunities for social interaction increase. Children spend most of the day with other

children—in class, on the bus, and in the neighborhood,” (Berns, 274). They are forming their

first opinions of the world, and that of themselves as they are forming a sense of self, and it

should be made clear equality is a necessity and is one of the first steps to socialization.

Understanding how to treat all people with fairness, appreciation, and compassion should be

demonstrated to the children at an early age so that they understand the importance. This

demonstration in the classroom is done so with hopes of allowing the students to form social

competence, behavior due to the understanding of others, which in turn leads to the cognitive

development of social cognition, conceptions and reasoning of people.

Understanding a classroom will exhibit a diverse range of backgrounds plays into many

aspects of how I will conduct it as a teacher. Each one of my students need to understand that

they are equally valued for who they are and where they come from—no one person or ethnicity

is better than the other. Creating a balanced environment for my students is a key aspect for

ensuring a comfortable environment for them to achieve in.

Achieving this balance can be done so by using three socialization concepts, cultural

assimilation, melting pot, and cultural pluralism. Assimilation is the process by which a minority

culture integrates with the majority culture; an example of this is students learning English as it

is the dominate language of America. Pluralism involves a shared understanding and

appreciation of the various cultures present and coexisting within the differences. I find that
having a harmonious balance of the two concepts would be best in a classroom, in hopes that it

would demonstrate the value in both approaches to socialization within diverse cultures. This

idea relates to the concept of a melting pot society, where “society should socialize diverse

groups to blend into a common culture” (Berns, 203). Perhaps in efforts to create such an

environment a cultural day would be implemented into the classroom every few months where

students could bring in “show-and-tell” items from each of their cultures to allow students to feel

pride for their differences along with giving them opportunity to learn of others.

In efforts to achieve fairness within a classroom I find that equality and equity should be

discussed as well. Equality needs to be understood amongst the students, but it is equally

important that equity is displayed for each student of the classroom as well. Equity and equality

are two strategies that are used in effort to create fairness. Equality is a start in aims to promote

fairness, but this approach is only applicable if everyone is at the same level and require the same

amount of assistance. Equity is used to provide everyone what they need to be successful, a

method that is used to ensure that everyone receives the assistance needed at their level. Both

strategies will be equal assets in my classroom when creating a balanced environment for my

students.

A curriculum can be viewed as a short-term goal that allows the classroom to reach the

long-term goals set. It is a schedule of learning goals that must be met set by me the teacher, and

done so in the way I find to be the best fit for the classroom. This again relates back to how

knowing my classroom is the best, and first, step in successfully teaching. To ensure all students

will respond well to the material I must deliver the information in a way that identifies with each

type of learning style. Aiming to teach with each aspect of learning styles in mind will allow the

lessons to be well rounded, therefore allowing the students more opportunity to understand the
material at hand. With the different styles of learning kept in mind the next step to a good

curriculum is goal setting. Between the short-term goals, that are obtainable rather quickly, and

the long-term goals, that take time and effort to reach, having a balance of these two goals will

help drive you towards success as you achieve small victories on the road to your overall long-

term goal. This is a great practice to teach students, as this helps anyone achieve what they want

in the end if they apply themselves. This is when expectations come into play, and expectations

of a teacher should always reflect the needs of the students.

As a teacher I should aim to provide material that is appealing, enlightening, and thought

provoking. Ensuring the lessons will connect with each student is a big aspect of this process—

and again this starts with knowing my classroom. As a teachers of young minds I must also be

flexible in their ideas of expectations. With those educational aspects in mind I, as a teacher, am

on the road to an effective curriculum, but those are not the only key factors that come into play

when planning a classrooms educational course. I should always attempt to create a classroom

that is comparable to the melting pot concept, where no one person is better but together we are

great. It is with these ideas and concepts in mind that will help me form a curriculum and

environment that is not only relatable to each student in the classroom, but it will be successful

step in each of their educational journeys.

 References

Berns, R.M. (2010). Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support (8th ed.).

Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.