Greetings,
My name is Daniel Patterson. I started this blog as
a class project in which I hope to encourage an online community of educators
to share stories and provide me with your experiences in the field and help
bring teacher collaboration to reality. Also, I get the opportunity to be a
mentor to a first year teacher in whom also shared the same undergraduate
experience with me. This blog will document our journey as we advance in the
profession. Many people ask the question: How did you get involved in the
teaching profession with such a political background? I’ll post my first
philosophy of education that I wrote back in the year of 2008.
“A lot of people have
often asked me why I chose to teach. Apparently they feel that I have so much
potential to achieve, and I guess teaching is a waste of that potential. I have
even been hassled for my career choice, and constantly made fun of because I will
be "poor". I tell them that teaching isn't something you do for the
money. I even go so far as to say that you don't plan your career around money,
you plan it around what you love to do. If that job just so happens to make a
lot of money then good, if not then do it anyway. That way you aren't stuck
working a job you hate and inevitably become miserable. I mean they don't say
"money can't buy happiness" just because it sounded good. It does
have meaning to it as well. I have finally finished my philosophy of education,
and I decided to post it in hopes that those who actually do read it can
finally understand: why I chose this career, why it is more important than the
money it brings, and why it is the best choice for me whether they can see it
or not.
Education is the key
to success. It is a never ending aspect of one’s life that is constantly built
upon with each passing year. Anything built to last must of course have the
proper foundation. That foundation begins at birth, and the cement is to be
properly laid down by the parents. Parents are the first teachers; as a result
it is their duty to instill within their child the proper knowledge needed to
succeed scholastically as well as in other aspects of life. To better attain
this goal, children should be brought up in an environment that encourages
success and emphasizes the importance of education. When children begin
attending school, the involvement of the parents doesn’t end, it should
increase. Parents should encourage hard work and diligence as well as
involvement in extra-curricular activities, allowing the student to become a
more diversified individual.
Teachers should
strive to make a personal and mental connection with the student. This will
increase the willingness of the student to learn, and the speed at which
learning progresses. The mental connection also provides for better
understanding of the student and why he/she learns the way they do, ultimately
bettering the teacher and the student. We as teachers must remember that, no
matter the student’s status (mentally, socially, and/or economically), we are
still teaching human beings with thoughts and feelings; people that are not to
be defined by a statistic or a stereotype, but by their limitless capability to
achieve in any and all fields if given the chance and the guidance. This is why
diversity should be a prevalent factor in education; for not only students, but
teachers and parents as well. Diversity brings with it expansive thinking. It
teaches everyone it touches how to think outside of the box. It provides for a
newer and better outlook on life, education, and society as a whole.
That being said it
will be my job as a teacher to institutionalize a classroom environment that
instills within them the importance of education, diversity, and success. I
must continue to build upon what the parents have begun, because they can’t do
it all by themselves. There is an old saying that says “it takes a village to
raise a child”, and I intend to be a part of that village. Nothing is perfect
in life and therefore nothing is perfect in education, but I intend to work
arduously towards creating an educational system that is as close to perfect as
possible. I will be the guide that the next generation needs to reach their
full potential no matter what circumstances they have, because I know that they
are the leaders of tomorrow and I want them to know it as well.”
Now, fast forward
to year 2012. I served as a legislative intern in the Tennessee General
Assembly, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, and began my first year teaching as an
instructional technology coordinator at West Pullman Elementary School. Everything
I did seemed to involve teaching.
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