🔜💬My Dream For The Future 🔜💬

 🔜💬 Stop # 14: My Dream For The Future  🔜💬

Exploring My Educational Philosophy

As I have always known that I wanted to pursue a career in education, curating my own educational philosophy has been something that I have been working on for as long as I can remember. Long before I was able to recognize the importance of this task and what I was doing, I started working on a journal in which I would list all of the things that I liked and did not like about my educational experience each year. If a teacher utilized a fun and engaging strategy or activity in the classroom, I immediately wrote it down, and if there was something that my teacher said or shared with the class that I did not enjoy, that was also added to the notebook. I wanted to learn from my educational superheroes and do better than those that had negatively impacted my academic journey. Now, all of these years later, I sit back and thank myself for these comprehensive and detailed notes, as they have really provided me with a strong outline for the future and all that I wish to become. 

Before we jump into my philosophy for teaching Social Studies specifically, I believe that it is important to first begin by reviewing some of my most fundamental educational beliefs and standards. First and foremost, I strongly believe that a teacher must create a safe and welcoming environment that is inclusive of all students. It is my belief that without putting the children at ease, there is no way that we can expect them to take part in the learning process. At this point you may be thinking, okay that sounds great but how can we accomplish this goal? What can we do, as educators, to ensure that our classroom stays a safe, loving, and accepting place in which all students feel valued? Well, first the teacher must begin by creating a classroom atmosphere that is welcoming and accessible; a place that students feel comfortable sharing their beliefs and viewpoints and where they know that these feelings will be heard and accepted. Beyond the more abstract emotional comfort described above, students must also feel comfortable and self-sufficient in terms of the academic resources that have been provided to them. The teacher should explain the use of these resources to her students, and make special plans for the inclusion of ENL children and those with special needs. As I truly believe that one’s setting plays a large role in their success and outlook on life, I will ensure that my classroom walls are vibrant and interestingly decorated. In order to accomplish this goal, I will add bulletin boards to display student work samples and interesting facts about the topics that the class is studying, hang seasonal decorations, and even create calendar and announcement boards around the room. All of this will be done to keep students on track and make the classroom more attractive and engaging. I also intend to keep my classroom neat and orderly as I believe that this is key to having an organized classroom dynamic. From personal experience, I believe that classrooms with great structure and organization provide students with the support that they need to be successful while outlining exactly what is to be expected of the children each day when they come to class. 

As exemplified in the previous paragraph, the roles of a good teacher are so bountiful and diverse that it is nearly impossible to list them all in one paper. That being said, one of the most important tasks given to a modern educator, in my mind, is preparing students to learn, not only in the classroom, but everywhere, and for the rest of their lives. I believe that education extends far beyond the classroom walls, and involves many more people than just students and teachers. Individuals should be learning wherever they go and should continue learning long after they’ve graduated from high school or college. Education isn’t something that can be quantified with tests or report cards but is instead something that people carry with them. It’s a survival pack for life, and some people are better equipped in certain areas than in others. People with a solid education are prepared for nearly anything, and this is a sentiment that I intend to impart to all of my students. I want them to view education not as a chore but rather as a gift that can never be taken away. In doing so, it is my hope that I will be able to instill in all students the same love of learning that my teachers so generously gave to me. 

Social Studies is such a broad and academically rich subject that it took a great deal of time and research before I stumbled upon a definition that truly captured the importance of this content area in a way that I supported. This definition actually comes from the National Council for Social Studies and states that "the primary purpose of social studies education is to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world" (NCSS, 1994). Although the content is undoubtedly important, I believe that the most important aspect of social studies education is the creation of informed global citizens. Individuals often come to school with a set of tentative beliefs based on what they hear both at home and in the media. The beauty of Social Studies education is that it allows students to look at multiple sources of evidence (i.e. articles, biographies, diary entries, and other forms of media) analyze them, and then come to their own conclusions regarding the material. These resources may help to reinforce the child’s pre-existing beliefs or they may encourage them to explore other perspectives. Either way, the students are encouraged to be open-minded or at least tolerant of other people’s ideas and assertions. As I wholeheartedly believe that all children are unique and have something special to bring to their own education, I intend to encourage my students to express themselves and cherish their own distinctive cultures, customs, and backgrounds while embracing those of their classmates. This will be accomplished by developing my very own democratic classroom. Now, it is undeniable that each educational setting has its own unique community complete with a wide variety of children from all different backgrounds and walks of life. That being said, I believe that it is my role, as the teacher, to assist and guide each child in developing their own unique perspectives and feelings. In order to accomplish this mission, I intend to go beyond the traditional curriculum and differentiate the lessons for a number of unique learning styles. As many social studies classrooms struggle with student motivation and involvement, my primary mission will be to make the content relevant to the students' lives. By emphasizing the importance of this subject area both personally and on a larger scale, I hope to inspire students to see the relevance of social studies in everyday life while encouraging them all to become more active and invested global citizens.