Analysis on Personal Philosophy

As defined by Webster”s Dictionary, a teacher is “one who instructs, directs, and disciplines other individuals.” This definition is correct, however, teaching encompasses much more. A teacher is an integral part of the learning process of a child. A teacher also aids the child in personal growth and life development.
Teaching has always been my lifetime desire. I look forward with great anticipation to the day when I teach my own class. This will give me the opportunity to instill in the children a thirst for knowledge. This is also a chance for me to make the children realize their unique potential for greatness and open their eyes to the beautiful world around them.
Before getting involved in my formal education classes and field experiences in Elementary Education at Pennsylvania State University, I thought being an educator involved teaching the students basic skills, assigning homework, and testing their knowledge. I soon found out that this monotonous routine does not maximize student interest and learning. Through my valuable student teaching experience, I have come to identify with a teaching paradigm known as Inquiry learning.

In this particular paradigm, knowledge is viewed as functional and pleasurable. Children learn from the questions they pose. Key skills are learned in context and focus on child interest rather than artificial and made-up. This type of education concentrates on student interest. Children are focused and on-task because they are directly involved in their own learning. The Inquiry Paradigm also allows for numerous hands-on learning experiences. Another aspect of Inquiry learning is that the teacher is viewed as a “partner along the journey” instead of “Supreme Being”. I firmly believe that a teacher should treat her students as partners on a journey. This allows students to feel independent and responsible for their own learning.