Philosophy of Education
Philosophy of Education
Becoming a teacher is one of the greatest decisions I have ever had. I love teaching. I adore being in the classroom. I am eager for a new unit or lesson, every time! I have certain beliefs about teaching. When people say everyone can learn, I always think, everyone can sing. I believe, I am more than a teacher of science. I am a teacher of reading, of independent learning, of success building, of global issues and a trusted ‘magic’ person to my students. I am also a student, and I try to remember that every single time I step into the classroom.
Everyone can sing. The first year I was in college, I had an amazingly brilliant, voice professor. He would say, “Everyone can sing!” He told a story of a young man, who could never find the right key to sing. This man sang in front of a large audience that was silent throughout the performance. By the end of the song, there was not a dry eye in the house, because, my wise professor said, his emotion came through the music. Since then, as an educator, I know that doing things differently does not mean doing it wrong!
Every teacher is a teacher of reading. I attended a seminar for Orton-Gillingham training because I have a child with dyslexia. The presenter, Carol, said she didn’t care what anyone else said, “Every teacher is a reading teacher.” I agreed with her statement, but I was only thinking of my daughter. I realized, later, that every teacher is a reading teacher because our goal is to inspire independent learning. To achieve that, reading is essential!
Value. I have 3 main priorities: safety, engagement, and individuality. I want a safe classroom environment for my students and myself. I want to build a trust between the students and me and among the students. I am aware that this is created in time, through projects and collaboration that help build a community in the classroom. Safety and trust is a priority because students will not learn without it.
Since I have been teaching, I have discovered that without ‘something’ nothing will happen. The something is the right engagement. In Japan, I have had 5 preps, but some lessons I have repeated 14 times. Occasionally, I forgot the engagement or the technology would not work out (completely accidental). I noticed a huge discrepancy or gap between the classes that had the engagement and those that did not. Engagement is a priority to my teaching as I believe it is the catalyst for a good lesson.
My third priority is also the reason I am a teacher. I have two children that have had Individual Education Plans (IEP) since kindergarten. I am an advocate in the IEP process. Not all students who need IEP’s have one. Through assessment, I try to individualize student learning. It is a big job, I do not do it perfectly but I try to have all my students work on scaffold assignments that have rubrics (limited-subjective grading). During my student teaching, I sat behind a very bright student. He was asked to write a paragraph for chemistry. I looked over his work. I knew he could write well, I had seen his work. I gave him advice to improve, but he said I know what she will get from these students, trust me, this will get an A. He was right; he got an A. I realized that I want to push students – individually – to go just a step further.
World exposure. I, in fact, teach more than science, reading, and independent learning. We live in a globally-conscience world, I believe we should teach that as well. I teach current events, sometimes science sometimes not. One of my most memorable global lessons was at Del Norte High School. I projected a large picture of a stage with many well dressed men and women next to an empty chair. I asked the students to come up with why the empty chair was significant. It was not the major lesson of the day, just a bell ringer, but I believe it made an impact. The empty chair represented the Chinese Nobel Prize winner who was in a labor camp for the writing he was prized for, while his family was under house arrest so they could not go and pick up the award. The discussion that followed was a great learning experience for me and my students. The students unanimously thought this was a Chinese problem. Through the discussion, the class successfully turned it into a human rights problem. Globally, we should be aware that we have those problems everywhere.
I was once told by a very wise and loving teacher, that all students have a lock. The trick is to find the right key. It may not happen when they are in your classroom. It my not even happen when they are still at your school. It may be years later when that key, that one key you tried, worked. When they come back to tell you years later… She did not mention the feeling, but I imagine it goes something like, euphoria, humility and confirmation that this job – this difficult, easy, wonderful, frustrating job – is for you! I do not teach for that moment, but I will not ignore it when it comes.
Katina Gamleah
Becoming a teacher is one of the greatest decisions I have ever had. I love teaching. I adore being in the classroom. I am eager for a new unit or lesson, every time! I have certain beliefs about teaching. When people say everyone can learn, I always think, everyone can sing. I believe, I am more than a teacher of science. I am a teacher of reading, of independent learning, of success building, of global issues and a trusted ‘magic’ person to my students. I am also a student, and I try to remember that every single time I step into the classroom.
Everyone can sing. The first year I was in college, I had an amazingly brilliant, voice professor. He would say, “Everyone can sing!” He told a story of a young man, who could never find the right key to sing. This man sang in front of a large audience that was silent throughout the performance. By the end of the song, there was not a dry eye in the house, because, my wise professor said, his emotion came through the music. Since then, as an educator, I know that doing things differently does not mean doing it wrong!
Every teacher is a teacher of reading. I attended a seminar for Orton-Gillingham training because I have a child with dyslexia. The presenter, Carol, said she didn’t care what anyone else said, “Every teacher is a reading teacher.” I agreed with her statement, but I was only thinking of my daughter. I realized, later, that every teacher is a reading teacher because our goal is to inspire independent learning. To achieve that, reading is essential!
Value. I have 3 main priorities: safety, engagement, and individuality. I want a safe classroom environment for my students and myself. I want to build a trust between the students and me and among the students. I am aware that this is created in time, through projects and collaboration that help build a community in the classroom. Safety and trust is a priority because students will not learn without it.
Since I have been teaching, I have discovered that without ‘something’ nothing will happen. The something is the right engagement. In Japan, I have had 5 preps, but some lessons I have repeated 14 times. Occasionally, I forgot the engagement or the technology would not work out (completely accidental). I noticed a huge discrepancy or gap between the classes that had the engagement and those that did not. Engagement is a priority to my teaching as I believe it is the catalyst for a good lesson.
My third priority is also the reason I am a teacher. I have two children that have had Individual Education Plans (IEP) since kindergarten. I am an advocate in the IEP process. Not all students who need IEP’s have one. Through assessment, I try to individualize student learning. It is a big job, I do not do it perfectly but I try to have all my students work on scaffold assignments that have rubrics (limited-subjective grading). During my student teaching, I sat behind a very bright student. He was asked to write a paragraph for chemistry. I looked over his work. I knew he could write well, I had seen his work. I gave him advice to improve, but he said I know what she will get from these students, trust me, this will get an A. He was right; he got an A. I realized that I want to push students – individually – to go just a step further.
World exposure. I, in fact, teach more than science, reading, and independent learning. We live in a globally-conscience world, I believe we should teach that as well. I teach current events, sometimes science sometimes not. One of my most memorable global lessons was at Del Norte High School. I projected a large picture of a stage with many well dressed men and women next to an empty chair. I asked the students to come up with why the empty chair was significant. It was not the major lesson of the day, just a bell ringer, but I believe it made an impact. The empty chair represented the Chinese Nobel Prize winner who was in a labor camp for the writing he was prized for, while his family was under house arrest so they could not go and pick up the award. The discussion that followed was a great learning experience for me and my students. The students unanimously thought this was a Chinese problem. Through the discussion, the class successfully turned it into a human rights problem. Globally, we should be aware that we have those problems everywhere.
I was once told by a very wise and loving teacher, that all students have a lock. The trick is to find the right key. It may not happen when they are in your classroom. It my not even happen when they are still at your school. It may be years later when that key, that one key you tried, worked. When they come back to tell you years later… She did not mention the feeling, but I imagine it goes something like, euphoria, humility and confirmation that this job – this difficult, easy, wonderful, frustrating job – is for you! I do not teach for that moment, but I will not ignore it when it comes.
Katina Gamleah
There is a quote from Mulan that also sums up how I feel about education and how I feel everyone can contribute to the common good:
The Emperor of China: A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man [or woman] may be the difference between victory and defeat.
The Emperor of China: A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man [or woman] may be the difference between victory and defeat.
