Reflections on Teaching Philosophies:

All of the blogs that I read had important insights that were both similar and dissimilar to those I pointed out when composing my own teaching philosophy.  It seemed like everyone thought that learning was a lifelong personal experience and that it can be as individual as the learner.  Critical thinking and gaining a hold on a bigger picture outside the classroom setting were also some main points that I feel we all touched on quite extensively.  Some of my group members had fresh and interesting ideas, however, that I had not thought of in the same way.

For example, Alberto brought up the idea that learning comes in stages and the final stage is having a good sense of "the big WHY?"  He also brought up the interesting point that I think is sometimes forgotten when teachers create lesson plans.  Alberto reminded me that it is harder to learn when we have to, and easier when we want to.  In my future teaching philosophy, I am going to make mention of how big a role ambition and self-esteem play in learning.

Some interesting ideas that I had not originally pondered came from Carrie's post.  Carrie has been a teacher in the past and has modified her curriculum to suit her students after taking the time to get to know them.  She makes a good point about the importance of building teamwork skills in the classroom that can one day blossom into human relations skills that are so desperately needed in the workplace.  I want to give Carrie credit for bringing up probably the best point that each future teacher in this class can take home today, and that is: only hard working teachers produce hard working learners.  To me, this statement is profound and cerebral.  It floats around my head and lights a fire under me- making me want to put more time and effort into my own teaching as soon as possible.  I might borrow that line, or a paraphrased version for my future teaching philosophy, because it embodies what I think it means to work.

The final blog I read was Krista's.  She reminded me that students need real-life examples if they are ever to start thinking for themselves in any capacity or in a big picture way.  I have to admit I am not very good at creating real life examples off the cusp while teaching.  She also reiterated the importance of making learning fun, challenging, and exciting.  I think giving students real-life knowledge application opportunities could do just that.