My philosophy started forming when I began my student teaching during my independent study course at Davidson College. I had the opportunity to observe a Kindergarten looped classroom (where students are with the same teacher for both Kindergarten and first grade) during the second semester of first grade. I loved the idea of looping and working with students for two years in a row. I thought about the relationships that the teachers in that classroom had built with families and how those student/teacher relationships continued to develop over time. Relationships with students and families became the number-one priority for me in my overall teaching philosophy when I arrived at Delta State University in June of 2017. I completed institute for Teach for America at Delta Summer Institute in Cleveland and Marks, MS. After teaching summer school in Marks, I began to develop my philosophy to directly reflect the issues that surrounded the school district in which I was teaching, as well as create a broad focus for teaching as a whole. I began to work with my colleagues and cohort members and developed a philosophy that I could articulate to my students’ parents as a rationale for my teaching and my overall classroom vision. This strengthened my relationships with families and my community and helped trusting partnerships to be formed where there had not been before.
My philosophy grew into five statements:
• Children learn by doing: using manipulatives, collaborating with their peers, conducting experiments, getting outside their comfort zones, and discussing challenging topics.
• Children learn when they feel good about themselves and they learn best from someone who makes them feel loved: my students know that I love them, and that if I am hard on them, it is because I care about them and want them to do their very best.
• Children learn when they are held to high standards and can understand that they are capable of meeting those high standards by understanding their own worth and potential: students can meet the high standards and goals that are set for them and those that they set for themselves.
• Children learn at different speeds, rates, and in different ways, and that is okay: my students know that they are all gifted, and that there are multiple ways to learn and succeed.
• Children learn when their parents and families are active in their learning and education: parent involvement in the classroom is key to ensuring that standards and learning are reinforced at home.
This original version of my philosophy has not changed much since its inception, but there have been parts that I added in to fit the needs of the community in which I was working. In Mississippi, another important part of my teaching philosophy came to be that my students would learn in a safe and calm environment where trauma could be minimized, and students could feel protected in my classroom.
Overall, my teaching philosophy in D.C. has not changed much from the philosophy that was drafted in Mississippi, but as I continue to learn more about my community, my students, and my place in Washington, D.C., I hope to continue to grow and develop my teaching philosophy for the betterment of my students and school(s) overall.
