Through Learning I Will Teach and Through Teaching I Will Learn: an Educational Philosophy
Teaching is an essential part of the progression of a human’s life. We are born, we grow, we learn, we apply our knowledge, and we pass on this knowledge to others. We do this in the hope that our experience will somehow spare our progeny some of the difficulty that our life was afforded. But, for some, teaching and learning are one in the same. This is a teacher.
Through learning I will teach.
For a person to become a teacher they must first learn. How they themselves learn, and the science of how others learn (and a subject, but isn’t that a little obvious). Teachers in many ways must learn more than the students they teach in order to provide accurate, up to date, real knowledge. This learning does not end with the receipt of a licensure or degree; it is lifelong and essential. Every step a teacher takes in furthering their own knowledge leads to better teaching. Understanding how they learn themselves contributes to more learning for all their students. One thing I believe all teachers can agree on is that we teach students, not subjects. Here is where how others learn comes into play. When many people think of how others learn, they may think tactile, auditory, visual or through Gardner’s proposed 8 intelligences (9 if you count existential). While in many ways this is accurate, how does a student learn when they don’t receive enough sleep, or enough food, or enough love? The haunting answer is that they don’t. Abraham Maslow’s 1943 paper on The Theory of Human Motivation introduces the hierarchy of needs from physiological to self-actualization. Many students never make it to the esteem needs were learning occurs.
Obtained from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Effective teachers must try to fulfill the needs they can in order to reach as many students as possible. Simply, a teacher must know themselves and their students as well as the possibly can while maintaining their proper professionalism.
Through teaching I will learn
Teachers must have a true love of the subject, and a true love of teaching. Good teachers love their subject. Good teachers love teaching. Great teachers love both. A teacher in a way teaches themselves a great deal. However, the act of teaching rooms of students who see things in every possible differing perspective can be a truly eye opening experience. Teachers learn just as much as they teach. I personally love learning in a way it is hard for many to understand. That enthusiasm for learning can be infectious to students, and it is a quality I hope to pass on. This doesn’t just include a love for my subject (science), but music, math, literature, Latin, philosophy. Learning also applies to knowledge of students. The better rapport you develop the more you learn about your pupils and in turn can teach them. Simply, a teacher must learn from their teaching, and use it to inform better teaching.
Teach and learn, learn and teach. This cyclic pattern of learn, grow, apply, teach, learn is something all people go through, but a teacher may go through this several times in one day. A teacher loves teaching. A teacher loves learning. A teacher loves their subject. A teacher loves their students. Above all a teacher is an example to students, parents, other teachers, an all others of professionalism, respect and integrity.
Thank you for reading,
Mr. Evan Merritt
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