Teaching Philosophy

Caitlin Hamilton
I believe that being an educator is the greatest responsibility one could have in this society. I not
only teach students the basic knowledge that they must have in order to be productive members
of our society, but I also guide them to think beyond the basics. Students must learn to be critical
thinkers. This critical thinking allows them to evaluate our society for the current issues and
strengths. From there, students can create plans, set goals, and dream for a better future for all of
us. There is truly no better place to start teaching for social justice than in a classroom full of
students. Students are willing, given the proper support, to discuss and debate the issues that they
find are disrupting the common good of this nation. They can be change makers. This deep
learning can only occur if children have a safe, peaceful, and loving environment in which they
feel a community of support has been built for them to succeed. In my classroom, diversity of
culture is an endless resource I can utilize to create meaningful and powerful content for my
students.
I believe that children need a day full of varied instruction: moving between independent work,
whole group lessons, small group instruction, and student-to-student discussions. This allows
students to receive differentiated and explicit instruction throughout the day. I strive to make my
classroom environment and instruction flexible. This adaptability allows for me to meet the
emotional, social, developmental, and academic needs of my students. I believe that the lessons I
craft for my students should be relevant to their lives and important to furthering their
understanding of the world they live in. A large part of this relevance is incorporating technology
when it is possible so that students may begin to see devices as tools to change their world rather
than toys. Lessons must take a critical eye so as to have my students challenge the stories they
hear being told every day about who they are, what they are capable of, and what this world must
be like.
In the summer of 2013, I worked with a group of first grade students at Roberto Clemente
Learning Academy in Southwest Detroit for a summer school program. These students were
working to meet grade level goals in math so they could progress on to second grade. Many of
my students were building their confidence in adding single digit numbers to find the sum. Each
day I could sense their frustration as they tried to complete pencil and paper activities. I realized
that I could relate something my students loved, salsa dancing, to mathematics. I laid out
footsteps that mapped out the steps taken in a salsa dance and put a number on each foot. Each
time they took two steps, they would add the numbers they had stepped on. My students soon
understood that just like steps add up in salsa to complete the dance, numbers add up to create a
sum: parts that come together to make a whole.
I believe that students learn best through experience. This is the same for me as an educator. I
believe that as I continue to grow as an educator my reflective practices will allow me to look at
my experiences with students, in professional development, and through continued higher
education to inform my beliefs about educational practices. I believe that the best practice I can
have as an educator is to continue to ask questions of my colleagues and myself about culturally
relevant and responsive pedagogy. This will ensure that I never cease to better my philosophy
about education for a pluralistic society and the practices that inform that philosophy.