My teaching philosophy

“There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fills you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.” ― Robert Frost

What kind of a teacher am I? I feel this is a question that every teacher needs to ask herself. Before embarking on writing my statement of teaching philosophy, I asked myself this question.

 In today’s day and age of schooling, there is pressure on everyone-on the heads of schools, on the parents, on the students and on the teachers. And the cause of this pressure is the weight of the mighty curriculum. And added to the pressure of transacting the curriculum is the other major irritant in a teacher’s professional life- documentation. Documentation of lesson plans, year plans, student test scores, project grades, tracking of classwork, homework, etc. And then there are other ‘extra-curricular’ activities, now termed ‘co-curricular’ activities which the teacher is expected to prepare students for, conduct and compile.

In my opinion, a teacher’s job is nothing short of a superman’s. It is little wonder therefore, that many of us often find ourselves bogged down by our work, and don’t feel the sense of fulfillment that this so called ‘noble’ profession is believed to provide. But, in spite of all the problems and pressures of this job, I believe that there is hope, and there are solutions. In my teaching philosophy outlined below, I wish to put forth the convictions and practices that I strongly believe in.

Reflection - Looking back at a lesson and thinking about how to improvise is, in my mind critical to effective teaching. Self- reflection is key to succeeding.

I believe in making notes in my journal about how a lesson went, particularly the ones that don’t go the way I want them to. Before walking into the next class, I look at these notes and prepare myself accordingly. I also encourage my teachers to do so.

Respect- Mutual respect between the teacher and the taught is essential to the creation of a productive learning environment in the classroom.

I always address children respectfully, welcoming both correct and incorrect responses. I consciously use appropriate, polite language in class.  I try to deal with disciplinary issues outside the class after the lesson, rather than haranguing an offending student in front of his peers.

Prioritizing- It is very important that a teacher goes into the classroom with clear learning objectives and keeps her focus clear on achieving these. Also, when there are many responsibilities, one needs to list them out in the order of priority.

In a class full of eager, often boisterous children, it is very easy to go off track. I ensure that the learning objectives are clearly stated on the board, and deliberately keep going back to them every time there is danger of digression. Similarly, when I mark students’ work, I look for the actual understanding from the student response, overlooking grammar, spelling, handwriting errors, presentation, etc. In all school related work, I list out the tasks for the day in the order of priority at the beginning of the day in my journal, and try to accomplish them by the end of the day.

Look beyond the curriculum- The text book and the prescribed curriculum should only serve as a guideline and not become the bible.

I have a colleague from whom I have learnt this incredible strategy. She collects all possible information on a given topic from a variety of sources and creates worksheets for children based on this information. This not only makes the teacher more knowledgeable, but also broadens the children’s outlook and gets them to look beyond the text book. I also make it a point to ask learners to get additional information on any subject by looking up newspapers, internet, etc.

Differentiate- In a class room, equality does not really work. I believe in the maxim ‘treat different children differently’. However, every teacher will agree that this is one of the most difficult things to achieve.

I create worksheets for every lesson which have a wide variety of questions, progressing from the simple to slightly complex to extremely tricky. All students are given the same worksheets but I keep my expectations different. In this way, I do not only differentiate by task, but also by outcome. And then, again I differentiate while assessing by grading students according to their ability rather than by the quality of their answers alone.

Reading and research- Oscar Wilde once famously remarked-“Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching”. This is a telling comment on how teachers are looked upon.

 I believe that a teacher should keep reading, researching and learning not only about the subject she teaches, but also about new developments in the field of pedagogy. In our school, teachers are encouraged to borrow books from the school library and share their learnings in the weekly meetings.

And finally, I come to the question that I asked myself at the beginning of this piece. I feel that I can comfortably say that I have moved on in my journey from the first category given by Frost.  I also firmly believe that I am well on my way to the second category, and that I will get there some time soon.