“Throughout my very short time as an educator in the classroom, I have learned an enormous amount about my educational philosophy. Before becoming an actual middle school teacher, I thought about all the perfect things that I wanted to have happen in my classroom and all of the procedures I wanted to run. I pictured perfect students with perfect attitudes and ‘the want’ to do the right thing. However, after being in the classroom for a few months now, I know that this kind of wishful thinking is great and all, but I now think I was out of my mind when I was dreaming that.”
That is actually a direct quote from my essay that I am currently writing for one of my master’s classes, and it could not be any more true.
A few semesters ago, in one of my undergraduate classes, we were asked to write about our educational philosophy. For those of you who don’t know, that just means, ‘what do you believe in when it comes to education’. While I was writing that philosophy back then, I had little to no real experience being on the teacher side of the classroom and so I really just had to make it up as I went.
I said things along the lines of, ‘I want to have a classroom that is supportive of my students’ and how ‘the students will always be doing something and will never have a direct instruction day’. LIES! Well, not all lies, but really it was just extremely wishful thinking on my part.
I did want those things for my student’s and I try to stay true to that, but the reality is so much different. I have some days were the student’s will just NOT be able to get the content any other way aside from a direct instruction type of lesson. I know that goes against most of my undergraduate training, but it just works out that way some times. I love having stations and implementing multiple learning strategies into my lessons so all of the students feel welcome and get a well rounded learning experience.
After being in the real world of teaching and getting some real life experience under my belt, I have changed my philosophy on so many things in education, especially in the classroom. One of those things in particular is my philosophy on parent contact about student behavior. Here is another direct quote from my educational philosophy paper:
“I have learned that some parents just don’t care what their student’s are doing in school and I have also learned that some parents care way to much about their student’s education. So as far as me and my philosophy on this goes, it has basically become a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ type of attitude when it comes to parent contact. When there is a repeat of bad and disrespectful behavior, then I call home. Don’t sweat the little stuff and just take a minute, clam down, and then go call the parents if it still seems necessary. I have also learned, especially in a small-town, that no matter how ugly a comment is about race or religion, to take it to your administration and let them deal with it first. Don’t even try to deal with it on your own, it just is not worth it.”
Before become a full-blown teacher, I wanted parent contact to be all sunshine and rainbows. I wanted every parent to care about how their student was treated and how their student treated others. I have a few students who constantly make jokes related to race and as a person whose is in a long-term relationship with a black man who is LITERALLY FROM AFRICA, those types of comments can really get under my skin. At first, those comments would turn my face red and I would actually have to learn the room. But now I just tell and administrator and send the students to the office, because that fight just isn’t worth the thought. Let the administration deal with it because it is way above my pay grade..
So, as expected as a grow and change into the best educator that I can be, my philosophy will change. I hope that it gets better so that I can go back to my old philosophy of wishful thinking and perfect students…. but their I go again..
