Carlson 1

Amy Carlson
Professor Mitchell
Intro to Teaching
21 September 2010
My Teaching Philosophy
Every teacher has their own philosophy that they follow in the classroom. There are six
basic theories of education that help outline our philosophies. They are perennialism,
progressivism, behaviorism, essentialism, social reconstructionism, and postmodernism. Out of
these theories, one may choose to strictly follow just one, or they may take bits and pieces from
each and call that their philosophy. My personal teaching philosophy is mainly that of the
essentialist, but it also includes aspects from progressivism, social reconstructionism, and
postmodernism.
In essentialism, the purpose of schooling is to train the intellect and teach students the
culture and traditions of the past (Webb 81). This is exactly what I believe students go to school
for. They go to learn new information and grow as a person, having fun and playing games are
just a bonus. Without school, nobody would know anything or have any clue how to live and
function in this crazy world of ours. Along with this theory, I believe in that of the social
reconstructionist, who says that students attend school to dream about their future. By attending
school, one learns new information that can help them make decisions about their future, whether
it is what they want their career to be, how they want to run their family, or just simply how to
live their life. I think that in order to become ones own self, they must attend school, because
that is where they will develop new skills and gain knowledge.
Carlson 2

For me, the nature of the learner is a difficult aspect to explain. I partly follow the beliefs
of the essentialist for this. I agree that students have the ability to develop their own minds, but I
do not think that we as teachers have to teach them everything, especially all of their morals.
Personally, I believe that teachers should guide students in developing their values and morals;
they should not just flat out tell them what they should and should not do or believe. It is alright
to explain to them what your beliefs are, but you should not in any way force them to follow
your morals. The other part of the essentialists belief is that much academic training is required
in order to learn, which I completely agree with. It takes time for some students to learn new
things, so a teacher must take time and work hard in order to teach the students and be sure that
they understand everything clearly. Teachers can use formative assessments along the way to see
if the students are grasping the material before the summative assessment. If anything seems to
be unclear, he/she can go back and re-teach in a different format. If one wants a student to
succeed, they must guide them in the right direction, while letting them develop into their own
person.
The essentialists believe that there is a critical core or body of knowledge that all
students should possess (Webb 81). This means that a student needs to be well-rounded in their
academics. They should know information about every subject. In order for the students to learn
all of this information, the teacher must be knowledgeable about all subjects as well, even if they
mainly teach one subject in a middle or high school. This is because in most cases, the subjects
can be integrated with one another. Students may need to be able write proper explanations in a
math or history class and vice versa. Not only should students learn about math, science, history,
and how to read and write, they need to know basic survival skills. Also, as previously stated,
they should learn how to develop their own set of morals and beliefs through the help of not only
Carlson 3

the teacher, but their family and religion. If all of this learning is to occur, schools must set
guidelines for the students that include a certain number of credits needed for each subject. With
this system, one can be sure that the students are learning everything they need to know in life.
I believe in many different theories of instructional methods, including those of the
progressivists, essentialists, and postmodernists. Progressivists say that group work and projects
are the best ways to learn. I love doing group work and projects, and when I become a teacher I
will incorporate a lot of that into my lesson plans. Being in a group allows the students to learn to
work with others while accomplishing tasks, and projects get the students to be hands on with
learning, which is always a great thing. These ideas plan into the idea of Gardners Multiple
Intelligence theory that states that every student learns differently. Some like to be more
kinesthetic and outgoing, while others prefer independent work or writing, music, and math. It all
depends on the individual. Along with those methods, I still think that lectures and discussions
are a huge part of learning. In order for students to study and succeed, one must actually talk
about the subject and give notes pertaining to the lessons. Repetition is also a major key in
learning new things. Finally, postmodernists believe that students put together what they know
and think, and teachers teach using symbolism to communicate new ideas. All three of these
theories are factors in my instructional methods.
My classroom is going to be a place where students can feel safe, at home, and be
expressive. I do not want anyone to feel insecure or nervous to discuss any issues that may come
into play. These ideas of mine stem from those of the postmodernists. They say that the
classroom should be nonthreatening, supportive, and open to discussions of many controversial
subjects and topics (Webb 89). I want my students to be able to share what they feel, tell stories,
and be themselves, without any excuse of being afraid. They should also be able to ask questions
Carlson 4

and wonder about the world. Regardless to all of this, I will support discipline. If a student is
causing problems they will be punished in some way, depending on the grade level they are in. I
will have a rewards and consequence plan set-up in my classroom that will allow me to monitor
the students and provide incentives for those that need it. I believe that a classroom should be a
fun learning environment, but rules must still be in place.
Of all the theories of education, essentialism is perhaps most comfortable with
assessment, evaluation, and testing (Webb 82). The whole idea of essentialism deals with
learning and being a well-rounded student, so testing is a major part of this theory. Testing is
also a way of letting teachers know what the students need to work on. It is especially helpful in
subjects like math and English, where main ideas and rules need to be learned in order to do
anything else. Formative assessments will be used first to check up on students throughout
lessons. They will be followed by summative assessments to see if the students have met the
intended objectives. As a teacher, I will give many forms of quizzes and tests even though most
students do not like that idea. There are many different forms of those though, such as selective
response, supply response, performance, and portfolio. This will allow me to mix it up, while
still testing the students; knowledge. I believe that one cannot truly tell how a student is doing
without some form of assessment.
My teaching philosophy deals with many of the theories of teaching, such as
essentialism, progressivism, social reconstructionism, and postmodernism. Everything I believe
in stems from these theories, even if I disagree with what they have to say. By disagreeing, I am
able to think up my own ideas and become myself. This philosophy that I have developed will
help me succeed in my teaching career and be the best teacher that I can be.

Carlson 5

Works Cited
Webb, L. Dean, Arlene Metha, and K. Forbis Jordan. Foundations of American Education. 6
th

ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, 2010. 7,8,18,19,22. Print.