Reuben Herrle

EDL 318A
Professor Ngorosha
9 November 2015
Teaching Platform and Philosophy
After further reflecting on my autobiographical sketch and all of the events which have
helped to shape my life, I dont think that I have made very many new realizations. I know that I
still want to be a teacher, and I know that I still have a passion for helping people to reach their
potential, particularly young people. I do think that I have a better appreciation for all of my
experiences in seeing new places and meeting all sorts of different people. This has definitely
helped me to be willing to be disturbed. And that is an important part of teaching, as weve
discussed in this class. I also recognize that there are so many underprivileged students in terms
of socioeconomic status and their home situations. I have a passion for these students in
particular. If there is one new realization that I have gained since first writing my
autobiographical sketch it is this: I have the most fun and enjoy teaching the most when I help an
underprivileged student realize that they can do math and they can even learn to appreciate and
enjoy it. This is just one reason I know that I am called to teach.
On the curriculum Q-sort, I landed mostly on the side of progressivism. Pragmatic
progressivism says that knowledge is gained through meaningful social interactions with other
people. The purpose of education, according to progressivism, is for students to learn how to live
in a democratic community. Education is not primarily for equipping students with the skills
necessary to get a job and thereby boost our economy.

I have to say, I do agree with the major tenets of progressivism. In addition with the
philosophy of education put forth by progressivism, I would say that I believe that every human
being, no matter their age, race, culture, religion, etc, has a fundamental right to be educated and
the laws of society should reflect and protect that right.
My teaching platform is based on the outline created by Sergiovanni and Starratt and is
cited from Thomas Poetters book Teacher Leadership for the 21st Century.
The Purpose of Schooling:

Schooling, whether it is occurring at a public, private, or home-school setting, should

provide students with a rich learning environment that incorporates their specific learning

needs and interests in a challenging, fair, and safe way.

Students should be active and engaged in their learning and the teacher should be creating

an environment which encourages students to do so.

School should prepare students to become aware of what they want out of life and what
they want to do with their life. It should provide for them the necessary tools and desire
to live a life of life-long learning while they are in school.

Image of The Learner

The learner should try to the best of their ability to master the content presented by the

teacher.
The learner does not come to school with an empty brain that needs to be filled. Rather,

the learner comes to skill with a brilliant and unique mind which is full of ideas.
The learner should be willing to work with others to solve problems
The learner should welcome other students input and viewpoints
The learner should be quick to listen to others, but not afraid to speak

Nature and Substance of Student Work:

Students should submit work that reflects originality, honesty (not plagiarized), and
thoughtfulness.

I believe that students should feel comfortable and confident to ask questions as often as

they feel necessary. They should also be willing to help their classmates.
Students should help to create a learning environment which involves everyone taking
responsibility for everyones learning. By this I mean that all of the students in the class
should care about whether their classmates are understanding the content or not.

Image of the Teacher:

The teacher should create a learning environment which encourages student participation

and honest, respectful questioning.

I believe that the role of the teacher is tool help the students realize their potential as
learners, and to not make them feel like they are ignorant and need to absorb the

knowledge of the teacher.

The teacher should be humble, patient, and willing to learn from his/her students.
The teacher should strongly believe in all of his/her students and do the best of his/her
ability to help each and every student attain success.

Image of the Curriculum:

The curriculum should include goals that students are realistic and useful for both the

teacher and students.

A curriculum should be flexible and should take into consideration the particular learning

styles of each student.

The curriculum should involve interactions with the entire community.
The curriculum should include how what is being learned in the classroom can be applied

to other aspect of life.

The curriculum should be created with students interests in mind; it should attempt to
make connections to students lives in meaningful ways.

Preferred Pedogogy:

Socratic dialogue is one of the most effective ways of realizing what we believe and what
we take for granted. This is sometimes referred to as inquiry-oriented teaching

The classroom should be organized in such a way that the students feel as though they are

investigating truths together with the teacher as their guide.

Collectively, students should speak more during class time than the teacher does.
I believe that students have a lot of insight to offer. They should be given the opportunity
to do so and to learn how to learn with others.

Preferred School Climate:

First and foremost, the school climate should make all students feel safe, wanted, and

comfortable.
A good school climate should include caring and passionate teachers.
A good school climate should include mutual respect among everyone.
I believe that a challenging learning environment should be a part of any school climate.
A good school climate should have a diverse student body with diverse and interactive
learning opportunities.

Based on my experience in schools, my teaching philosophy aligns with a lot of the things I
have witnessed. I cannot speak in an absolute sense since my experience is very limited, but I
have a good insight into at least one teachers classroom that I spent a lot of time in during my
field placement this semester. I have spent a total of four weeks at Hamilton high school. During
this time, I was able to see my host teacher demonstrate her teaching platform through her
actions. This is because, as Palmer (1997) says, we teach who we areteaching holds a mirror
to the soul (para 2 and 3). Unfortunately, there were some instances which I believe that she
needs improvement on. One thing that she lacked for her students was hope. placing hope at the
core of our school community provides encouragement and promotes clear thinking and
informed action (Sergiovanni, 2004, para 1). It was clear too that some of her students lacked
hope in their abilities. If my host teacher had created a hopeful learning environment, then she
should have seen immediate improvement in all areas of her students and herself. My host

teachers pedagogy also indicated that she believed that students needed to have their minds
filled with knowledge, rather than filled with experience.
My host teacher did care a lot for her students though, and I learned a lot about the teaching
profession through my experience. The major obstacle she faces is believing in her students. If
she, and many other teachers I might add, believe in their students and let them take some of the
responsibility of learning, then I believe that the possibilities are endless.

References
Poetter, T. (2015). Teacher Leadership for the 21st Century. Oxford, Ohio: Van-Griner
Palmer, P. J. (1997). The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in Teaching. Change, (6).
14.
Sergiovanni, T. (n.d). Building a community of hope. Educational Leadership, 61(8), 33-37.