My Professional Teaching Credo
Abstract
I have had a number of teachers throughout my academic career that have
had a positive influence on my desire to be a teacher.
I feel that teachers are given a huge responsibility in preparing the
youth of the world for the future.
Teachers not only teach academic lessons, but also the life lessons and morals
that are necessary for the real world.
I have always enjoyed the atmosphere of the classroom.
I will strive to do my best to make learning a positive experience for my future
students as well.
Teaching and learning are essential to life.
As teachers, we are responsible for providing our youth with a quality
education.
We do our best to serve
our community by giving children the opportunities they need and deserve to
become successful and productive members of society.
Not only do we teach subjects, but we also teach important life lessons and
morals.
A number of teachers in my life have had an influence on my decision to
become a teacher.
All of these
teachers had very similar traits that were appealing to me as a learner.
The most appealing was their passion for the material they taught.
Horace Mann once said, “A teacher who is attempting to teach without
inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.”
What Mr. Mann meant is that you have to be excited about what you are
teaching.
If you are excited, your
students will be too.
I believe that
you have to make learning fun and enjoyable, but you also have to maintain
discipline.
School is not just about
math, reading, and other subjects.
We are also teaching very important life skills, values, morals, and
independence.
Every student learns differently, and it is our job and responsibility to
find how our students learn so we can teach them in the most effective way.
They need to comprehend what we are teaching and it has to “stick.”
I feel that group work and discussion are very beneficial to the learning
process.
Active participation in
class is important.
Students can
learn a great deal about themselves and others through interaction.
I also believe in giving the students the freedom to make their own
choices.
We can do our best to guide
them in the right direction, but it ultimately comes down to what they decide.
As teachers, we can prepare them for obstacles ahead of them, but it is
up to the student to make the choice.
Mistakes are inevitable, but it is what we learn from the mistakes that
matter, because failure and success are both important aspects of the learning
process. Many teaching opportunities are
created by mistakes.
Teachers need to be knowledgeable in a variety of areas.
For one, teachers have to have knowledge of themselves.
They should reflect on past experiences and find what works for them.
Teachers also have to be knowledgeable of their students. Every student
has his or her own learning style.
It is important to know how each of your students learn and how they respond.
Teachers also need to stay current and be up to date on the changing
world.
Even so, they still have to
be willing to have an open mind, because there will be students with different
ideas that can give you a different perspective.
Listen to them.
We learn from
our students just as much as they learn from us.
My philosophy of teaching is a combination of the five philosophical
orientations: perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, existentialism, and
social reconstructionism.
I have
taken what I liked and disliked about past educators and created my own outlook
on teaching.
Strong morals and
ethics are among those important characteristics to me as a teacher.
Along with academics, teachers should promote good social and moral
values.
John Dewey pointed out that,
“Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from
his failures as from his successes.”
Learning should be active and engage the student and their interests.
Teachers should ask students what they think and why.
It should go deeper than just right or wrong, and yes or no.
Students should be given the freedom to make their own choices.
It is important to them as individuals.
As teachers, we can set them on the right path towards successful
decision making.
Schools and teachers are shaping
the youth and the youth is our future.
My psychological orientation includes both humanistic and constructivism
approaches.
I strongly believe that
students should have personal freedom and choice.
However, their freedom is not to get out of hand.
They still need discipline, guidance and the knowledge of appropriate
behavior.
It is our job as teachers
to prepare our students to make good choices.
We also have to stress their personal responsibility.
Constructivism focuses on the student and their needs.
As teachers, we must find how our students learn and their needs to
provide them with a quality education.
It was John Dewey who said that, “The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.” Students need to make choices to become independent. Teachers have the responsibility to prepare their students for what is ahead of them. Both the students and teacher can learn from each other and each other’s mistakes. Teachers must provide an atmosphere in which students want to learn. My passion and love for my future job will have a positive impact on my students and how they learn.
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Works Cited
“A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the
pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” - Horace Mann
1.
Mann, Horace.
Teacher Quotes.
2006.
Online.
http://thinkexist.com/teacher_quotes/,
21 October 2008.
“Failure is instructive.
The person who really thinks learns quite as much
from his failures as from his successes.” - John Dewey
2.
Dewey, John.
John Dewey Quotes.
2008.
Online.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_dewey.html, 21 October 2008.
“The self is not something ready-made, but something in
continuous formation through choice of action.” - John Dewey