Brendan Evans

EDC 240
Professor Paul
22 October 2015
Teaching Philosophy
When it comes to being a teacher, there is a plethora of ideas and strategies that you must
take into account. There are endless theories on how to be the best possible teacher, but
regardless, every teacher is different. There is no right way to teach that applies to everyone,
every teacher must develop his or her own philosophy on how he or she wants to teach. While
developing my own teaching philosophy I had multiple key points in mind: What the purpose of
schooling is and how learning is best achieved, what type of knowledge I want to convey to the
students, how to best teach the students how to learn, and what the classroom environment
should look and feel like.
To start creating my philosophy, I had to first interpret what the purpose of schooling is to
me. I believe that schooling should be more than just drilling knowledge into students heads
until they remember it. I put a great deal of emphasis on developing the students into hardworking, compassionate individuals. I tend to disagree with the way that schools are set up in
modern times; I feel that we are not teaching students how to learn, but rather teaching students
how to remember a topic long enough to take a test, only to completely disregard the information
immediately. I think that schooling should teach students how to learn and how to become
passionate about what they are doing.
Modern schooling just doesn't cut it in my mind; schooling should be about preparing
students for the world in front of them and helping them become passionate about learning. I feel
that by just drilling topics into students brains, you are setting them up for failure in the future. I

believe that schooling should be so much more than memorization, because in the real world one
must be able to think on his or her feet, and constantly build upon the knowledge that they have.
By endlessly making students memorize topics that they have no passion for creates a negative
image of school from day one. If a student is not passionate about learning, they begin to dread
the idea of going to school and learning. I feel that if we show students practical uses for the
knowledge, as well showing the students how to use prior knowledge to help understand new
topics, we can create a positive view on schooling. In turn, this will develop students that want
to learn, instead of students that are forced to learn, and therefore hate it.
Another huge part of getting students to enjoy learning, is the knowledge that you are
conveying to them. I feel that everything that students learn in school should be useful to them
when they are older, and entering the real world. I feel that showing the students how the
knowledge that they are learning will benefit them later in life is a huge when it comes to getting
the students to enjoy what they are learning. Branching off of this, I feel that it is necessary to
teach the students real world skills, which in today's schooling, are left untouched. By this I
mean that we should not only teach major subjects such as math and science, but we should also
teach students about hands-on trades. By doing this, it helps to create more well-rounded
students, as well as giving them a break from the major subjects that they learn year in and year
out.
Once I came to a conclusion about what I wanted schooling to be, how students learn
best, and what they should be learning, I had to come up with an idea on how to teach in a way
that promotes it. Firstly, I feel that in order to be a good teacher, you have to connect with
students on a personal level. By doing this you not only show them that you care about them and
their future, but it can also help students to become passionate about what they are learning.

Passion breeds passion, and when students see how passionate I am about making them into
great human beings, they will begin to become passionate about it too. This is especially
important for special needs students, as well as students who come from a broken home. In this
day and age many students have very low self-esteem and confidence, by showing them how
much they DO matter and that people can and DO care for and about them, it can help to show
them that they have a purpose.
Showing your students that you are there for them, and that you will do everything in
your power to help them reach their full potential is a huge part of being a good teacher. Once
you have connected with your students, they will become much more confident in their learning,
because they know that you are there for them every step of the way. However, showing students
that you care about them is not going to be enough to create passionate, well rounded students. I
feel that in order to get students to become passionate about their learning, it is necessary to
constantly show them the reasons for what they are learning. On top of the idea of showing them
purpose in their learning, I also strongly believe that making learning enjoyable is a monumental
part of being the best teacher possible. By doing things such as having interactive lessons, group
work, and creating games that incorporate the topic at hand, it will help the students to stay
focused and put forth their best effort. It is a well-known fact that if a student hates the idea of
learning, and cannot find any enjoyment in the lessons, that they will rush through things, and
not actually learn anything. However, if a student has fun while they are learning, they will try
harder, the knowledge will stick in their brains better, and ultimately they will begin to enjoy
schooling. By doing this, it will help to create a positive and enjoyable classroom environment.
When it comes to getting your students to be passionate about learning, having a good
classroom environment is key. I believe that the classroom should be a very friendly, and

comforting place for students. When students enter my classroom, I want them to feel like they
are at their second home. This all begins by being a very open and approachable teacher, which,
for me is even more important. This is because, based on appearances, students may be
intimidated by my size and gender at first, and it is my job to show them that I am a
compassionate and caring person. I want the students to be comfortable coming to me with any
problem that they are facing, inside or outside of school.
Once I have created a relationship with each and every student, the class will be
comfortable talking to me, and equally as important, listening to me. In turn, this will help to
create a positive and comfortable learning environment. In order to make the classroom
environment even more uplifting, I spend a good amount of time making the students
comfortable with each other. It goes without saying that any form of bullying will be completely
unacceptable in my classroom; therefore, by showing the students the benefits of being friendly
to everyone, the classroom will become a very comforting and safe place for the students.
Having the students become comfortable with their fellow classmates and myself, will help to
solidify the positive and uplifting classroom environment that I envision.
When combining all of these elements, my teaching philosophy was formed. I believe
that in order to create well rounded students who are prepared for life after school is over, we
must teach them a well-rounded mix of knowledge that is a useful to them. In order to get the
students to learn to the best of their ability, I must form relationships with the students. As a
teacher, I want my students to be comfortable coming to me with any problem or concern they
have in their lives. By creating this relationships with the students, I will be helping them to
become not only confident students, but confident human beings, who believe in themselves no
matter how rough the road may get. Having this relationship with the students will also help to

form an uplifting classroom environment that is focused on unleashing a students full potential
in a comfortable and enjoyable way. This combination of all of my beliefs and ideas creates, in
my opinion, the best possible teaching philosophy.