Teaching

According to The New American Webster Dictionary, teaching is the act of imparting knowledge or practical skills to educate (p.670). Even though this definition does not sound complicated, difficult to achieve, or even pain stating, it is often a difficult task for teachers and even the general public. Many parents and guardians do not put much time in thinking about the lives of their students’ teachers, especially while they are in the school setting. This is just one reason why teachers must have a personal philosophy. Teachers need something to believe in and to strive for in their teaching. Many parents do not realize the trials and hardships that teachers face everyday in the classroom. They do not understand the time crush, the discipline problems, or even the pressures of teaching the Tennessee standards. Teachers need something to look back on so that they can see were they stand in their teaching and in their personal beliefs.

Because teaching brings many unexpected events and problems many teachers will change their personal philosophies over their teaching career. This is not a critical problem; it allows the teacher to grow in her personal development and it gives the teacher a better understanding of her beliefs in teaching. Education can be defined as the lifelong process in which a person’s potential for development is maximized. Education is related to schooling in that education is done usually thru schooling. In today’s society most everyone has had the opportunity to attend school. While they were attending school they are developing their potential for maximizing their development. In other words they were learning something for their development. The purpose of education is to educate the children in a society for the future good of the society. If our children are not educated they will not be able to make good decisions when it is their turn in life to take their role in society. All effective countries in the world have had some type of education for their children to help prepare them to be productive citizens. The cultural and societal impacts have an influence on the way that students are educated in today’s society. The role of education and schooling in a democratic society is complex. A democratic society requires the best performance from citizens. In a democratic society we want everyone to make decisions and we hope that theses decisions will be good. Schooling is an on going process in this democratic society. Schooling does not only happen at school but in everyday situations Schooling and education is used in our democratic society to encourage people strive for their maximal potential. An example of education being used to encourage people is the awarding of scholarships. Scholarships are given to students so that they can further their education, which helps their development reach its maximum potential. Schooling in today’s society can be closely linked to education.

Schooling is a very important in the United State. Schooling is so important to the state of Tennessee that it has enacted a law to require parents to send their children to school until the age of 18. The pressure of attending school can influence how students learn. Students learn in many different ways. Each student has her own style of learning that is uniquely theirs. Some students learn through visualization, or hands on activities, or repeatedly writing the information down. Every student has their own style of learning and they have to decide on their own what that style is. Someone can not tell you what your learning style is; it is something that you have to learn on your own. If a teacher can find out how students in his or her class learn they will become a teacher that has many qualities to help their students. Teachers must possess qualities that will help students learn. Not only does a teacher need to have qualities that will allow them to teach a child. A teacher must be a friend, a mother, a provider, an educator, and a security guard. The beliefs of a teacher influences the way that that teacher teaches the curriculum, gives instruction, and assesses and evaluates their students. A teacher should bring the curriculum to the students in a way that they can understand it and use it in life. I have had the thought when an I going to use this many times when I was in school. But I can honestly say that I am using almost everything that I have learned in school, because my teachers brought the curriculum to me in a clear way. Giving instruction is critical when the teacher is trying to convey a lesson. Teachers should give clear instruction and ask students if they are having trouble with the lesson. Giving clear instructions will help the entire class succeed in the lessons. When a teacher has taught a lesson they should always sit down and do an assessment and evaluation. Doing an evaluation after each lesson will help improve the lesson in years to come and many times give the teacher new ideas on how to teach the lesson in her class. Assessing a lesson helps the teachers know if students got the material presented in the lesson or if the students need to re-teach it.

References
Kauchak & Eggen (2005). Introduction to Teaching. Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.

“Teaching.” Webster’s New World Dictionary (2002). Cleveland, Ohio: Hungry Minds, Inc.