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Learning Together

Nicole Riesterer

Chandler-Gilbert Community College

Dr. Joni Burris

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What do you want to be when you grow up? When I was younger, I was asked this

question countless times. My answer was almost always, a teacher. It felt like a part of every

introduction. From Kindergarten through high school and even today in my college classes, I am

asked, What is your major? You can learn a lot about a person from what job they want to

have. The kids who want to be doctors often love science and get all around good grades in

school. Those who want to be engineers usually excel in math and are interested in how things

work. The future authors typically get As in English and are fantastic storytellers. As a future

teacher, I believe that each student is unique and should be taught as such.

My teaching philosophy stems from John Deweys progressivism. John Dewey was a

respected professor at the University of Chicago and Columbia University in New York, from the

late 1800s to the early 1900s. He was an active participant in a variety of political causes and a

large contributor to several magazines and journals, where he connected social action in

democracy with educational principles. Dewey believed that curriculum should not be chosen for

the students. He was one of the first educators to give his students an opportunity to be active

participants in their own learning. At the time, Essentialism was the main philosophy used in

classrooms. Many teachers focused solely on the key elements of education, such as math and

history. Teachers were the central figures of the classroom (Koch, 2016).

Dewey noticed that his students learned best by doing and that their interests should be

taken into account when preparing curriculum and classroom activities. He contradicted the

strict, top-down, authoritarian model of education that had thrived from colonial times into the

nineteenth century (Koch, 2016, p. 42) Dewey thought that schools should help children learn

realistic skills that would help them be successful in the future. He saw the importance of

working cooperatively with others and made that apparent by allowing his students to participate
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in decisions that affected their education. He made it a priority to build on each students

strengths, talents, and what they desired to learn. Deweys philosophy influenced the educational

system of the United States in countless ways (Koch, 2016). As a result of the spread of

progressivism, students finally had a say in their education. I believe that is how learning should

work and that is the idea I will utilize in my classroom.

I think it is important to adjust the curriculum to fit the students needs instead of forcing

the students to learn the way I or anyone else thinks they should. I believe that students should be

encouraged at an early age to explore the topics that particularly interest them. I see being a

teacher as an opportunity to introduce kids to subjects and opportunities they would not

otherwise get to experience. I have also noticed that if a student is passionate about a subject,

then they will be more receptive to learning. By giving the students some power over their

learning, we are letting them know that their opinion matters and they are not just another body

in a desk.

Students should be given the opportunity to explore a variety of curriculum and teaching

methods. As a result, they will be able to answer the question, What do you want to be when

you grow up? with confidence. As adults, my students will never have to wonder if there is a

job they would be better at because they were discovered at a young age what they are truly

passionate about. Also, the classroom environment should never have rigid boundaries that

would prevent students from discovering their own unique interests and strengths. In a

classroom, students should have the opportunity to learn about themselves and the world they

will be a part of some day and Progressivism is the philosophy that allows this to occur. I look

forward to continue developing my own teaching philosophy for my future classroom.

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References

Koch, J. (2016). TEACH. 3rd Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

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