Experientia docet
"Experience teaches"
Professional Philosophy
"One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of house I lived in,
how much money I had, nor what my clothes were like.
But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child."
Thomas Simmons.
Why Teach?
Unlike some teachers, I didn't play school growing up. I never lined up stuffed animals or action man figures to listen to my lessons and lectures, but I was drawn from an early age to books and especially the communication of ideas (and some of my sister's lessons!). In my mind, I replayed Sunday school lessons from teachers such as Dene Constable and Terry McIvor, not to analyse their teaching techniques but to review the concepts they'd explained
I realised that teaching was not the path to material wealth but I also understood that riches go far beyond finances. In the world of education, the opportunity to influence others responsibly and the remembrance of teachers who had made a deep impact on my life were far more important than monetary gain
It was mid-way through the seventh form 1991 when it happened. Without hearing an audible voice, I heard a definite call: God wanted me to teach, to care about young people, to point out the truth, to invest myself. And so I prepared for a career in education. In a world that increasingly denies absolutes, I felt I could stand up for truth and present a perspective of how the spiritual affects the physical.
A world that seems to operate without standards and the permanence of absolutes also fails to provide hope. Students need to possess this quality, whether it's hope about a test grade, about friendship, about getting into varsity or the healing of family difficulties. As a teacher, I try to bring a positive attitude into my classroom and to extend that to my students.
I believe that students need to know how to work with each other, and believe that this characteristic is crucial to their holistic development. The need to be able to offer their own ideas in a non-threatening environment, and to listen and accept the ideas of others, is also imperative. Students need to know how to discuss a range of ideas, analyse problems and discover solutions. To be able to successfully do this, they need to be in an environment that advocates and promotes co-operative and respectful behaviour.
I see that one of my main roles in teaching is to be positive and realistic about my abilities and myself before I can successfully encourage others to do the same. I believe my role as a teacher is to ultimately expose students to the greatest number of experiences possible that will foster their learning. I don't see myself personally as the foundation for the learning process, but rather the opportunities I can create for my students will be the most important factor in my success as a teacher.
I see that learning is not only confined within the walls of the classroom, but extends into the community and into nature itself. When children are involved in a holistic unit (for example a thematic unit), they can naturally connect events and experiences in their own lives outside the classroom, to things that are happening in school.
Attending training courses, seminars, and teacher-training in specific areas, will be a way of further developing the professional teacher within me. Any teacher that is willing to explore all avenues of education for the betterment of his/her students, will become well equipped to the benefit of the students and themselves alike.
My philosophy is not set and indeed over the last 9 years of teaching I have been further developing a clearer and broader understanding of my role as teacher and the children as learners. I see my philosophy as ever changing and an ongoing process.