Teaching Philosophy

Philosophy

Michele Dobbs

            Knowledge truly is power, a power that cannot be taken away from a person. Education should not be something someone is lucky enough to have had with the opportunity to have good teachers in a healthy and engaging learning environment. A solid education should be demanded for every student. We live in a day when more people than ever can read, but that does not mean we should stop striving to continually improve the practices of what good teaching is and should be.

            All students deserve someone who has their needs in their best interest, whether that be the ability to write a research paper, complete a math problem, or simply feel comfortable and safe in a classroom. Teachers need to be a resource for their students as much as their fellow educators. We need to come together to show our society how important an education is and where it starts- in our classrooms with our students. We need to take it upon ourselves as these students’ educators to be the change we want to see. We need to be the teachers we always hoped to have or the ones we were lucky enough to have had and then strive to be even better.

            Teaching at the secondary level means that we need to be focused on more than test scores and our content area. We are the ones who will have some of the most influence on these students before they enter the real world, whether that is going on to higher education, the work force, or the military. We need to teach them to take ownership in their education because after they leave our classrooms and the halls of the school, they may not have the support that we provided them. We need to instil in our students this power of knowledge and education and open their eyes to how far this power can take them, especially when there is and always will be more to learn.

            This is not possible, though, if we do not value all the skills needed for this power to grow. We need to be providing these students with literacy skills just as much as social and emotional skills to help them grow and learn. We need to get excited every time we see a student finally get it ‘the ‘aha’ moment’ and never give up until they get that spark in their eye and reach that point. We may not have all the answers, but we need to have the motivation and determination to try to find the answers along with the students.

            In all, teachers are the keys to helping students unlock the power they may not be aware they have. Teachers should be in classrooms knowing the impact they can make and continuously striving to build on their learning and education. We need to be providing a learning environment for students to challenge themselves and others in order to become successful citizens in this world.