Teaching Philosophy

Teaching and education are two major and important topics that are discussed worldwide, every day is a challenge for educators. Teachers are doing their best in order to provide fundamental teaching values to students, as well as powerful knowledge that can be used in their daily lives. Philosophies play a role in these two subjects; they aid in a better understanding of what teaching and education mean, but more importantly, they demonstrate how to provide a foundation for understanding how people learn, a means of outlining and retaining the learning process, as well as a method by which students can construct their own learning.

During my time at elementary school, from first to sixth grade, I had teachers that really enjoyed what they were doing, they provided the basis of education and it was pretty important for me because of the fact that I knew that I was learning and getting ready for the future. Therefore, each of them had their own methods for teaching. Moreover, I remember I was too shy and it was difficult for me to get along with the class environment, I had this problem from first to sixth grade, but each teacher knew how to help me, they knew how to apply their philosophy of human sense, values and ethics. Nonetheless, while I was growing and finishing high school, I was not sure about what to study and I basically did not want to be a teacher; however, I was hired as a teacher assistant, and my notions for teaching English changed.

At the university, I have experienced the good influence and beneficial impact of the professors and how much I aspire to be just as good as them. In high school, I only experienced a small amount of positive influence from a small group of teachers, but most of them did not actually inspire me and good rapport did not take place. Nevertheless, and so far, at the ISL I am learning a lot in terms of the subjects for my future and for what I want to be, a great educator and translator.

From the beginning it was not easy, all of the subjects were pretty demanding, for instance, I used to have a fixed mindset, thinking I was not good enough for most of the subjects, but in teaching practice I have learned that having a fixed mindset is part of growing as an educator, it is understandable to feel sometimes overwhelmed, taking a big deep breath and continue helping other along the way of education in order to boost growth mindset for the students. The fact that teachers have given us a variety of tools, games, and activities that may help us make the most of all subjects also enhances every subject I am learning during this course.

As teachers, we have the ability to identify all kinds of students and help to achieve great results in their learning processes. Moreover, learning how to foster a growth mindset in students requires time, patience and practice, because of the fact that this approach requires proper instruction that reinforces and demonstrates the idea that students can improve their ability. Deliberating a growth mindset is not only about praising an accomplishment, teachers should praise the efforts and learning steps that led to the positive outcome of the learning process. Additionally, I remember not liking some of my high school teachers because it seemed they did not enjoy being in class, as I mentioned before, there was not any intention of having good rapport with the class.

It is key to enjoy and like what you are doing, specifically if you are an educator, through passion, teachers can boost students´ interest for the subject, as well as it may increase the desire of students to succeed in class. Overall, my teaching philosophy relies on using designing effective materials for the class aside from just teaching for course books, as well as creating a good rapport with students, get to know and always support them and make sure they can achieve what they want, improving student mental health, elevating self-worth and self-esteem, besides fostering a positive learning environment.