Philosophy of Teaching Eric Michals

All my life I have always cared about others and tried to create a positive impact. Becoming a teacher is

the ultimate opportunity to help accomplish this goal everyday. Teachers are what shape our youth and in

theory the future and becoming an educator is a way I can help change the world in a positive way.

In order for me to make the impact I aspire to be a teacher that students remember, as well as teach

lessons that make students fall in love with learning. I won’t be an instructor that strictly bases all of his lessons

off of a test because that is no way a classroom should function. Students shouldn’t be forced to swallow loads

of content in order for them to regurgitate it on a test, only to forget everything in a matter of weeks.As a

teacher I want to create an environment where students want to learn more and when they are presented with

new material they get excited. I want to create hands-on, interesting lesson plans that students will remember

and connect with when they learn a higher level concept of the material. My seventh grade science teacher,

Mrs. Powers, had us memorize a rap about the cell and its organelles; this rap helped me in AP Biology five

years later. I want to base my lessons off of her teaching style because she always kept class interesting and I

often credit my intelligence, as well as passion for biology to her.

Every class should be different because routines get boring very fast. Imagine a student doing the

same thing everyday: warm-up, assignment, partner work, and assignment. That student will lose their zest for

learning very fast compared to a student who walks into class everyday not knowing what crazy thing they will

do next. Overall, I want to strive to become an educator that brings fun back into the classroom instead of

memorization and testing.

Relationships within the classroom are my number one priority because students learn better from a

teacher they have a relationship with. I once had a teacher that all I knew was her last name. I didn’t know

anything else about her besides her classroom number. I never learned much from her class because since it

seemed like she didn’t care about me I never cared about her class. On the other hand, I also have had

teachers that I can talk to about anything with and I personally look forward to their class. This helps me

engage in their lessons more and most importantly I enjoy being in class. That is what I think teaching is all

about; forming connections. I want to be the person in the building a student can talk to on a bad day.
Teachers sometimes don’t know what their students will go home to or even if they have a home, but I want to

create a classroom that feels like a family.

School shouldn’t be associated with boredom and dreadfulness, so I intend to change those standards.

I dream of a world where students would give anything to go to school. Education should be based on three

things: connections, love for learning, as well as intrigue, and without these things what is the point of learning.