Introducing... me.
When I was a child my parents asked me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In which I replied “A human being”. It was a big laugh at the time, but looking back at it nearly thirty years later, I realize there was something quite profound about that statement. What is a human being after all? In this introduction to ‘Me’ I hope to touch on that question.
The most basic description of a human comes from the dictionary: A human being is any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage. So, a human being in my own terms, is a member of a family who possesses knowledge and has an ability to communicate.
I believe being a member of a family carries a great deal of responsibility. A family member should have a great deal of empathy for other’s in their family. They should treat their family with respect and dignity. They should strive to care for those in need and raise new family members with a sense of morality and values. They should understand and appreciate each family member as an individual with their own ideas and cultural beliefs. They should never show bias, favoritism, or prejudice towards particular members or deny them opportunities to shine. They should have a great deal of patience when dealing with challenges with others. A human being, in my opinion, holds these values and many more towards every other man, woman, and child. I believe I possess these traits and have dedicated my life to demonstrate them.
Possessing knowledge requires learning. To learn, a human being needs to have experiences. The most obvious of these experiences is school. My most recent school achievement is graduating from Illinois State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Art Education and a Bachelor’s of Art in Painting. Other life experiences can be just as valuable as formal education. As a U.S. Navy veteran I had a four year learning experience that was incredibly valuable. During my time in the Navy I had the chance to work with an extremely diverse group of peers. I also had the opportunity to completely immerse myself into Japanese culture, living in Japan for nearly two years. I have an insatiable desire to experience new cultures, traditions, communities, regions, people, and ideas. I believe this desire will help me to continue learning and growing into a whole human being.
The ability to communicate may be one of the greatest and most important assets a human being possesses. In order to be a family member or to learn, we must be able to communicate and express ideas. Whether this is through verbal, written, body, visual, or technological language it is vital to understand how to communicate. All human beings use these languages to communicate with others. The greater our abilities to communicate with these languages are the greater our abilities to learn, teach, and grow are. I have always been a visual person and have used visual art to learn about myself as an individual, understand the world around me, and to express ideas to change it for the better. I believe that the reason I have had great success in all my endeavors and relationships, personal and professional, is because of my ability to communicate.
Strangely enough, the things that make a human being are also the traits that create great teachers. Perhaps it is my yearning to be the best human being I can be that has made me a great teacher. It is my goal now to teach others how to be human beings. I wish for everyone to have the ability to shape the world around them and become self actualized in the process. By being a great family member, learner, and communicator I believe that I will be successful.
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching, in my opinion, means giving students the educational and social tools to shape and better the world, not to simply “exist” in it. My process for teaching involves using problem posing techniques to: teach course specific content, develop social skills, strengthen general knowledge, and inter-relate course material. At first glance, one may define my teaching philosophy as progressive post-modernistic.
As an educator I utilize many different techniques and methods along with problem posing to nurture the learning process. First, I motivate students by presenting them with issues, situations, and information that they can relate to themselves and the world around them. This makes the learning personal and therefore much more meaningful. I favor the problem solving approach because it constantly challenges students from every level of the learning curve to achieve as much as they possibly can. I use multiple resources, technology, and techniques to aid in every student's learning. This differentiation addresses the diversity of multiple intelligences my students will possess. I also believe parental involvement is vital to the success of students. To get parents involved I have my students work on projects that include community involvement.
I believe learning is not simply memorization of information. It is gaining the ability to process, analyze, and develop that information. This is an example of that opinion using a basic lesson on color theory: I could simply display the color wheel and define the primary and secondary colors. I could then lecture them on what the mixing of each color will do. I would then ask them to repeat this information through an assignment or test to see if they remembered the information. The other method, which I practice, would involve a brief discussion about primary colors and mixing. I would then allow the students to become immersed and directly involved with mixing and experimenting with the various colors, asking them to note their discoveries. Later we would take time to reflect and discuss together what was discovered. Both styles may succeed in the student memorizing the basic content, however, the latter would gain a true and personal understanding of the material. All along, they will also be developing their ability to problem solve, communicate, and organize.
The goals for my students are directly related to my teaching process. I plan for my students to have a strong understanding of the course specific content. I expect my students to develop a working knowledge of communicating with others and carrying true dialogue amongst themselves and their teachers. My students should strengthen their general knowledge during the course due to class discussions and individual research. My students will walk away from my class with a true appreciation and understanding of the relationships between the varying topics and courses in school.
Execution of my philosophy consists of four steps.
The first step is the introduction of the content. It consists of presenting enough information to direct the students into the next process, pre-assessment can be used to decide what specifically to present.
The next step is to allow the students to immerse themselves in the topic. This is done through experimentation and practice of the concepts learned in the introduction.
The third stage involves the students and I to reflect together on the information and discoveries they made. I believe it is vital in this stage to have true dialogue with my students and to respect them as intelligent individuals.
The fourth stage will be to assess my students on their understanding of the lesson. They should be able to recall particular concepts, techniques, and information.
I don't believe my teaching philosophy fits into any singular philosophical definition. I understand that problem posing is generally considered to be part of progressive or post-modern educational philosophies. However, I believe problem posing is merely the best tool that can be used to teach the major points of any educational philosophy. I feel my teaching goals address the core values of perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and post modernism.
Major influences: John Dewey, Paulo Freire
As an educator I utilize many different techniques and methods along with problem posing to nurture the learning process. First, I motivate students by presenting them with issues, situations, and information that they can relate to themselves and the world around them. This makes the learning personal and therefore much more meaningful. I favor the problem solving approach because it constantly challenges students from every level of the learning curve to achieve as much as they possibly can. I use multiple resources, technology, and techniques to aid in every student's learning. This differentiation addresses the diversity of multiple intelligences my students will possess. I also believe parental involvement is vital to the success of students. To get parents involved I have my students work on projects that include community involvement.
I believe learning is not simply memorization of information. It is gaining the ability to process, analyze, and develop that information. This is an example of that opinion using a basic lesson on color theory: I could simply display the color wheel and define the primary and secondary colors. I could then lecture them on what the mixing of each color will do. I would then ask them to repeat this information through an assignment or test to see if they remembered the information. The other method, which I practice, would involve a brief discussion about primary colors and mixing. I would then allow the students to become immersed and directly involved with mixing and experimenting with the various colors, asking them to note their discoveries. Later we would take time to reflect and discuss together what was discovered. Both styles may succeed in the student memorizing the basic content, however, the latter would gain a true and personal understanding of the material. All along, they will also be developing their ability to problem solve, communicate, and organize.
The goals for my students are directly related to my teaching process. I plan for my students to have a strong understanding of the course specific content. I expect my students to develop a working knowledge of communicating with others and carrying true dialogue amongst themselves and their teachers. My students should strengthen their general knowledge during the course due to class discussions and individual research. My students will walk away from my class with a true appreciation and understanding of the relationships between the varying topics and courses in school.
Execution of my philosophy consists of four steps.
The first step is the introduction of the content. It consists of presenting enough information to direct the students into the next process, pre-assessment can be used to decide what specifically to present.
The next step is to allow the students to immerse themselves in the topic. This is done through experimentation and practice of the concepts learned in the introduction.
The third stage involves the students and I to reflect together on the information and discoveries they made. I believe it is vital in this stage to have true dialogue with my students and to respect them as intelligent individuals.
The fourth stage will be to assess my students on their understanding of the lesson. They should be able to recall particular concepts, techniques, and information.
I don't believe my teaching philosophy fits into any singular philosophical definition. I understand that problem posing is generally considered to be part of progressive or post-modern educational philosophies. However, I believe problem posing is merely the best tool that can be used to teach the major points of any educational philosophy. I feel my teaching goals address the core values of perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and post modernism.
Major influences: John Dewey, Paulo Freire