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Annette Cortez

LBS 400

Professor Macias

Teaching Philosophy

A transformative teacher is someone that is able to mold and inspire minds to become

who they chose to become. An educator holds great power when they are able to shape students

learning and aspirations. Teachers must be adaptable and teachable. I believe that teachers are

one of the greatest tools that children have in their lives, however, if we are not providing the

support they need, then we are failing them. My hope is that I can make at least a small change in

society by creating a chain of people that spread their knowledge and build a better future.

Education is essential for all children that are transforming into themselves and are being taught

the true power of knowledge.

The purpose of education is to help children learn and want to keep learning to better

their quality of life. With that said, I want to guide students into their own journey because not

every student has the same dream and aspirations; and not every student learns the same way.

Being able to provide an equitable education is my ultimate goal and my teaching philosophy.

Being able to give them the help they each need and supporting their needs as learners/students. I

also want to be able to build relationships with students, so they know that they have support and

they are accepted into my classroom. “It’s the honest conversations, reflections, and revised

understandings that extend our reading onto the world around us” (Mooney, 2015, p.4). I want to

make students aware of their society, and as they grow, they will develop their own unique ideas

and perspectives and become educators in one way or another.

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Children are like plants, they absorb everything they see and hear. They are beginning to

develop ideas about the world they live in. Therefore, it is important that the environment of the

setting becomes a place where the children can grow and learn. I believe teaching occurs because

teachers “cultivate a hospitable space for it to emerge” (Intrator, 2003, p.6). For example, a

classroom needs walls filled with assignments they have done in order to remind them of their

efforts and become confident that they can create great things. Also, a teacher must learn how to

be relatable and connect with the students in a way that their environment is one that can capture

their attention and engage them in school.

Social justice is a method that can be utilized in order to address issues of diversity and

equity. I know that I want to learn it, adapt to it, and practice it in order to empower children and

inspire them to create change in their society. As a teacher one must put attention and discuss

race and racism to their classroom, and although all classrooms will be different in terms of

diversity, that should not be an excuse for avoiding a conversation based on equal opportunity

and privilege towards education (Hackman, 2005, p.6).

The curriculum for school is a helpful guide that tells educators what they need to teach

and that is good for many reasons, such as knowing what students should be learning. However,

content should be relatable and engaging, the content should also be taught by giving intellectual

work, individual activity, and collective work. Teachers should know how to teach by providing

information to architect of educative experiences (Wilson & Peterson, 2006, p.2). The material

should not be connected to only specific students, it should be diverse, for example, history

should not only be based on American history, it should involve the history of all the diverse

people that have made this country what it is today. Our country is diverse and has many
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languages, therefore, I want to educate children about different cultures, and I want them to feel

appreciated and accepted in the world.

As a future teacher I want to be able to utilize social justice education as a main tool to

learn and develop myself professionally in order to provide an equitable education. One of the

concepts of social justice in personal reflection, I believe this is an important concept considering

that we are the individuals that are helping students develop their own ideas and molding them

into their own person. The characteristics that effective teachers share should be based on this

concept, for example, accepting that teaching is privilege that we sometimes hold blindly. Not

being able to self-reflect “locks all of us, no matter what our social identities” (Hackman, 2005,

p.5) are.
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References

Brian, M. (2015). Why I dropped everything and started teaching Kendrick Lamar’s new album.

http://bemoons.wordpress.com

Heather, W. H. (2005). Five essential components for social justice education. Equity &

excellence in education, 38, 103-109.

Sam, I. (2003). The kids were on fire. United States of America: Keystone Typesetting, Inc.

Suzanne M.W. Penelope L. P. (2006). Theories of learning and teaching what do they mean for

educators? Washington D.C: National Education Association.