Andrea Kaifesh

11 May 2004

My Personal Theory of Teaching

Part I: Why do I want to teach?

Teaching as always been a passion of mine. When I was younger playing “school” was one of my favorite pastimes. I had a whole classroom set up in my playroom complete with a chalkboard, desks, and all. At the end of the school year I was always the first to snatch up old dittos teachers gave away and managed to grow quite a collection of worksheets. In high school I tutored lower elementary students and got a small taste of what teaching would be like. I also teach ice skating to a wide variety of ages. I love being able to help another person learn and love sharing their joy of understanding. Throughout my life I have been taught the value and importance of education. My parents, former teachers, and even the young children in my life have all contributed to my desire to teach.

My parents have always taken mine and my younger brothers schooling very seriously. Both my mother and father have been very active in our learning, they are parents who have always been involved. Both parents made it a point to attend all parent teacher conferences and attended all of my extra curricular functions. As a lower elementary student my mom loved being involved in the classroom even if it was only baking cookies on my birthday. My mom is a stay-at- home mom. I value the time that she has been able to take to help me learn and grow into who I am today. She was always there to quiz me on my spelling words, look over all my papers in my backpack, and remind me to do my homework. My dad has always been there to help with anything I could not understand. He would come home from work and sit with me for hours if there was something I was not getting. I especially remember my dad helping me with math, he demanded perfection. We would go over and check every problem and redo them all until my homework was one hundred percent correct. At times this drove me to tears but looking back I think my parents, especially my dad, are the foundation of why I work to excel. The support and involvement of both of my parents in my school work taught me the value of education.

The support my parents showed gave me a sense of worth. The atmosphere in my house taught me that education is something to be proud of and excellence is something to strive for. I was taught to put school first on my list of priorities. The time my parents spent with me on school indirectly taught me how important schooling really is. It was something they thought they needed to pay attention to; therefore I picked up on similar attitudes. Because of this life lesson, I understand and appreciate the value of education and how important it is to have “expert teachers” in our schools. As a teacher I hope to pass on the same respect and appreciation for learning my parents promoted all of my life.

In elementary school teachers had one of two reputations. There were those who children hoped for, and those who children would do anything not to get. Thinking back I always seemed to be placed in classes with the good teachers. What occurs in classrooms that cause teachers to have these labels? Thinking back to friends who had these so called bad teachers I remember stories of ridicule, harshness, and embarrassment. I traveled through elementary, middle school, high school, and even college with a few of the same students. It is interesting to compare my willingness to learn and work in school, as well as children who shared my same teachers to those students who had the other elementary teachers. In general those of us with the good experiences are more likely to be excited about school and have a stronger will to do well. I truly believe that positive teachers in early school years can make all the difference in the world.

I realize that I have been extremely lucky throughout my K-12 experience. My school years have been filled with very positive, influential teachers. Whenever the question arises of who your favorite teacher is, I always find it hard to decide. I can think back to my twelve years in grade school and I feel I have gained something valuable from each of my teachers. There are a few high school teachers who I do not think so highly of, but for the most part, especially during my elementary years, I have been very fortunate. I attribute my successes thus far in school to the attitudes I learned early on. It is my hope that in becoming a teacher I can have the same impact on students as mind had on me.

I believe that elementary teachers are some of the most important people in young children’s lives. It is proven that they spend more waking time with children than the majority of parents. Elementary teachers have a huge impact on a child’s life. It is here in the lower grades where children are still being shaped and molded into little people. These are the years where the foundations of education are laid. In later years everything is based on what you learned from elementary school, from reading habits, to study habits, to an appreciation of school, it is elementary school that provides the basic core. I believe that in promoting a positive learning environment children are more likely to learn. Teachers who give learning a purpose are more likely to produce students who understand that purpose and therefore try harder. When education is seen as something to value, children will be more likely to want to learn. Every child needs to feel important and able, this sense of responsibility allows them to know that what they do matters. If a student has something to strive for they are more likely to attain higher educational goals. A good teacher creates this sort of atmosphere of positive learning. It is my hope that I will be able to have a similar impact on my students so the habits they form in my class they can carry on through the rest of their lives.

I recognize that teaching is an enormous responsibility. In essence as a teacher you have the ability to make or break a child’s life. If a good solid base is formed in early years children will then have the tools for success for their whole lives. It is frightening to think about how much of an impact teachers can have on their students, but something that I think I will be able to do well. I want to be someone who inspires children to learn. I want to be a teacher who creates students who want to succeed.

I am told by everyone close to me that I have a very patient and nurturing nature. I believe these qualities are essential to creating a good teacher. I love helping others learn. Whether it is something school related, or life related, I love sharing my knowledge with others. I feel good about myself when I am able to help others accomplish something. I have an internal instinct to care for all who are in my life, everyone is important to me. I think the fact that I truly care about people, in most cases putting others before myself, will attribute to me being the teacher I hope to be. A teacher who cares about their students is more likely to produce children with a better outlook and ability to learn. If a student feels cared for they will want to learn and feel its importance.

It is terrifying to think about all that goes into making a good teacher. At times I think about all of the wonderful teachers I have had and question whether or not I will be able to do it. I know myself though, anything I try I give one hundred and ten percent of my effort. I will do my best to be the best teacher I can be. I have a wide variety of interests and there were times when I thought about going into a different field. Sitting in my education classes today I know I am exactly where I need to be. Just talking about teaching and school and everything that goes along with it makes me so excited I can hardly sit still. I am inspired and very enthusiastic. I already find myself wanting to plan things I will do in my own classroom. I have a younger brother in kindergarten who I bug all the time about what he is currently working on. Everything about teaching interests and excites. How children learn, different teaching methods, even the politics of the profession give me great things to look forward to. I cannot wait to get started.

My parents and the teachers in my life have taught me an appreciation for learning. I have been surrounded by people who love to learn and love to teach. The excitement has been contagious and I want to pass the love and respect on to others. I want to be an expert teacher. I want to be a teacher who makes a difference in student’s lives. It is so true about what they say, “Children are the future of today.” All adults were young at one point in their life whether they admit it or not. If it were not for teachers we would have no presidents, no Donald Trumps, or no Sir Isaac Newtons for that matter. Teachers have the power to create something great inside of children and I want to be one who helps build that fire.