Is anyone here a teacher?

bethsmiles

Today I talked with my advisor about my career goals. Ideally I would love to teach at the college level. In order to do this I need experience. To get experience I pretty much have to get a T.A. position. My advisor said that the auditions (5 minute presentation) are April 25 but before that I need to fill out the application and write a teaching philosophy. I'm not too worried about the presentation or the application (it's pretty basic) but I have no idea where to start with creating a teaching philosophy. So if any you are teachers (I have a hard time remembering what people do) or have experience with this - do you have any tips? would you be able to look over a draft of mine in the near-ish future?

I want/need this so badly. I will be absolutely crushed if it doesn't happen. At this point I feel like my entire future is riding on this which is making me very stressed/anxious. Any advice is appreciated!

deathandtaxes

 

I'm a teacher and I had to do something similar in the past for my Master's program. It was a rationale for teaching social studies. Basically I focused most of the paper around multiculturalism, my desire to promote it in the classroom and the importance of an open mind in the 21st century. Then I built up my rationale around those core ideas. I also branched off into different passions of mine which I also linked to my desire to work as an educator.

 

I think you should be honest in your teaching philosophy. Talk about your goals and how becoming a TA will allow you to begin your journey towards teaching at the college level. Emphasize your desire to make your field better through your work and let your passion for the subject shine through! People like others who are real, honest, and have a contagious enthusiasm for what they do. 

 

Blue & White

I'm a teacher as well (at the community college level).  If you want to teach at the CC level, you need a Master's degree for most of the positions.  It's hard to get a teaching job at a university with a Master's degree, but it is possible.

As for my teaching philosophy, I teach science and math.  I believe that all students are fully capable of doing math.  Even if they don't think they can.  I spend a lot of my time reinforcing this idea to my students, because by the time they get to college, a lot of them have given up on math.  Drives me crazy   I'm really patient, for the most part...it helps

I agree with PP that I would be honest in your teaching philosophy.  I also think that your teaching philosophy will somewhat depend on what you'll be teaching.

And if it makes you any less stressful, everyone that "interviewed" for the TA positions I had as an undergrad got the job - they were really desperate that year.  My mom also got a flat tire while driving me to the interview, but we somehow managed to be on time (we had left like 3 hours early because I had to drive all the way back up to school during the summer when I wasn't there.)

Good luck!  Teaching is awesome

kellyt89

I would absolutely look at a draft of yours. One of the things I had to to at the end of student teaching was write a teaching philosophy.

Are you looking to teach a particular subject? Mine was specifically music education in the public schools - why it's important, who should be taught (everyone IMO, duh! lol), what should be taught and how, etc.

The main thing for us was showing a passion for that education subject - explaining why the subject is vital for people to learn. I talked a lot about how music fosters critical thinking, emotional intelligence, how music classes create a safe space for students, how it taps into the brain in so many different ways, etc.

bethsmiles

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_is-anyone-here-a-teacher?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e7f6bf6e-3e5c-4aa0-b556-08d5be8f24e2Post:96663553-5837-4fb5-93bd-3eb7c6048a57">Re: Is anyone here a teacher?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would absolutely look at a draft of yours. One of the things I had to to at the end of student teaching was write a teaching philosophy.<strong> Are you looking to teach a particular subject?</strong> Mine was specifically music education in the public schools - why it's important, who should be taught (everyone IMO, duh! lol), what should be taught and how, etc. The main thing for us was showing a passion for that education subject - explaining why the subject is vital for people to learn. I talked a lot about how music fosters critical thinking, emotional intelligence, how music classes create a safe space for students, how it taps into the brain in so many different ways, etc.
Posted by kellyt89[/QUOTE]

The T.A.s only teach public speaking courses but I'm not sure if my teaching philosophy should relate only to public speaking or if it should be about teaching communication in a broader sense.

kellyt89

Teaching communications in a broader sense, maybe, especially since you want to go into that on the college level.