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Victoria Herbst

Professor Suk

EDUC 230-01 Education Field Experience

Spring 2023

Personal Philosophy of Teaching

Like many others, I spent the first 12 years of my education experience enrolled in a

public school district. Growing up I never really had a strong opinion on my education. My

desire to learn changed year to year depending on what teacher I had. From my experiences, I

found many role models that I can use to shape myself and the type of teacher I want to be. I saw

how I do and don’t want my class to feel like and run.

I had this one teacher in elementary school who showed me how I don’t want to be. They

were a very mean and strict teacher. I remember not wanting to be in their classroom and feeling

on edge around them. The class as a whole would get in trouble a lot for little things. They would

often punish the whole class when it was only a few students that did something wrong. While

this was a negative experience I did learn from it what type of person and educator I don’t want

to be.

Thankfully I had many positive experiences with teachers that showed me how I would

like my classroom to run. A teacher that stands out and had a significant impact on me was a

teacher I had in middle school. She had a big heart and cared for her students and it showed. Her

classroom always felt like a safe space and my favorite part of the day was her class. She made

learning fun and that caused me to be more invested in the work. That feeling is something I

would want to replicate in my own classroom. By being a positive role model and making my

classroom a safe space students will want to learn. If students feel comfortable in my classroom
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they will want to learn. By creating an environment where students feel safe to make mistakes

helps them learn and helps the educator to teach them.

I think my personal educational philosophy is a mixture of progressivism and social

reconstructionism. According to an online book titled Foundations of American Education that

has a chapter about different teaching philosophies, it describes progressivism by saying “ Focus

on the whole child as the experimenter and independent thinker. Believes active experience leads

to questioning and problem solving.” (Wells,M. n.d). I believe that it is important for a child to

experiment and think for themselves. By adjusting what is being taught based on students'

interests allows them to be more invested in what they are learning. It also allows kids to learn

how to advocate for what they want and need. I also think that it is part of the teacher's job to

help students learn how to think and problem-solve for themselves. According to the online book

titled Foundations of American Education, it describes social reconstructionism by saying “

Focus on developing important social questions by critically examining society. Recognizes

influence of social, economic, and political systems. Believes schools can lead to collaborative

change to develop a better society and enhance social justice”(Wells,M. n.d). I think a good

teacher should encourage their students to make changes in the world. I would want my students

to be confident in their choices. Also for them to be encouraged to get involved to make positive

changes and improve society.

When I run my own classroom I have many ideas on how to make my classroom a place I

am proud of. I plan on establishing a respectful but safe relationship with my class. I want them

to know that they have to respect me as their teacher and that I will in turn respect them too. I

plan to have class rules that we as a class set up and discuss on the first day of school. This

shows the students that I respect their opinion and allows them to partake in deciding the rules
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for the classroom. When possible I will also give students a choice in what they learn. Like

voting as a class on which book they want to read or choosing which worksheet they want to do.

It is important for students to feel invested in what they are learning so by allowing them to have

choices in their education allows them to be interested in it.

A way to start encouraging students to get involved and make positive changes is by

getting them involved in the classroom allowing them to make small changes in the classroom.

Things like watering the class plants or having them be involved in what work gets displayed.

The hope is by encouraging students to be involved with making changes in the classroom that

they will grow up with the want and confidence to make changes to improve society.

If a visitor ever visited my classroom I would want them to feel comfortable in the safe

space of my classroom. I want my classroom to feel like a safe space that the visitor would enjoy

visiting again. I want for them to notice the respect and bond that we as a class have built with

each other. I would want them to notice students being kind and respectful to each other. To see

them doing their work and lighting chatting with each other and helping each other when asked.

To see the students be interested and invested in what they are learning. I would want them to

hear the students be happy and engaged with the lesson. Hear them ask and answer questions.

Most importantly I would want them to notice that my classroom is an environment where

students are encouraged to learn and grow to be the best that they can be.
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References

Wells, M. (n.d.). Chapter 3: Philosophical and Historical Foundations of Education in the

United States. Pressbooks.

https://viva.pressbooks.pub/foundationsofamericaneducation/chapter/chapter-3/