Running Header: Personal Teaching Philosophy

Personal Teaching Philosophy

Allison Whitson
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of EUD496, Field Experience ePortfolio. Spring 2015

Personal Statement

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Teaching is ultimately something that someone must be called to do to truly enjoy the
joys as well as learn from the struggles from the job to educate children and also adults. Because
of my faith, I know that the Lord has called me to be a teacher and I have noticed it through my
previous job experience of being a camp counselor. I believe that education can be given to
anyone, from low-functioning special needs children to children with great intelligence, can learn
from direct instruction and also from previous experiences. It is the teachers job to bring kids
into a safe learning environment and to daily manage them through learning and also through
transitioning efficiently from one task to the next. This philosophy paper will show a glance of
why I believe education is important and why I will be effective to fill the role of giving students
an education to be successful.
Evolution of Beliefs
In the past year, I have learned so much from just getting my feet to actually diving into
teaching. There are so many little things that make a huge impact on how the teacher
communicates to the students, the parents, and the other school faculty. This can become very
difficult because everyone has a different way of interpreting the correct information. This is
why teachers need to become experts in people skills so that communication can be more
effective. As I have been progressing through my student teaching experience, I have been
learning more about how to give verbal and nonverbal communication to lead students through
the vision that I have for either one particular subject, or for the whole day. My teacher voice
has definitely developed and my confidence has increased as I become more certain about
enforcing the rules during instruction time that have been established and consistent during the
year. To meet their academic needs, each student will need to be approached differently when
educating them. To ensure that each student is progressing at their own personal pace, I will

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establish small groups for children to rotate in and out of to make sure that I can meet with each
student at least once a week for reading and math.
One belief that has stayed the same since entering the Elementary Education program at
Regent University is that no matter what educational setting I am in, is to make certain that I give
each student individual attention every day. However, I will make sure to clearly communicate to
students that I will not give attention to those students who showing good behavior so that
students who are striving for any type of attention in the classroom will know that they will not
get it unless they have good behavior.
Goals
I have short term and long term goals for when I begin my teaching career. I am going to
first strive to do better than the previous day and continue learning how I can handle situations
and lessons in the classroom more successfully. I will also strive to ensure that every student of
mine knows that I sincerely love them and I want them all to be successful in life. If they think
that I do not care about them, then they will most likely not be as effective learning in my
classroom.
One long term goal that I have for my teaching career is to invest into my students so
much that I will be able to continue to stay in communication with them after they graduate from
my classroom. This could be through just saying hi in the hallways, or it could come many
years down the road with a student who wants to be a teacher as well. I want to establish a good
repertoire with my students and their parents so that I can still communicate with them years
down the road. This has definitely been more over the past year as I have experienced parentteacher conferences and meet-and-greet night during my student teaching experience. I want
what I am teaching my students to benefit them years down the road so that they will not only
know what I taught them, but also how I taught it day in and day out.
Faith Integration

PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Teachers are highly advised to not preach to students or teach them religion, but to rather
teach about religion. However, in some unique cases, the Bible encourages Christians to give an
answer when someone questions them about what they believe. 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, But honor
the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you
for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping
your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will
be put to shame (Holman Christian Standard Bible). I really like this verse because it is very
applicable for life and gives a biblical explanation on how Christian teachers should present
themselves to their students and colleagues. I hope that through my different lifestyle choices
and my words, my colleagues will be able to recognize a difference in me that may lead to
further discussions on what I believe and where my hope comes from.