Educational Philosophy

     As I think about entering the world of teaching, I realize I am going to have to do so much more learning than I thought.  Our educational system was created for a time that has come and gone, and now it is essential that educators learn how to teach the students of today. I watched a video about a year ago, before I was positive that I wanted to teach.  It is an animated lecture by Sir Ken Robinson, and really provoked me to question the structure of education. 

          There are several reasons that I have for becoming a teacher, and hope that I can utilize resources of the future to help me become the best educator that I can be. I think that teaching future students will be exciting, with more technological advancements, but unnerving at the same time.

I think that teaching is one of the most important and respectable jobs in the world.  Teachers have the ability to not only educate, but also inspire so many young individuals.  Being able to motivate and inspire younger people is the biggest factor in my desire to teach. I have also always loved being able to help other people, whether that means giving advice or teaching different concepts. Thinking about my career as a future educator in a society that thrives on technology is both exciting and unsettling.

Today’s teachers are facing the need to change the way they reach their students.  I am inspired by the realization that our educational system needs revising.  Students are being taught by a system that was designed for a different era.  I am excited that there is now a conscious need for change.  We need to adapt, and possibly change how we test student’s understanding of knowledge.  Revolutionizing the educational system will provide new opportunities to be creative, and technology can help enhance student’s experience in school. There is an opportunity to get people excited and motivated to learn.  I am hoping that once teachers, and hopefully myself, implement new ways of education by utilizing new technology, students will be excited to go to school every day.

Although I am excited about the needed shift in education, I am unsettled by the thought as well.  Teachers of my generation are going to have the hard task of figuring out how to implement new ways of teaching while maintaining some old educational values.  I am hoping that I will be able to keep up with society and learn how to teach in ways that students will understand.  I am not as technologically savvy as many of my peers seem to be.  It is unnerving thinking that I may not be creative enough to think of new ways of teaching.

Society today is much different than it was several years ago. People have access to unlimited information, and do most of their learning, thinking, and organizing using the internet, computers and cell phones.  Technology has now become a way of life and the educational system needs to adapt to this.  As a future teacher, I see this as a great opportunity to inspire and teach younger generations, but realize how difficult and unnerving this task is going to be.