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Dave Odtuhan

Ms. Jacqueline Sgobba

EDU 201

10 December 2021

Teaching Philosophy

My educational philosophy is Progressivism. My philosophy is student-centered and

focuses on experiences, opportunities, and values that develop students’ learning and life. The

role of the teacher is to act primarily as a facilitator of learning, they encourage and guide

students to explore and promote individual development. As a future educator, I believe it is

important to involve students and allow them to take responsibility for their own learning and

achieving their goals. The role of the student is to discover, engage, and express themselves.

Why Am I choosing a teaching profession? Study shows that teachers affect students

much more bradly than just through test scores. According to Youki Terada of Edutopia , “a

2015 study found that promoting students’ social and emotional well-being resulted in significant

long-term...health, education, and employment, and a decreased likelihood of juvenile and adult

crime” (Terada). This is important because it shows that a great teacher should expand his/her

impact to other aspects than just test scores. Teachers play an imortant role in the well-being of

the students and test scores are only a tiny fraction of teachers’ capabilities. This is exactly what

my seventh grade Socia Studies teacher did. Two weeks after immigrating to the United States, I

attended Maui Waena Intermediate School for 7th grade. As a new student, I had low self-

confidence and had a hard-time adjusting to an entirely different education. My Social Studies

teacher, Mr Richard Arase, helped me adjust and boosted my self-confidence. He ran his

classrom in a way where students feel that they are good at something. He taught Hawaiian

history, and geography which is my most favorite subject. He did fun activities for his students
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such as acting out the battles that occurred during the unification of the Hawaiian Islands. During

this activity, he got the students’ parents and guardians’ consent to record the students while

acting. Then at the end of that quarter, Mr. Arase replayed the video for everyone to watch, and

the classroom was just full of laughter. It was that moment where I realized I wanted to be like

him. I wanted to be the kind of teacher who does not only assign packets and reading materials

for the students but goes through the effort of teaching students outside the box and make them

laugh. Additionally, my personal experience as a student made me realize that it is important to

understand that many students struggle to believe in themselves and their capabilities. A teaching

proffesion would allow me to create a personal connection with students and make them realize

that I believe in them because I know that as adults, we owe it to our children to believe in them.

Education is essential in life. Everything we do is is a learning process and this is exactly

why education should be valued. It is way for us to better ourselves and communities by

exploring various aspects of life and gaining knowledge and experience for the path we want to

choose. As a future educator, I want my role to be an advisor and a guide for my students

towards their journey in life. I do not want to be the center of their education by becoming an

authoritarian and classroom director. With, my educational philosophy falls under Progressivism.

According LearningEdge, “the traditional education system was designed in the industrial age of

the early 1900’s where technology was expanding, the population was growing and needed an

efficient system to prepare a workforce for the new economic era” (LE staff). This means that

traditional schools used a “one-size-fits all model” to develop the foundational skills in

numeracy and literacy. They also cliamed that traditional schools “ranked and sorted students to

determine which students would be able to move on to higher education and which would move

directly into jobs in factories and farms.” (“Why isn’t the traditional education system up to the

task ...”) Nowadays, we expect our classrooms to help students thrive in school and in their lives,
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and to reach their full potential. As a future educator, that is something I want to achieve; I want

to determine the best way to instruct my students and make them feel that they can achieve their

dreams with discipline, hardwork, and their heart. As much as possibble I would like to maintain

an open classroom that makes students feel like they are part of a community where they learn

as a group and be able to relate the knowledge they gain to the real world and to each other.

As a future progressive teacher, I want to set up a classroom that eliminates traditional

teaching practices. I want a classroom that operates on projects, technology integration, and

engaging in-class activities. According to Tina Shaffer of Destination Imagination, “studies have

shown that project-based learning is linked to significant improvements in student test scores,

attendance and classroom engagement (Shaffer). This means students take ownership over their

projects, reflecting on and celebrating their progress and accomplishments. Also, projects enable

students to demonstrate their knowledge in creative ways and it stimulates the workshop

environment that is the foundation upon which the student centered classroom is built. I would

also want to integrate technology because according to LSU.edu, “technology empowers

teachers to develop creative and interactive classrooms and gives them access to innovative

resources.” (LSU staff). Digital learning is the present. It is important to teach students to adapt

to a constantly changing world to advance in life. Integrating technology allows students to be

more engaged in activities using platforms that enhances their creativity. Lastly, I also want to

replace homeworks with engaging in-class activities. Most studies claim that assigning

homeworks helps increase grades in class and tests. For example, research by the Institute for the

Study of Labor concluded that “increased homework lead to better GPAs and higher probability

of college attendance for high school boys...[and] boys who attended college did more than three

hours of additional homework per week in high school” (Kalenkoski & Pabilonia). As a

progressivist, I find these studies to be irrelevant because I believe that measuring students’
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achievement with grades and scores is an accurate way of measuring success because it

demonstrates the power and control that the teacher hold for the students which is against my

philosophy. Also, students strengths and weakness vary when it comes to tests. When not faced

with “do-this-and-do-it-my-way” assignments, students become eager to complete the projects

that they have created and choose to do schoolwork outside of class. I believe this autonomy

breeds learning for the sake of learning and is one of the best parts of the student-centered

classroom.

I think the most important quality I need to possess to succeed in this career is a strong

work ethic. A good teacher never quits, and especially not on the students. I believe that a strong

work ethic will reflect on my students and their quality of work. Also, becoming a teacher would

make me a role model, and having a strong work ethic will help my students develop the same

characteristic. With a strong work ethic comes professionalism, responsibility, and preparation.

Teachers deal with different attitudes and behaviors daily. This means I also need to have

patience, and by having a strong work ethic, I can more effectively become aware of my

classroom’s effectivity on my students.

Works Cited
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Charlene Marie Kalenkoski and Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia, “Does High School Homework

Increase Academic Achievement?,” iza.og, Apr. 2014

Shaffer, Tina. “10 Benefits of Project-Based Learning.” Destination Imagination, Destination

Imagination, 14 Sept. 2021

Terada, Youki. “Understanding a Teacher's Long-Term Impact.” Edutopia, George Lucas

Educational Foundation, 4 Feb. 2019,

“Why Isn't the Traditional Education System up to the Task?” LearningEdge, 9 Sept. 2021,