WRozycki

   Ideally there are four basic philosphies when referring to teachers, they are idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism.  Some teachers may base their profession on just one main philosphy while others will look to incorporate more than one in their classroom.  But wether it’s soley based on one or a combination of all four, strength in his/her personal teaching philosphy will shine through their teaching and effect greatly on their students.       At the elemntary level children are given the oppurtunity to obtain their learning foundation for the rest of their future.  These building blocks to further education include basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Given the attitude of most children, it would be impossible for teachers to stand infront of the class all day and lecture.  A child’s attention span is only so long, so to expect a child to just sit there and note take all day would be awful on behalf of the teacher and school.

     One day as an aspiring teacher to have my own classroom, I plan to implement my personal philosophy of teaching.  I plan to involve a variety of methods of instruction which will include hands-on demostrations, relating material to student’s interest, and getting my students involved as much as possible while maintaining an effective learning enviroment.  From group assignments to active in-class discussions that would result in hearing live demostrations of knowledge where applicable. For example students going to the board and performing math skills. Another big area would be the assessment of my students.  I wouldn’t expect all my kids to be great test takers and would give my student’s the tradtional written test.  But instead implementing take home projects such as diaramas as well as in class group assignments connecting facts with creativity and giving written/fact test where applicable.

    Overall it’s important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of all students.  Implementing various methods of teaching and assessment I believe will prove beneficial for all students.  Keeping students up to date with current events, performing role plays, and showing what they know on the board will help all students.  I plan to put forth morals, life lessons, and most importantly the power of education.  Getting the students more involved during the actual class time will make it easier for these students to get more involved at home and in their community.  No one only learns in the classroom, so it’s important to encourage kids learn outside the classroom as well.