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an essay for my application to teacher ed.


My Philosophy of Teaching


As a secondary education English teacher, I would like to guide students to become motivated readers and writers who are capable of critical thought toward both ideas presented by others and those they hold themselves. An education in the literary arts provides students with essential skills to enrich both their everyday lives as individuals and their ability to perform in a competitive job market. I hope to guide students to become lifelong learners by instilling in them a sense of self-efficacy and the benefits of persistent effort.


Literary studies is a broad field that can be linked to an assorted range of subjects including psychology, sociology, science, and history. Literature can be the vehicle through which students learn about ideas prevalent through different historical and cultural contexts. For example, teaching either Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter or The Crucible by Arthur Miller can give students a better understanding of how individuals have responded to their current society and its relationship to the past. The human effect can be felt through identifying oneself with characters created with emotional relevance, thereby adding weight to an outlined dates-and-facts study of history. In this fashion, I plan to urge students to think beyond their individual horizons to process thoughts through a multicultural perspective.


I believe that the development of an ability to write clearly and effectively goes hand-in-hand with the ability to think logically and creatively. Language is not merely a communication tool, through writing students explore and expand on their ideas as they are put together in an orderly fashion. Developing student awareness of their production strategies and providing scaffolding techniques to improve these strategies, rather than concentrating singularly on output, should be foremost amongst an instructor’s goals. This can help motivate young learners. Students should be pressed to improve the content and structure of written assignments as well as the overall flow and grammatical accuracy of this work.


By giving students an opportunity to voice their opinions in an organized, open-ended structure, I hope to foster a sense of involvement that will translate to student interest and self-motivated responsibility. Through this integrative classroom atmosphere, I hope to reflect the importance of individual student thought and respectful tolerance toward others’ beliefs and contributions. The English classroom should provide students with a safe environment for them to receive feedback on their own original thought through classroom discussions.


A literature classroom can be ideal for accommodating students of varying ability and cultural and economic backgrounds. Peer interactions and active learning can be made an integral part of the classroom to enrich individual learning. Also, with the wide range of involvement capable of being covered through a study in literature, at-risk students may be reached by channeling their unique interests in the classroom.


I hope to learn from students as well as teach the principles of reading and writing that I feel will benefit them. My sense of learning is that it is a life-long process and adults as well as children and teenagers are constantly expanding their perspective on the world. By engaging myself with students I will better my understanding of the unique needs, emotions, and beliefs students may have.