Philosophy Statement

Amber Chun

Philosophy Statement

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward


The question is: What kind of teacher will I become? Will I inspire tomorrows youth to change their minds,

change their lives, and change the world? How can I make a difference?I believe that good teachers are those who care about their students, while challenging them to reach greater heights. Many teachers quote, “I will open the door, but it is you who have to walk through it”. But why would students walk through that door? A teacher can open the door, but if the student is not inspired or made curious about what is on the other side, then why should they walk through the door? Teachers and education create opportunities for America’s youth by encouraging them that there is a future and it is attainable. A teacher who is interested and excited about their subject makes a student interested and excited. A teacher who comes prepared to teach, who takes the extra time to continually research their subject, and who tries new approaches is a good teacher. My favorite teachers are those who refer to current affairs, put in the time to read, not only the textbooks, the books we talk about during history class, and use different styles of teaching. My philosophy is that being a teacher is a lifestyle not a job.

Unlike the majority of the student body, I enjoy difficult teachers who challenge my abilities and hate easy lazy teachers. I enjoy learning. I would rather receive a hard earned B and learn then receive an easy A and come out of the classroom learning nothing. I would rather take the harder classes than the easy ones, not because I need to prove myself, but to be the best I can be. If I become a teacher, I want my students to learn

and come out of my class feeling accomplished. I don’t intend on being an easy teacher, but I want my students to work for the A. I don’t intend on discriminating against race, sex, or mental/physical ability. I will treat everyone equally and with respect. However, if a student is struggling, has a disadvantage, or is having trouble with their home life, I’m not going to ignore it. I’ll work with the student so they can understand and get their work in on a timely fashion. If a student is stressing out or having problems outside of school, I’ll work something out with them and maybe they can turn an assignment in late or come for extra credit. I don’t want teaching to take over my life, but I will devote as much time as I can to my students. I understand that I might become the teacher depicted in the picture to the left and that it isn’t easy. Trying to get teenagers interested in the political system of the American colonies is not easy. Watching students doodle, fall sleep, “secretly” text behind their books, whisper meaningless gossip, and do the homework for their next class is bound to make any teacher go crazy with the amount of disrespect shown. But the accomplishing feeling of watching a student be engaged, receive a good grade because of effort, or ask for help to further understand makes up for their foolishness. I hope I understand in twenty or so years that the annoying student sitting in the back picking their nails was once me.

I plan on becoming a high school history teacher. I want to inspire students and get them to love history as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq6d2XZxdXE&feature=related

This is a video of what not to do. I would never lose my temper in front of a student especially yell and throw desks. I would let students express their opinions and thoughts. I wouldn’t let my personal life affect my teaching. History is a difficult subject to teach because to most students it is a boring subject. Some history textbooks are extremely dull and are only read before tests or papers. My old teacher called our textbooks a doorstop. One of my history professors in college uses several smaller texts, which I think is useful and practical. Each text is

lighter to both read and carry while being specialized in a certain event, era, or subject. I’m not sure if this will work with high school students because they might forget which books to read or bring; however, English classes use several novels over the course of a year, thus it can be possible for history. I plan on having them, at first in groups and then individually, do research and present different events to the class. For example, they would have approximately half the class period to present the Industrial Revolution in Britain. For the reminder of the class period, students would ask questions and I would continue and add information to fully cover the time period. This would get students involved and learn from a different perspective. Each presentation would come with an outline of the project

and a paper. For the presentation they are free to do whatever they want to teach the class. They could put in a game or activity, power point, video, etc. Other activities I would plan are debates or trials. The debates would be straightforward, if it’s during an election year, I would have the students debate each candidate. A trial a mock debate, where every person is assigned a different role: Martin Luther King JR., Hitler, Stalin, Jury, Judge, defense and prosecution lawyers, etc. An example of a trial is good verses evil and the question is whether humanity should be allowed to survive when God is the judge. These activities can inspire students because they can practice what future professions they might what to go into. The presentations represent a teaching career or public speaking while the debates and trials represent a profession in law or activism. I’m also going to incorporate art and music in my curriculum. I’ll show the changes in both music and art through eras and how those changes are significant for that time period. For example, England’s music changes between secular and religious during the reigns of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. I’m hoping I will inspire and intrigue art students or music students. I will also try to assign as many papers as I can to help students improve their writing skills. Most of my papers will be short two to four page essays, however, at the end of the year, I plan on assigning a long research paper.

I’m really excited to become a teacher and have a lot of ideas for my future classes. I want to be a great teacher and think I have the mentality and drive. I want current students to recommend me to future students to be their teacher next year. I want to be the teacher that everyone can relate to and feel comfortable enough to hangout in my room. I want to be very involved in school activities like faculty-student basketball challenges or obstacle courses. I want my students to succeed.