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The philosophy of teaching reflects a teacher’s belief about teaching and the process of learning.  It is being undertaken to help teachers and mentors assess themselves for the purpose of improving themselves.  The formation of this philosophy is not done in one seating but rather comes in stages as a teacher grows and progress.

A teacher must believe that he/she has something to pass on to their students. Unless this is so, there is not much sense in teaching.  Teachers are looked up to and this is impossible to do if a teacher is not able to represent a certain positive philosophy that    can give students important lessons not only in academics but also in life.

Not everyone is called upon to teach or feel the sincere desire to mentor people, whether young or old.  It is not easy to pass on knowledge and skills even when there is sufficient expertise on the subject being taught.  Teaching is an art and a science that is best performed by those genuinely interested in it.

A teacher therefore will always have to have the commitment and dedication to teach at whatever cost regardless of whether or not students are teachable or not.  In cases where a good number of students fail in a class, it is the teacher’s ability that is actually put into question and not the students’.

Also included in a teaching policy is the purpose, whether general or personal, which the teacher holds as his/her main objective in entering the profession.  From this purpose, it would be easy to determine if a teacher will succeed since selfish purposes will never work in the teaching profession.  There must also be a clear agenda of how a teacher proposes to go about sharing what he/she knows to students.

The environment in a teaching profession will not always be conducive to the ideal learning set-up.  This poses a challenge to teachers to go beyond what they are expected to do in the name of teaching.  A philosophy in teaching should be able to guide a teacher along the way to remind him/her of the original purposes set at the beginning.

Originally posted on December 31, 2012 @ 5:38 pm