Lauren Gonyea

Professional Teaching Philosophy

When the subject of creating a personal teaching philosophy was first brought up, I was absolute that the god that would guide my teaching would be the Science god. I believed that science was the future and without it, our society would not function. After class discussions and the readings from Erikson, Miller, Berry, Esquith, and Kozol, I realized that using science as my god is a demonstration of privilege. Not everyone will go off to college after high school. Some will join the military, attend vocational schools, or even finish their education all together. Instead of deciding which god I would like to serve based simply on my preferences and taste, I must decide what god I would serve that would benefit all of my students as a public school teacher. What gods would be worth having a student spend over 5,000 hours of their life in high school? What gods would satisfactorily put the public's tax dollars to good use? Realizing that teaching philosophies tend to change over time, I've tentatively, yet confidently decided that the gods that I would like to serve are the Identity and Service gods. An Identity god serves for several purposes. Primarily, the Identity god promotes an awareness of multiple identities as well as potential identities that teenagers may acquire. An Identity god not only helps adolescents find their own identity, but it also promotes respect of other identities. The most important philosophy of an Identity god is that one cannot harm another simply based on their identity or beliefs. This includes verbal, physical, or emotional attacks. In terms of Christianity, the disciples of the Identity god are the leaders of various identities. It must be noted that the disciples of the Identity god are different from cliques. Cliques imply that there judgment is passed when moving between groups. Using the word disciple, however, implies there is an ultimate self that one can strive to attain. A sense of respect between disciples is created. A disciple is a role model of each group. Students may even create their own disciple. It is the best possible version that students see themselves within a particular group. After learning about Erik Erikson and his stages of development, I realized that adolescents encounter the same crisis. They have a burning urge to figure out their identity and where they fit in with the world. Adults like to laugh and make fun of this stage of development. In reality, the same adults who make fun are likely to be the ones who have gone through the same difficult transition of identity. Erikson defines adolescence as a time of an identity crisis. Adolescents are constantly trying to fit into new roles and figure out who they will be in the future. Consequently, cliques will be formed and judgments will be harshly passed. Teens will figure out what is and is not socially acceptable behavior within a school. I believe Erikson accurately defined this stage of development as a crisis. There have been numerous cases in which teens have committed suicide, been attacked, or murdered because of this phenomenon. If teens do not fit into the tight circles that are created, they tend feel isolated and distant. Students must learn how to engage with groups different from their own. They must learn where they fit in, while simultaneously respecting where others fit in. It can be quite difficult finding a balance. Therefore, I believe it is a public duty to serve the Identity god in order to help students figure

out who they are and respect others for who they are in return. As a teacher I can easily incorporate this into the curriculum. I can use examples in class that differ from stereotypes or master narratives. Chemistry is all about reactions. Reactions don't just happen with chemicals. They also happen with people, situations, and emotions. Life is all about reactions and identities. Hence, as a teacher, it is my duty to help students look past the basic curriculum and help students through their current crisis of identity. With every great idea comes opposition. After reading the article What Is a "Public School"? by Frederick Hess, I quickly learned that Hess would not agree with having an Identity god that promotes tolerance of different identities. In this article he states, "In a liberal society, uniformly teaching students to accept teen pregnancy or homosexuality as normal and morally unobjectionable represents a jarring absolutism amidst profound moral disagreement." To this, I would argue that the Identity god does not preach views and force students to accept certain values and ideas. The Identity god simply proposes different selves that students may be. Identifying the different ways people live is different from preaching morals. I would also argue that promoting respecting different identities is different from agreeing with different identities. People come from all walks of life, and people must learn how to interact with others that are different from themselves. If students aren't made aware of the differences that people have and the consequences of disregarding the views and disrespecting others then I believe that creating a close-knit community is impossible. The Identity god helps with problem solving skills and allows students to figure out who they are in a safe and controlled environment. If adolescents do not learn how to engage others who are different from themselves in a respectful manner, how can we put an end to attempted suicides, school shootings, and other disastrous events? As a teacher, I have a right to intervene with family values if it relates to physical, emotional, or verbal abuse of others. In fact, it is my duty as a teacher to protect each student and ensure their safety. As a teacher, I am a mandated reporter. If I suspect that any student is subject to abuse, I must report it. However, instead of simply being on the receiving end of abuse, I believe there is a way to help stop abuse before it even starts. After learning about Alice Miller's point of view, I realized that people who were abused will have a greater chance of being abusers themselves. If there is a disruption at an early stage of development, this will carry further on into adulthood. The Identity god can help put an end to this vicious cycle. Students do not need to agree with the views of the disciples of the Identity god, but they must learn how to coexist. I will, however, agree with Hess's belief that equal opportunity for all students does not mean treating all students identically. Different communities have different values and situations. Some have more money and opportunity than others. Different identity issues come up in different communities. For instance, gang violence was not a necessarily a pressing issue in my school. However, a school in more of an urban community that endures gang shootings regularly will have a greater urge to face this issue. In my school, a large number of students receive financial help for lunches. Understanding class differences would be a larger issue in my school than gang violence. I was privileged to come from a family that did not need financial support

for lunches. Not everyone was given this privilege. As a teacher, I must understand that students will be coming from backgrounds that are different from my own. It is easy to think of and address the issues that I personally had in school. As a teacher, it could be easy to ignore the issue of poverty since I personally never had to skip lunches because my family couldn't afford it. It is my duty as a teacher to understand the issues that my community undergoes. Hence, different problems do not need equal solutions. Different problems need different understandings and different solutions. Every situation is different. Fair does not always mean equal. I believe dealing with the more pressing issues with proportion time and attention is necessary to help the public interest. The next god I would like to serve in my classroom is the Service god. In order to get my coaching license, I had to take a two-day course. During this class, the instructor said that he teaches his players three main ideas. He wants his athletes to be good in school, be good citizens, and be good at something. Often times, people tend to forget the citizen part. Being a good citizen is more than being courteous and civil. You must be pious and devote time to giving back to the community. Teenagers benefit so greatly from the community. Tax dollars are used for them to attend school and many rely on their families and friends for financial and emotional support. Students must learn to give back to the community in order to continue the cycle. The article The Work of Local Culture by Berry describes the importance of a strong community. He creates the metaphor of the seed and the soil. Without the soil, the seed cannot grow. Without the support of a community, individuals cannot thrive. The Service god not only indicates that is one's duty to find a way to serve the community, but it helps students critically think about how they can best use their talents to help the community and why they should help. I was born a Catholic and needed to go through confirmation when I was about sixteen. In order to be confirmed, I needed to complete around forty hours of community service. Many of my friends would forge hours or have adults agree to sign off to extra hours that they never completed. They did not understand the purpose or appreciate the value of completing this community service. The Service god is more than just about completing an allotted amount of hours; it is about understanding the importance of giving back. Students must learn that it is a cycle, and they would not be where they are today without their community to rely on. As a future chemistry teacher, I would incorporate the Service god by bringing up different issues related to the chemistry such as of drugs and abuse. I would have students to come up with ideas in order to help their community and create plans of how to go about it using the talents and knowledge that they have been given. I don't believe any student should be forced to do community service. If they are, students will find a way out of it, just as my peers forged their hours. The article The Ordering Regime by Kozol referred to a situation where teachers would correct students' work and would rewrite sentences that students had written before displaying it on a bulletin board. This does not instill pride with one's work. It is simply a means to show how great the teacher is. It places the value on the teacher's beliefs rather than the

students'. It also implies that the teacher is always right. Therefore, forcing students to attend events and help the community will only instill the values of the teacher. However, having students come up with their own events and create a plan on how to best help their community will create a metaphorical bulletin board that does not contain eraser marks. Students can proudly look back on the work they completed and feel that they were able to make a difference in the community. If given the tools, the knowledge, the plan, and the ideas of how to help serve the community, I believe this desire will spread like wildfire. I now realize that abiding by a Science god would be somewhat trivial. At the end of the day, it is not entirely significant for students to understand and use science. Many people shy away from it and never use it after high school. However, Identity and Service gods can continue to help all students after high school. Erikson described adolescence as a crisis. Having an Identity god can help with this crisis and help students to gain a better perspective of themselves, as well as others. Students don't have to agree with all of the views of all of the different groups. They must, however, learn to respect these views and be able to engage with others that have different views from their own. Identity is only the first step in the cycle. The next step is learning how to give back and continue the cycle. In the words of Berry, the seeds must sprout and grow strong roots into the soil. Keeping this purpose in mind, I believe that the Identity and Service gods are a vital use of tax money. More importantly, it is a vital use of the 5,000 hours that students donate to their high school education.