Abigail Farciert EDU 280 Philosophy Statement Tug-of-War Growing up in the most diverse city of the five boroughs

has definitely impacted my view on society, as well as my ethics. Typically by diverse you would assume I meant by ethnicity, however you are mistaken. Staten Island is diverse in race, languages, religions, life styles (urban and suburban), customs, schooling, and so much more. In my luck I have gotten the opportunity to experience different environments throughout the island, having to move 6 times my entire life. My siblings and I all graduated from the same elementary and intermediate schools. According to Postman one must serve a god in order to provide them a reason" for being in school. After exploring these so called gods or narratives, I concluded that my principles as a future teacher do not satisfy the commandments of these gods. To sit here and tell you that I created a new god would be a false. My philosophy in teaching is a mesh of ideas from all narratives, philosophers, educators, and personal experiences. Sometimes I ponder about my future classroom and ideally I imagine all my theories and techniques work marvelously, however obstacles begin to run through my mind and I snap back to reality. By collecting ideas and reflecting them on my own knowledge, not only have I discovered a new side of myself but I now have a different perspective if what teaching truly is. Students spent a large amount of their time schools, and according to Berry it may be too much. Educations is a such a beautiful gift given to all American students, unfortunately not all educators do their job to help these students appreciate such gift. As a future teacher not only do I wish to educate my student solely in mathematics, but in life and how to survive in the real

world, by incorporate ideas from both Esquith and Berry into my teaching methods. One thing I do agree with Berry is that society is brain washing our children, and is trying to mold them into people society expect them to be. When I say this I speak from personal experience. Ever since I was little I dreamt of becoming a teacher, and that was always my response when asked my career choice. However every time I gave the questioner my answer, they would ask why and lecture me on how teaching should be my last option. I realize that everyone was so concerned about what occupation made more money, instead of doing something you loved. I mean so what if you hate science, if you want to be rich you have to be a doctor right? Wrong, my passion for teaching over powered there ignorance and I knew that my love for teaching was and still is priceless. Before this education course I had a very straight forward philosophy on education, and I thought I knew everything about teaching. According to TV you either where a strict teacher and everyone hated you or you were the coolest teacher with no authority in the classroom. I wanted to be the strict teacher, however as I explored other philosophy of teaching I began to derive a new and realistic philosophy. According to Postman in order to have a successful classroom one must abide by a specific god. While I do not believe that my views fit the criteria of only one god, my ideas have branched out from the Fallen Angel and The Law of Diversity. Postman discussed that the purpose of the Fallen Angel is to heal the "itch for absolute knowledge" and to state that it is okay to not be normal. Due to the fact that I want to become a math teacher, I must always keep in mind that each of my students are on different levels of math. My job is to try to the best of my ability to get all my students on the same path. When one thinks of math all you can picture is a bunch of numbers, nonetheless it can help influence you prospective in the world. The actual beauty of math is that you have ability to make mistakes

and correct them, practicing such skill and applying it to real life situations. For example finding your faults, in the problems and discovering the solution. Unlike the Fallen Angel, I believe the text books are useful, at least to my future students and the subject. If there is one book I always recall using throughout my educational career it would be my math book. We each learn in different ways and depending on the type of learner one is, can impact how fast we grasp a concept. If a student did not understand what happen during class they can reflect on their textbook, which ALWAYS provided examples with a step by step guide. This then leads them with a feeling of accomplishment of OO now I understand and the student can complete homework assignments. This then boosts their self-confidence, and provides a sense of accomplishment. Textbooks are not only resourceful for student but for teachers as well. However teacher must be wise on how they use textbooks. It is important to think out of the box, and only use these text books as a guide to your teachings. If one always goes by the books then our student will only learn that we must obey a superior, and it is wrong to have ideas of your own. In some cases, student may underestimate and question the teachers knowledge on the subject. On the other hand by not using the textbook you show students that you dont rely on someone else knowledge to teach them. So in results textbooks are good resources and stating that education systems should get rid of textbooks is like wanting to eliminate the use of a dictionary. How could we teach our children to spell, if we do not know how to ourselves? In regards to the god Law of Diversity it can definitely play a huge role in my classroom. This according to Postman guides how our interactions with many kinds of people make us into what we are". From a students point of view I believe it is important to have a special bond and attachment to your students, however in a professional matter. Last semester I had an extraordinary professor named Suki Gras, and within the second week of classes she had

already become one of the most influential women in my life. She would write quotes on the board and take a moment to discuss her opinions on them. Suki would continuously tell our class stories about how she overcame obstacles, how she got to where she is now, and most importantly remind us that we are all human. To her it did not matter what race, ethnicity, or economic status you were, what matter was the passion you had to succeed in life. I want to teach my students to look at the big picture and realize they can impact the world. You may question how a math teacher could incorporate diversity in their classroom. Well besides building a bond, there are many loops to include it through math problems, activities and discussions. A major aspect that in ties with diversity is that math itself is a language, from sin to pi. No matter what country you live in all these symbols have the same meaning, making my student visualize that while student in china are asleep, my students are learning what they learned earlier that day. As well as, make student appreciate their education by comparing the schooling in a third world country. I would discuss that while ones students get to explore different concept of math, students of third world countries, only learn the basics of math. Such discussions can pull the trigger in my student minds that expands the way they view the world, just like Suki Gras did to me. Society claims that in this world nothing is free. I stated before that American provided free education, however when we financially evaluate these statements, we prove this to be false. Technically a part of the tax dollar taken from our familys income is used to fund these public schools. So how can I assure that your funds are being put to good use? I do not believe I can, but from the perspective and mentality I have now, I can guarantee that I will always have your children in my best interest. Teachers should be allowed to right to teach values, even if they contradict those of the family or community, however to a certain extent. When our students

go into the real world they are going to be surrounded by a range of people who will not always have the same values as they do. Early training in classrooms can most certainly help them develop such social skills, and become more open minded, to other views besides their own. Teachers can prepare students by teaching them how to approach and react to certain scenarios, in a professional manner. Another positive way I can impact my student by discussing outside values is by helping them discover their own identity. As I reflect to my past experience I remember one thing I did not like about my family values is that the men were in charge, and women had to keep their men content. So that is how my parents were raised and were raising their children. However living in an American culture where women were more independent, my siblings and I no longer lived up to those family values and neither did my parents. This just proves that society has a huge impact our life styles and the people we grow up to be. Berry mentions that teenager from suburban area leave to go live in the city to have a better life but never return, but these are the results of bad schooling. It is not the students fault but their educators, because they failed to teach these students the true importance of life. Teachers play a huge role on every single one of these students lives, we have the ability to help them mold themselves, and distract them from being what society expects them to be. I believe any educator/philosopher would be content and respect my philosophy on education because I am doing it for the right reasons. As Esquith mentions it not about your reputation, but about the impact you make on these students lives inside and outside the classroom. I indirectly exemplify the person Berry expects society to raise. By overcoming many obstacles, to get to where I am now. Also, in the future I want to return to my old community and share my knowledge with my fellow Staten Islanders. May the gods of teaching keep my in their name because I have a long road ahead of, but I know I am prepared to overcome any obstacle that comes my way!