Professional Philosophy Statement

1. Why do you coach/teach?

I knew at a young age that I wanted to coach young people and share my love for sports and fitness
with others. I was fortunate to have coaches and teachers that invested in me and guided me as a
young athlete. These mentors helped me learn, grow, take risks, and develop into the person I am
today. I have always enjoyed competition and challenging myself to set goals and work hard to
achieve them. Through teaching and coaching, I hope to teach students not only to love sports and
completion, but life lessons like perseverance, teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship. In
addition, I hope to influence their physical growth, but more importantly their intellectual and social
growth as an individual. Teaching and coaching will allow me the opportunity to affect students in a
positive way through encouraging them, motivating them, and inspiring them to be the best they
can be. Coaching is so much more than a win-loss record. If I can help students win in life by
making good moral decisions, serving others, and staying healthy, then I will feel that I have made a
difference. I believe that investing in the lives of kids is the most important thing anyone can do. It
is my desire to make a difference in the lives of my students, which in turn means that I am
impacting future adults.

2. What do you teach?

I teach physical education courses including athletics and secondary history courses such as World
Geography, World History, and U.S. History. My objective is to equip students with knowledge of
the content which they can apply in the real-world. I hope to instruct students with their unique
learning styles in mind and make learning relevant for each individual student. Through the courses
that I teach, my students should gain a better understanding of people, societies, political structures,
and cultural differences. In physical education courses, students will gain an understanding of
living a healthy lifestyle, fitness, character development, and emotional wellbeing. As a coach of
competitive sports, I hope to teach my students about strategy, teamwork, game skills, integrity,
goal setting and sportsmanship. Teaching the subject matter is important, and I hope that my
students gain a lot of knowledge through my teaching. However, I hope to teach my students more
than just the subject matterI hope to teach them life skills as well. When students leave my class
and move on in their education, I hope that they remember what they were taught, but most
importantly I hope that I left a positive impact and made a difference in their lives.

3. How do you teach?

I plan to teach students in a variety of ways in order to meet the needs of all students. Students
learn in various ways and it is important to reach students the way that they learn best. I will
evaluate the way my students learn best and create activities that match their learning styles. I also
plan to find out what talents and interests my students have and design lessons that are relevant to
them. Evaluating my students prior knowledge of the subject will also be important to their future
progress. I will teach lessons and allow students to work in cooperative groups to share ideas and
work on projects. I will give students choices of how they want to present projects and allow them
an opportunity to choose their topics. I will use observation, tests, and projects to evaluate learning.
A variety of instructional technology tools will be used to keep students engaged. I will allow
students to use Ipads or Chrome Books to research topics for projects. I hope to minimize the use
of worksheets and engage students through the use of music, maps, role playing, and videos. I hope
to provide hands on activities that help students with their understanding of the concept and move
them toward success with the objective.

4. How do you measure your effectiveness?

I will know whether students are meeting my learning objectives through ongoing assessments. I
will use observation, student response, group work, independent practice, and summative tests to
measure how well students are learning. I can also tell the level of student understanding through
questioning. If students are able to respond to higher level questions, then I know that they are
learning the objective. Also, I will use open-ended questions along with multiple choice and
projects to assess student learning. When students are required to answer open-ended questions,
you get a better picture of what they actually know rather than a random correct guess. Analysis of
student evaluations helps me to identify the strengths and weaknesses of student learning.
Assessment results will help me create plans for re-teaching and enrichment. I use feedback from
my professors to improve teaching strategies and communication with students. It is also important
to provide students with a variety of ways to show their learning such as written, oral, or digital
presentations. Reflection from students and summarization of the lesson is also a good indicator of
student learning. Exit tickets are another good way to collect evidence of student learning so that I
can make adjustments for misunderstandings in future lessons.

5. How do you plan to demonstrate your faith in your future profession?

I know I will encounter all types of students from different backgrounds. Each one of them will
be blessings to me. I hope to be able to disciple my future athletes and students and lead them to
live a life for Christ. Through modeling the attributes of Christ I can be an influence to others
and hopefully lead them to their inheritancein heaven. As a public educator, I know I may not
be able to share scripture, pray, or even talk about God with my students. However, I can be the
salt and let them see the good in me through my actions. Kids face many difficulties growing
ups with family life, relationships, and academics. As a teacher, hopefully I can be that light that
guides them to see Jesus in me. It is Gods will for us to touch the lives of everyone around us,
and give the world a taste of who Christ is. We can do this through our good deeds and by
glorifying Him. Also, kids will be kids, and they will mess up and make mistakes repeatedly. It
is just a part of growing up and the learning process. I hope as a teacher and coach that I can
instill forgiveness in my students and teach them that no matter what they do, I will still love
them. Forgiveness is a reflection of Gods love, and I hope that each time I forgive one of my
students for doing something wrong that they see and feel Gods love through me.