RUNNING HEAD: TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY

Teaching education philosophy

Wesley Brooks-Jones

Regent University
TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY 2

My education philosophy is to provide each of my students with a foundation of success needed

to excel in and out of the classroom. I intend to establish a foundation of success that will

effectively prepare students with tools and strategies to help them operate with excellence and

greatness. As a teacher, I hope to set each of my students on a path to find their strengths,

capitalize on them, and help them grow from their weaknesses. This foundation of success

includes four essential components that will be implemented in my classroom; effective

classroom management, productive planning, intelligible direct instruction, and cultivating

positive relationships with students and parents. If each of these four essential components is

established and constantly being cultivated, then each of my students will learn and grow on a

pathway of success where failure and defeat aren't an option; rather, achievement and excellence

are easily accessible. In this paper, I intend to shed light on how each component affects my

education philosophy and how my practicum experience helped add to each component. Again,

this philosophy of education will be established so each of my students is well-equipped to

succeed and excel in every regard, including academically, personally, socially, and emotionally.

The first component of success I intend to establish is productive planning. This classroom

planning component is an important part of educating and behavior management. Productive

planning will keep the teacher organized and on track while teaching. Lesson planning is a vital

part of classroom planning. Some teachers are given a planning period where they can plan out

the lessons and activities coming forth. However, some teachers aren't giving planning time
TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY 3

throughout the instructional day and must work after school hours. Either way, teachers must

prioritize planning if they expect their students to excel. If the teacher comes in unprepared or ill-

equipped, then the students aren't benefiting and not receiving the best the teacher has to offer.

Throughout my practicum experience, I have personally seen that teachers have a lot to plan for,

and if they aren't organized and have a working system, the students will suffer. By observing

my cooperating teacher, I have seen that there isn't a second wasted when the students aren't in

the classroom. She is always preparing for the next lesson or activity, and she arrives early each

morning, so each student is receiving a foundation of success through her productive planning.

The second component of success is intelligible direct instruction. Direct instruction is a

teacher-directed teaching method. This is typically when the teacher stands in front of a

classroom and presents the information verbally. The teachers give explicit, guided instructions

to the students. During direct instruction, the students learn a new concept or skill through

PowerPoint, lectures, or class discussions. The teacher tells the students the concept or skill to be

learned and then leads them through instructional activities designed to reinforce comprehension

and retention. Integrating intelligible direct instruction in the classroom makes the student more

likely to be engaged, provide corrective feedback, and practice correct responses. One of the

biggest pros of direct instruction is that it allows for more interaction between students and

teachers. Students are able to ask more questions and request assistance when needed. They can

also discuss their interests, making the lesson more engaging. Direct instruction helps facilitate
TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY 4

this by encouraging more communication in the classroom. Students have a better opportunity to

discuss their ideas and feelings with direct instruction, and they can get to know one another and

their teachers. In my practicum experience, my cooperating teacher constantly used direct

instruction when teaching a new concept and allowed the students to be active partakers in the

instruction. The students were always engaged and did better on their independent work since the

direct instruction was intelligible and clear.

The third component of success is building positive relationships with students and parents.

Positive relationships with students are crucial to success. When students feel supported and

guarded, they're more inclined to engage in learning and have better scholastic upshots. When

students have positive interactions with teachers, they have fewer behavioral obstacles. Positive

relationships build motivation and create safe spaces for learning. I hope to build new learning

pathways in my classroom by cultivating healthy relationships with my students beyond the

coursework. If my students truly understand that I care about them, they wouldn't feel ashamed

to ask for help with a concept or disregard the tools and strategies I have established because

they know I genuinely care for them. My cooperating teacher had a great relationship with all her

students. She told me that it helps the learning environment when the teacher and students have a

positive relationship. Another positive relationship that needs to be in place is between parents

and teachers. Research shows that positive relationships between parents and teachers "improve

children's academic achievement, social competencies, and emotional well-being." When parents
TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY 5

and teachers work as partners, children do better at school and at home. Observing my practicum

teacher taught me that when a partnership approach between parents and teachers is evident,

children's work habits, attitudes about school, and grades improve drastically. When the

relationship is bad or nonexistent, the student suffers. In summation, if students know the teacher

and parent are working in unity for a common goal, they are more likely to succeed.

The fourth and final component of success is effective classroom management in the

classroom. Effective classroom management paves the way for the teacher to engage the students

in learning. A disorganized classroom without clear routines and expectations makes it difficult

for the teacher to do their job. The other three components depend on classroom management

strategies because they create an organized classroom environment conducive to teaching,

leading to positive relationships and intelligible instruction. Planning is useless without effective

classroom management. I am completely convinced and confident that a teacher with strong

classroom management skills creates consistency for their students and their students receive

excellent academic achievements. My main goal as a classroom manager is to reduce

misbehavior in the classroom by circling the room, preparing my responses for disruptions, and

limiting possible distractions. From my experience as a before and aftercare counselor and

through observation, I know that it is vital to have clearly explained and enforced expectations. It

is impossible to lead students to succeed without effective classroom management. As a future

TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY 6

educator, I will continually seek classroom management strategies to make learning more

smoothly and more effectively.

Throughout the Interdisciplinary studies program here at Regent, especially in student teaching, I

have learned numerous skills that I believe will benefit me in the classroom. One Major

takeaway that I have learned is to be flexible. As teachers, we are always told of the importance

of planning, which I am not negating. However, I believe that flexibility in the classroom is

equally as important. Sometimes, we don't realize what our student needs until we are in

instructional time with boots on the ground. We as educators must be willing to adapt as needed,

so our students are receiving the tools and skills they need, even if it wasn't part of our original

plan. For example, sometimes, we may have to take a little longer on a certain concept and

assignment because our students struggle to comprehend it. We must be willing to take those

extra few minutes because they could be the key to a student's breakthrough moment.

As a believer in Christ, though we may never be perfect we are called to walk in a spirit of

excellence. This means walking following the ways and teachings of Christ, walking in the

authority and power he has given me, and working hard while yet having utter dependence on

Holy Spirit. As a faith-filled educator, it is my duty to walk in excellence every day because lives

are attached to my obedience and service. In summation, my educational philosophy is that if

these four components; effective classroom management, productive planning, intelligible direct
TEACHER EDUCATION PHILOSPHY 7

instruction, and cultivating positive relationships with students and parents, in addition to

reliance on Holy Spirit, are implemented in the classroom, then the students are given a pathway

to success that will lead to academic achievement and well-equipped students.