Educational Philosophy

Ian Hale

As I begin the process of becoming the most effective educator I can, it is useful to take

stock of what I believe both in terms of how student learning should ideally look, as well as my

classroom management philosophy. This is sure to evolve as my understanding and hands on

experience increase, but here are a few of my preliminary thoughts.

When it comes to student learning, I think the ultimate goal is for students to actually

understand what is being taught. While memorizing facts, statistics, and historical dates etc are

certainly important to provide the material support to back up an argument, without the requisite

understanding of the broader concepts being taught, these just become decontextualized data

points. When students are only memorizing data points by rote simply to pass the next test, they

are likely to ultimately forget it all because these facts haven’t been assimilated into a broader

understanding or made relevant in any way.

Student learning is not only about the specific content however. Another, perhaps equally

important aspect of learning comes in the way students pick up on their social environment. I

think it is important that a teacher be a model of consistent, ethical behavior in their classrooms.

A teacher should be seen as being “fair” but not necessarily equal in how they interact with

individual students. Different students will have different needs both academically and

emotionally. It is important for a teacher to maintain his or her values and avoid hypocritical

rules as teenagers are rapidly developing their moral sensibilities at this time.

My classroom management philosophy is dedicated to efficiency for the ultimate goal of

student learning. I think the way to make a classroom run smoothly and efficiently is multi-

faceted. There should be a protocol easily understood by all students consistent with the
teacher’s values to manage disruptions and behavioral issues. More importantly, there needs to

be a long term approach. Building credibility and relationships with students should start on day

one and continue throughout the year. The more trust built up over time will pay dividends and

mitigate potential conflicts and disruptions.

Classroom management also requires a lot of preparation from the teacher. This is an area

in which classroom management and student learning are directly linked. The more a teacher

puts into prep, the better they can transition from activity to activity, manage their limited time

while still allowing for student discussions and exploring ideas, and be expert in the content as

well as efficient in the conveyance of the lesson. I feel like what a teacher does before they come

to class might be even more important than what happens during, as the latter is dependent on the

former.