Mueller 1
My Professional Teaching Credo:
Kaleigh Mueller
Introduction to Teaching 111
Professor Eastman
October 21, 2009
Abstract:
Growing up I was determined to follow my dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. This dream started when I was really young and now growing up I am developing my own way as to how I would like to teach my classroom. If it were not for my family and previous teachers, I probably would not be where I am today nor on this path I have chosen. As a teacher, my main goal is help develop the minds and imaginations of my students. I also believe that it is extremely important for me to be as prepared as possible before walking in to a classroom. The first time you walk into the classroom helps set the entire atmosphere for the entire year. I want to be the best teacher I can be to help better the lives of the young children.
During the first eighteen years of my life, I examined my teachers and classrooms at school. As a young girl, I was the child who would come home and play school with my neighbors in order to get our homework done. We would take turns being our favorite teachers. These teachers impacted our lives and still are to this day. Mimicking their teaching styles at a young age might have had more of an influence on me than I could have imagined. To this day I recall the differences in my teachers and their styles; everything about them is still fresh in my mind and I hope that one day I will leave my mark on the future generations of our country. Being a teacher is more than just being a person who stands in front of a classroom and tells the students to read a book. It is being a role model, guide, friend, and so much more. There is a lot of hard work and dedication that go into being a teacher, but it has been my dream since I was young.
The biggest impact in my life was my mother. She was a stay at home mother while I was growing up, but recently she decided to find a job. The job she found was being an aid in a special needs preschool room. Most of the students in her classroom had mild disabilities; however, a few of them were more severe disabilities like autism.During my senior year, I was pretty positive I wanted to become an elementary teacher and being able to go into her classroom every week helped to solidifymy decision to become an elementary teacher.I was extremely excited to get to go into a classroom. When I was there, I would go for over two hours for their afternoon session and help out wherever I was needed. I would typically have one on one time with several of the students. It was a great experience for me and helped me to determine if I had the patience to handle students with disabilities. I am grateful for my mom and how she copes with these children. She has the patience that I hope I will have in my own classroom. She may not have the degree but she is a teacher and an important component in creating a positive, nurturing learning environment that the classroom teacher could not create without her.I look up to her for those reasons plus many more.
Many previous teachers have shaped my view on teaching. In fact, they are all a part of the reasons why I want to teach. My sixth grade teacher, Miss Grecko, was one of the teachers who students could go to just to talk as a friend but she was always respected as a teacher. Her teaching styles were unique but she got the students to care about their work. Miss Grecko gave out rewards on a regular basis to keep students interested. One of the rewards would be through a mathematics pre-test. If the student got a certain percentage on the pre-test, then that student did not have to take the test for the chapter and during the lessons he or she would just work on the homework or have free time. By using this reward, she encouraged students to care about their grades and it pushed them to try their hardest on the pre-test and not just give up on it. Miss Grecko also connected with the students on a personal level. She showed that she cared about the students on a personal level. She is one of my role models because of how she taught her classroom and showed how she really cared for her students.
During high school, it is sometimes difficult for teachers to build a relationship with students. As for Mrs. Landgrebe, my world literature teacher, it was not hard for her. I would have to say that she is one of the hardest teachers I have ever had, but she pushed the students in her class to succeed. Her class was set up closer to a college class than a high school class. Most of the material was learned outside of class making the students accountable. By the end of the year, it was hard to leave her classroom on the last day of the class because she had reached her students on a personal level. She was able to joke with us and when someone was not having a good day, she would offer to talk with them after class. She was there for me through some of my roughest days of senior year. Mrs. Landgrebe tried to make the students as comfortable as possible and told everyone to stay in touch as we were all seniors. She was the teacher who left one of the biggest impacts in my life. She is also one of my role models and I hope that I can take from her different teaching styles and use them to my benefit in my own classroom.
Coming to realize the main reasons why I want to be a teacher brings up the question of how I will teach. There are different philosophies that teachers use while teaching and I have determined mine. My philosophy will be made into my own with a combination of social reconstruction,existentialism, and progressivism.
Social reconstruction is the philosophy I can relate with the most. Theodore Brameld once stated that the world can be destroyed overnight (88). During times like these it is important that schools realize their role in the future. It is my job as a teacher to expose my students to their surroundings. Change that occurs in the classroom can be beneficial to the future social orders. Field trips, guest speakers, and projects in the community will all be beneficial to the students and the reconstruction of society.
Another philosophy I can relate to is existentialism. According to “All About Philosophy,” in existentialism, human nature is chosen through life choices. This means that people have the right to make decisions for their future. As a teacher, I want to be able to let every student make their own life choices. It would be my job to guide them to make their own decisions and make them aware of their options. I will need to provide information to the students for them to be able to make the best possible choices. Schools main focus is to help students find their place in society and guide them toward it. I would be able to let them be more on their own so they can figure most things out for themselves.
Progressivism is the philosophy I feel like I most fit. Progressivism is more active than passive meaning that the classroom is less likely to be consumed by a textbook. Progressivism focuses more on the child than the subject matter. I will help my students to develop social and personal values. Creativity will come into play to make learning fun and exciting to the children. Group activities will also help to let the students know that it is alright for them to be able to work in groups. It helps to develop more values and learn to cope with group work. I perform strongly in Mathematics and sciences, my students will hopefully be able to connect with both of these subjects. My lessons in the subjects will probably be hands on and less just reading out of a book. Progressivism is the philosophy that I believe I connect with on the greater level.
There are two main different psychological orientations. I would have to favor constructivism, construct an understanding of the material being learned. The curriculum would be more student-center for their benefit. Constructivism focuses mainly on the mental process of children rather than their behaviors. Many students who favor constructivism teaching are active earners meaning that they like the more creative side of classrooms. I would also create lessons that allow the student to build the new understanding and not just tell the student what they need to know.
My past is mainly the reason I have wanted to become a teacher and now the learning processes has started. As a first year teacher I will be flexible to changing my philosophical and psychological orientations. Social reconstruction, existentialism, and progressivism are the philosophical orientations that I have the stronger bonds too. I also believe that constructivism psychological orientations will be the best way for me to be able to show my students what their future can hold by building schema. I will show my students the love for the subjects and ways to better their own futures through school work.
Bibliography:
Parkay, F., & Standford, B. (2007). Becoming a Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
All About Philosophy. All About Philosophy, 2002-2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.
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