24th July 2015

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My philosophy on education is that education should prepare a child for life.
It should provide the child with the means to gain economic success as well
as the tools to develop into an individual who is able to find his niche in
society, form healthy relationships and develop good values. To accomplish
this, I believe that we should help students develop all aspects of their self
i.e. their mental self, their spiritual self, their social self and their emotional
self.
To assist in their mental development, I try to encourage my students to
think for themselves and to take charge of their own learning. This is usually
done by encouraging them to engage in self editing and peer critiquing. They
should be able to find mistakes, correct them as well as to give constructive
criticism to their peers. One of the teaching styles I like to employ is to
encourage students in discourse. I dont believe in telling students the
answer rather I would ask them questions that would hopefully lead them to
a conclusion. I try to use real life situations and analogies to bring about a
point and then encourage students to explain to the class how they
understand the concept in their own words.
For me, I believe that the social and emotional self are closely linked. In my
experience, if a child is emotionally sound, they tend to have better social
skills. Over the years I have found some students to be timid and afraid to

take risks or participate in activities in school for fear of ridicule from their
peers. This behavior can also be seen in the classroom as some are afraid to
ask or answer questions. To help them, I discourage students from laughing
at each other and I try to foster an atmosphere that encourages students to
help rather than mock one another. I believe in leading by example, so I try
to be as encouraging as possible when they give responses and I also allow
them to collaborate when they are doing exercises in class.
Outside of the classroom, I am very involved in extracurricular activities as I
am one of the coordinators on the house committee. My motives for planning
and implementing activities are to give students opportunities to display
their talents, help them to develop organization skills, team work,
responsibility and to help them to learn things about themselves that may
increase their self esteem or show them what aspects of their character they
need to work on. My involvement in these activities has shown me that
learning has a social aspect to it. Students respond better to teachers with
whom they feel they have a relationship. They are more receptive and less
inclined to be disrespectful when they perceive that a teacher is genuinely
interested in helping them.
I love teaching and my interactions with my students. Many of them come
from very difficult circumstances, and this is reflected in their behavior and
attitude toward their school work. Over the years, my approach when dealing
with these issues has changed. At first, before becoming aware of the issues

that children face, my teaching style was very inflexible. I believed that if
you did things a certain way (my way) you would get the required results.
With experience and maturity, this attitude has softened. I now take the time
to get to know my students. I talk to them and try to get a sense of who they
are, their challenges, their strengths and their weaknesses. This helps me to
organize my classes as it aids in making decisions about the types of
assignments I would give, the students that would require additional help
and attention and the students who can work on their own. My social
conscience is strongly influenced by the culture I found at my school.
Teachers there are very generous and kind to students. We help the less
fortunate ones; offer counseling and two have even adopted students who
were in difficult situations.
I am a teacher that believes firmly in discipline and mutual respect between
teacher and students. I tend to have strict rules in my class that I think help
my students to develop social graces such as courtesy, cleanliness and
responsibility. My students are aware of my stance when it comes to
discipline but I try to make them feel as comfortable as possible by being
approachful and friendly. I encourage them, as well as their parents, to talk
to me whenever they need. I have spent many lunch hours chatting with
students as I believe in treating students like people. At times I may inject a
bit of humor in class, and even encourage banter to improve their comfort
level as I dont believe that learning can be achieved when students are
intimidated, stressed or overwhelmed. While I think that discipline is an

essential ingredient in the learning process, I think it can be achieved

through mutual respect.
My school is a government school thus we have to be careful how we
approach religion. My approach is to help students to recognize their spiritual
self, regardless of religion. I encourage them to show reverence during the
morning and evening school prayers, I attend religious instruction classes
with my form class and would engage them in discussions on topics of
morals and ethics.
My philosophy would hopefully help my students to develop the type of
characteristics that would equip them to not only survive but excel in todays
world.