Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

Philosophy Paper

Over the course of my three years in college, I have learned a vast majority of

information concerning what it takes to become a teacher in today’s society. It is a very difficult

task and it takes a lot of responsibility, knowledge, care, and respect to work with our students.

Our world is culturally diverse and we experience a wide range of intellectual abilities,

socioeconomic status, and even types of disabilities that come with the students in our

classrooms. Throughout the course of my next 30 plus years of teaching, I want to become that

effective teacher who understands their students and reflects upon not what they know, but what

they will learn when they walk into my classroom and exit the doors at the end of the year. All

students should be in a safe and learning environment where the teacher can use different forms

of teaching methods and properly assess the students so they can become better thinkers.

To begin with, what makes our students? How do they behave in a certain way and what

triggers these actions? When I was in Nature and Needs of the Mid Level Learner, I was able to

understand at first hand, how our students develop overtime. It also allowed me to reflect back to

my adolescent years and think, “Why did I act this way?” or, “What was I thinking like when I

was at that age?” It is crazy to think how much different I was compared to the adolescent kids

we discussed. I was normally the type of student who focused on their work and did exactly what

was expected out of them. I never had a temper or tried to act like I had all the freedom in the

world. Students now-a-days tend to think and act opposite of what I did. Students these days

think they have all the freedom in the world if they can get away with it. Some parents think that,

“If I can’t control them, the teacher should.” Our job is not to parent the child completely for

eight hours a day. We are to educate the child and help them become better prepared for the

outside world. Throughout my nature and needs course, I learned how children become

Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

independent in their own ways. By the time they reach 13 years old, they begin the puberty

process and start experiencing changes in growth, behavior, etc… They start losing their focus if

their mind wanders off the side of the road. They begin hearing all the talks about sex, violence,

drugs, and more. They feel the peer pressure sinking in and want to impress anyone they can.

When I was in my teenager years, I knew what was right and what was wrong. I never tried to fit

in with the crowd just to please others. If they did not like who I was, I just knew they could get

over it. Students tend to feel left out and it becomes a very depressing situation. Students feel

that if their parents keep them locked under their strict rules and supervision they will never get

to learn life. It is necessarily not true. We all have to venture out into the real world at sometime.

I never did drugs my entire life. I knew people who did it, but when I earned more of my

freedom in my high school years, I knew I could not jeopardize my entire educational career.

Some students never stop and analyze the pros and cons of anything. If they feel they can do it,

they will jump out and make sure it gets done.

Secondly, creating a classroom environment is one major problem some teachers face.

Our students need to be in a relaxing and safe learning environment to ensure they are obtaining

the factual information over the contents of each lesson. The arrangement of a classroom is very

important because it helps determine how the seating chart should be arranged, where each

student should sit, and how well does each student interact with their peers. My desk would be

placed in front of the students so I can make eye-to-eye contact with them at all times. A student

should always be able to see their teacher in the face to understand the seriousness of what the

teacher expects out of their students. If the students were arranged in rows, it is probably to the

teacher’s best interest to keep a wide enough gap between the rows so the teacher can easily

maneuver around the room. It also allows for fewer disturbances in the classroom because the

Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

student would have to talk louder to communicate with their peers, thus the teacher can actually

catch the student disrupting classroom operation. If the desks were arranged in groups, this

allows for an easier flow because students can participate in cooperative learning and group

discussions to get input from their classmates and have the chance to learn new things about the

current lesson.

I believe there are many successful ways to create a perfect classroom environment. First

of all, teachers need to get to know their students. All teachers should learn some strengths and

weaknesses about each student so they can help them adjust in the classroom with their strong

areas of learning and build upon their weaknesses. In an academically rigorous environment, I

want my students to expand upon what they currently know. They should be able to think

“outside the box” and get as creative as they can. They should not sit in class and look bored,

therefore causing them to get out of hand and make excessive noises in the classroom. As a

teacher, I want to be prepared with many resource items so my students can learn using their

strongest learning strategy and build upon their weakest learning strategy.

Thirdly, after experiencing my Effective Teaching Strategies class, I want to teach to my

students in ways they understand. I want them to learn in as many ways as possible to ensure

they know what goals and objectives they should understand. For example, once I get to know

my students very well, then I can use informal instruction as a method of teaching because I

know about their interests, needs, and learning styles. If I am just getting to know them, I can

have them talk about themselves. They can tell me what they enjoy about school, how they learn,

hobbies, and other types of interests because students love to talk about themselves and having

their teacher to get to know them. It makes them feel as if they are important in the classroom

because the teacher wants to know about the student. I like direct instruction and I have used it a

Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

lot. Although it is the most common form of teaching, you can cover a lot of material in a short

amount of time. There are over 50 plus frameworks needed to be covered in about 32 weeks

before state exams arrive, although direct instruction does not have to be used repeatedly

throughout the year. This method of instruction is not the most engaging for younger students

because they are more hands-on participants. But for the upper, mid-level students, direct

instruction is a good preparatory to get ready for high school.

Inquiry based learning is also another method used and is gaining popularity in school. It can be

used for all core subjects in school although it takes a lot out of teacher’s time to prepare lesson

plans and other activities. The benefit for this instruction which I like a lot is due to the fact it is

student-centered and student-directed and modification by inquiry learning is so much easier.

Cooperative learning, a very popular and effective strategy is used when two students work

together to learn things from one another. Students can gain input and I will incorporate as much

cooperative learning in the classroom as I can. I cannot help 25 students at once, so this gives the

students an opportunity to help one another.

Last, but not least, in the Assessing and Evaluating Student Behavior class, Dr. Ross

taught us the best ways we should assess our students by formative and summative assessments,

how we should design our tests, how to write effective lesson plans, and how to expect the best

out of our students. As a teacher, I want to be strict towards how I assess my students, but not to

the point where I set them up for failure. For example, using rubrics and checklists allow the

students to understand what is expected out of their assessment when being scored. They can

review their project and make sure they meet all of the necessary requirements before they turn

in the assignment. Other forms of assessment strategies I would employ in the classroom would

be conferences because I can guide them and ask questions over their opinions over a reading,

Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

writing, or journal topic. The student and I could collaborate over our thoughts and give some

input to further improve their answers. Exit slips are an effective tool used by some teachers

because this shows the students to summarize what they learned in class, how they understood

the material, and what they can prove they have learned from the lesson. This is a useful

technique that could be employed in math and science classes. Learning logs allow the students

to write across the curriculum. It gives the students to have the chance to control what they are

writing over their learning experiences and promote their thinking through their writing

capabilities.

As a teacher, of course I would have to make some unit and chapter tests to assess the

students. This is a tool used to see if they have mastered the frameworks covered thus far and

also allows the teacher to see where they need to improve their teaching if time allows them to.

One thing about making a formative or summative assessment from a chapter or unit is how to

organize the test. I want to make sure all the selective questions are placed first before the written

selection choices follow. After each test or major quiz, I would post a chart in the room with all

necessary frameworks I expect to cover for the state-mandated exam. If they score proficient or

advanced on that quiz/test, I would check off that particular framework. This will also allow me

to predict how well they may score on the Benchmark exams in April.

The United States has long since worked to help ensure that all students receive an equal

and free education throughout public school training. With all of the diverse cultures adapting to

their new surroundings in rural and urban areas, it is always hard to meet the needs of these

people, especially those in school who are English Language Learners. Even publicly and

privately supported institutions provide scholarships, loans, and grants to those of the ethnic

minority to ensure they continue their education and become better citizens not only for

Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

themselves, but for their community. People of different ethnicities are criticized because they

are not American-born and are receiving a free college education while the American-born have

to pay back loans and are denied scholarships. Why can’t we all receive an equal public

education? Students in public schools suffer from receiving an equalized education because their

school may not have the proper resource or certified teachers to help them when they seem to be

struggling.

Also, with the diverse culture that we experience, we cannot criticize our students for

how they think in class. Most teachers tend to criticize student’s cultural behavioral styles. Some

students have a difficult time comprehending vocabulary and may mistakenly answer the

question incorrectly. This is where teachers will underestimate that particular student’s

intellectual potential. Teachers will misplace, mislabel, and mistreat the students because they

assume the student may try to be funny when they are being honest in their answer. As a teacher,

there will be times I get upset and want to send the student to the office because I think they are

trying to disturb the learning environment of the class. As a teacher, I want my students to build

upon their critical thinking skills so they do not misunderstand what questions I ask them. I have

seen teachers have low expectations for their student’s learning capability. In the end, the teacher

will end up slowing the pace of instruction, thus putting the student and other classmates further

behind. As teachers, we teach the way we learn best. We can discover our own teaching style by

analyzing our own learning style. If it seems to work best for us, will it work best for the

students? Teachers will not be aware of their teaching style and often become tiresome as a

result. As a teacher, I do not want to stress myself out trying to confuse my own teaching style

with my learning style. I want to make my job easier by comprehending with my students so they

learn the concepts easier as they progress to the next grade level.

Joshua Miller Philosophy Paper

Becoming a teacher is a difficult task. It involves getting to know your students, creating

a safe environment for them to learn, and know how you will teach and assess their learning. I

have done some teaching work for 4 years now and I have done lesson plans and taught under a

waiver. It takes a lot of patience to deal with many factors that pop up throughout the day and

knowing whether or not they understood what was going on. In the end, when the student comes

back and tells you how much they appreciate you; you will have this bright light shine on you to

show how well of a job you did.