Molly Cook

Dr. Ressler

EDN 322

31 March 2020

Teaching Philosophy

If you were to ask any teacher why they went into the education field, it can be assumed

that a passion for working with children is going to be mentioned. Whether or not they

themselves had an inspirational teacher growing up, feel particularly passionate about sharing

knowledge, or even just enjoy being in the school setting, daily interactions with students is what

makes teaching enticing to many. While oftentimes challenging, being able to look at a young

person and walk alongside them as they pursue their dreams is one of the most rewarding things

one can experience in life. Like many others, my passion for creating bonds formed around the

pursuit of the arts is why I fell in love with teaching, and hope that this passion and care is

reflected back on my students with ease.

Similar to that of Bettina Love’s philosophy in the classroom and life, the idea of

mattering and reflecting this inherent self worth onto your students is at the core of my teaching.

In her book, We Want to do More than Survive, Dr. Love talks extensively about her own high

school experience and the teachers who impacted her life greatly enough that she still looks back

and gives them credit for helping her become the successful woman in the education field. As

she describes, some of her teachers would show up to her basketball practices, meet with her to

talk about her future goals, and were always there for her if she were to need them. Not only was

this part of her story particularly moving, but likewise something that I experienced during high

school and am excited to be able to return this same energy to my students. When interacting
with anyone, the goal should be that they walk away from the situation with the active

acknowledgement of their worth and an understanding that their goals and aspirations are worth

pursuing. While I have a passion for studio art and sharing my knowledge with others, helping to

cultivate a student’s self worth and reach their fullest potential.

As an educator, my top priority is always to reflect to the students their inherent worth

and the joy that it is for me to have the opportunity to work alongside them as they grow.

At the end of the day, the development of their self confidence and enhancement of their

worth will always be at the core of my teaching and likewise reflected in each interaction.

This can be displayed in a variety of ways, such as encouraging high levels of autonomy in the

classroom, giving them room to make mistakes and understand how critical mistakes are

for improvement, especially in an art classroom. Being a role model and example for the

students is one of the easiest but most effective ways to develop interdisciplinary skills that will

help guide them throughout their life, as well as set the standard for what your expectations

are for your students. Through encouraging high levels of autonomy amongst themselves and

encouragement to collaborate and problem solve with peers, the general concepts of learning

from each other as well as coming up with creative solutions reflects the skill sets vital for life.

On top of all of this, the actual classroom environment is likewise important for teaching, as it

shapes the student’s interactions with you, their peers, and their own motivation to create. This

being said, as an art classroom, I debatably have more leniency than some of the core subjects

for decoration and dealing with the physical space. Art class should be a place where

students can come to forget about the stress of their lives and instead focus their energy on

producing various creations. Keeping my classroom a warm feeling both through mood and
layout, as well as opening up the floor to dialogue not solely revolving around academics is

paramount in setting the ideal aura that is reflective of my overall mission as a teacher.