PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING Robert Lamb 2013

Introduction

Upon entering high school, I was blissfully oblivious to how the next four years of education would shape the rest of my life. My concerns were limited and my expectations were high. Primarily I expected to make a lot of friends and have a lot of fun, but I also expected to do well in my classes. Middle school was easy enough, so as I got closer and closer to reaching adulthood I expected my classes to prepare me for the exciting life in the "real world". I always looked to the future, often times skimming over the present. Instead of worrying over each individual assignment, I thought about the overall content of what I was learning and how I might use it in the real world. I expected my teachers to relate class material not only to the life of the world of my awkward fourteen-year-old self, but also to the life of my rich, successful, future self. Some might say my expectations were a little too high. Unfortunately not every teacher was able to make the connections that kept me engaged in the work I was studying. When my parents received my first report card, they were shocked. I had gotten As in every class except one. In biology, I had received a D. When asked why I had performed so poorly, I simply responded with, It doesnt even matter. No one uses biology in the real world anyway. My parents were quite distraught and insisted on setting up a parent-teacher conference. They soon found out that I had failed almost every single test and quiz taken thus far in the course. The only method of assessment was given in the form of Scantron multiple choice.

My teacher would present the information to the class and then test us on it two weeks later without any attempt to connect the material to our lives. I had consistently done badly in biology because my teacher had failed to make it relevant to my life as a freshman in high school and to my future. I was extremely frustrated with the course, and would frequently be found complaining about its irrelevancy to me and my future. At fourteen years old, I had no idea what career path I would choose, but I was quite convinced it would not involve biology. My teacher was not able to view his craft through the teenage lens and because of this oversight his students were not able to meet their potential.

The Teachers Role in the Classroom Many teachers today seem to think that their only job is to present information to the class and then to test them on it two weeks later. It sounds easy enough, but is it really that simple? These teachers give the impression that their entire career could be condensed to resemble the label on the back of a shampoo bottle: teach, test, and repeat. Paulo Freire describes this passive approach to education as the banking model. This model was used in classrooms for generations before more modern complex understandings of how students learn and retain information. Unfortunately many unavailing teachers still use this model today. "Banking" places the teacher at the center of students' education often leaving students with questions, unrealistic perceptions of reality, and animosity towards their studies. Communication does not run freely in this hegemonic classroom as most of it is "planned and prescribed" beforehand (Wink 8). When describing this model, Freire (109) states,
The humanist revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize. From the outset, her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a 2

profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them. The banking concept does not admit to such partnership -- and necessarily so. To resolve the teacher-student contradiction, to exchange the role of depositor, prescriber, domesticator, for the role of student among students would be to undermine the power of oppression and serve the cause of liberation.

In order for students to grow, education needs to be much more than just this "banking" model. According to Dewey (2008), Since learning is something that the pupil has to do himself and for himself, the initiative lies with the learner. The teacher is a guide and director; he steers the boat but the energy that propels it must come from those who are learning. Students dont need teachers who play the role of a textbook by just spitting out facts; we have had inanimate objects doing that for centuries. The millennial learners of today have access to an entire world of information unprecedented in previous generations. Bernice McCarthy (6) cites the findings of Pew Research saying, [The Millenials] are on track to become the most educated generation in American history." Wink (2005) strongly encourages teachers to continuously adapt teaching beliefs and strategies to meet the needs of their students. While it is important for educators to master their craft, they must also take on other responsibilities as well. Teachers must also be able to shape and guide their students. Commenting on the theories of John Dewey, Simpson (2005) notes that the students today are living in a global society and as teachers it is our responsibility to guide them into said society. Student cannot only be aware of their own world, but also the world of their peers, their community, their nation, and the entire globe. As teachers we should open doors to a broader and deeper perspective on teaching and learning in the classroom and the community.

Make it Relevant: Present and Future. Just as there are no two snowflakes that are the same size and shape, there are no two students with the same experiences. These experiences shape their opinions and goals for the future. As teachers we should make material relevant to students, by creating connections to both of the students' worlds: the present and future. Simpson (20), Jackson, and Aycock write that our students have had experiences that have helped make them beautifully different, more insightful, reflective, and whole." Education is a means of preparing students for their future in the "real world," so as educators we need to consider them as not only the cherubs of the present, but also the leaders of tomorrow. Every student is an individual and should be treated as such. Their lives are all different and their experiences are unique and will lead them on separate paths. As teachers we should be able to utilize our students' perspective in order to facilitate classroom growth. Vygotsky (251) encourages that Pedagogy must be oriented not to the yesterday, but to the tomorrow of the child's development." I believe that as educators we should consider both the today and the tomorrow of the students' development. By making it relevant to the students' present and future, they will be able to make connections between their experiences now, the course material, and their life in the "real world". Wink (67) relates this idea to critical pedagogy, which "...encourages us to find the magic of personal discovery based on our own lived experiences." Critical Pedagogy began as a system of teaching literacy to lower class citizens in Brazil in the 1960's. Paulo Freire began this transformative model to teach "oppressed" adults how to read Portuguese. This transformative teaching model builds on the students own life experiences and connects them to ideas taught in the classroom. A transformative model places students at the center of the learning process, encouraging students and their teachers to connect classroom

material to "real world" life events. Students are active participants in their education, communicating their questions and ideas freely with both their teacher and each other (Gibson 2013). Abrahams (2) defines Freire's practice as,
a postmodern teaching model that views teaching and learning as a conversation among teachers and their students. ...it advocates a shift in the power structure in classrooms by acknowledging that students come to the class with information gleaned from their own life experiences. The goal of Critical Pedagogy is to use that knowledge as a bridge to new learning. This results in a change of perception for both the students and their teacher. Critical pedagogues claim that when students and their teachers know that they know, the phenomenon of conscientization has taken place. After this moment of revelation, one may claim that learning has occurred.

Conclusion My ninth grade biology teacher was not able to view his craft through his students' perspective and because of this oversight we were not able to meet our potential in the course. Now, as I further my studies in the field of education, I am able to consider my experiences in high school and learn from them. I believe that as educators we should consider both the today and the tomorrow of the student's development. A second-rate teacher will simply present information to his students, a good teacher attempts to help his students understand the material, while a great teacher uses student perspective to make course content relevant to the present and future of the students' lives.

References Abrahams, F. (2005). The Application of Critical Pedagogy to Music Teaching and Learning. Visions of Research in Music Education, 6. Retrieved from http://www.rider.edu/~vrme Dewey, J. (2008). The later works of John Dewey, 1925-1953 (J. A. Boydston & B. A. Walsh, Eds., Vol. 8). Collected works of John Dewey. Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. Freire, P. (1970, 2000). In M. B. Ramos (Trans.), Pedagogy of the oppressed (chapter 2). New York, NY: Continuum Books. Gibson, R. (2013). Paulo Freire and Revolutionary Pedagogy For Social Justice. richgibson.com. Retrieved September, 2013 from http://richgibson.com/freirecriticaledu.htm. McCarthy, B. (2012). The learning cycle, the 21st century and millennial learners. Wauconda, IL: About Learning, Inc. Simpson, D. J., Jackson, M. J. B., & Aycock, J. C. (2005). John Dewey and the art of teaching: Toward reflective and imaginative practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Vygotsky, L. (1993). The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky, Vol. 2: 77 fundamentals of defectology (R.Rieber & A. Carton, Eds., J. Knox & Stevens, Trans.). New York: Plenum. Wink, J. (2005). Critical pedagogy: Notes from the real world (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Educaton, Inc.