Philosophy Impact

My personal philosophy of education will impact my future as a teacher in many ways. The specific impact it will have on my classroom will determine have powerful I will be as a teacher. My philosophy will effect my classroom organization, student motivation, discipline, assessment, classroom climate, learning focus, my teaching style and leadership style. Under further examination, I will reveal how each of these elements of my classroom will be effected by my personal philosophy of education.

Classroom Organization:
Since I am a fairly neat and orderly person, my classroom will be set up in a neat fashion; everything will be organized and have a place. With all my work organized, I can plan my time accordingly to get work back to students in a timely manor to allow for quick and precise feedback. I feel the more organized I am as a teacher, the more I will help my students to become organized adults and successful in their education.

Motivation:
The most important thing to remember when motivating students to learn is their personal interests. A typical human being has little enthusiasm in learning something they are not interested in. When I design my lesson plans, I make sure that the students' interests are taken into consideration. A big attribute of students within grades 7 and 12 is that they like to be independent; they like to discover things on their own. By creating an environment for the student in which they teach themselves by interacting with it is a great way to make sure the students stay motivated. By exploring this environment, the student feels that he/she is learning what they want to learn, instead of what the teacher is making them learn, although as the teacher we see that they are one in the same due to our careful planning.

Self-discipline and Classroom Climate:
Self-discipline is created by holding the students accountable for themselves and their actions. Teaching each student about responsibility will help them grow as individuals and build a community within the classroom. By creating a classroom community where everyone respects and values one another, we establish a classroom where everyone feels safe and can rely on one another. This brings us into the topic of classroom climate. When a classroom is safe for all students, enjoyable learning can be reached through hard work from individuals and groups.

Teaching Styles and Assessment:
I grouped teaching styles and assessment together because I think they go hand in hand. The key here is to use a variety of methods to draw the knowledge out of the student; to allow to student to discover information on their own. With this said, all students learn differently therefore they should be taught and assessed to their specific learning style. Although it seems almost impossible to teach to every students' learning style, with a variety of instructional methods and assessment techniques it is possible to give every student the opportunity to learn and be assessed in the best way possible.
Instructional methods, such as discussion, cooperative learning, journals/blogs, role playing and scaffolding, amongst others, will accommodate all the different students in the multiple ways in which they learn. Assessment can be summative, formative, formal, and informal. Summative assessment summarizes the development of the learners at a given time, for example, the end of a semester. Formative assessment is when feedback from learning is used by the teacher to enhance teaching and learning strategies. Formal assessment is usually a written document, such as a test, quiz, or paper. Informal assessment is usually casual and includes observation, participation, peer and self-evaluation, and discussion. By using a variety of teaching and learning methods it is possible to accommodate for all learning styles within the classroom.

Learning Focus:
My personal philosophy is that the student should be the center of learning. Within student-centered learning the focus in on the students needs, instead of the desires of the teachers and administration. Although the teachers and adminstration should be taken into consideration during planning, the students are the most important people within a school and the school should be built around and for them. With that said, students should have a say and choices in what they want learn.

Leadership styles:
My philosophy allows me to feel comfortable as a leader within a school and community. As a teacher, I am a role model for students who are the future of our nation. I stand up for what I believe in and hopefully my students will follow my lead by standing up for what they believe is right. My main goal as a leader is to put my students first and encourage others within the school community to do so as well.