Reflection 1

The first day of class was wonderful. It made me think of my philosophy of teaching. Now, my philosophy of teaching is far from being developed; however, I do have some ideas, and beliefs. Opening the class with scripture was a wonderful idea because I love the scriptures, and I love the things the Lord gives on teaching, like in D&C 42:14 as we started with in class. It reflects the importance of teaching and learning to the Lord.

Now, my first idea is that teaching should be an interactive profession. The teacher must interact with the students, and the students should react, and participate as well. The second idea is that the teacher and the students must listen to each other and understand each other. Misunderstanding can blow the point of teaching and learning out of the water; I've seen such things occur in Middle School and High School when I was living in New Jersey where the students lack of understanding would destroy the principles being taught because they were not reaching the students in any way, shape, or form. These ideas would be my foundation for my philosophy of teaching.

I agree with the belief, which was taught in class, that there should be a shared responsibility between the teacher and the students. It is up to them to perform, and to uphold the class. Without such responsibility, the class will collapse on them, and all efforts for learning and teaching will be wasted.

I never knew what the word “teacher” meant from its roots “child-leader” (peda+agogas). In that sense, a teacher is not only a school teacher, but a parent. This makes complete sense because a parent teaches a child. Yet, I'm not sure a parent would teach in the same way as a professor because of the relationship difference. The child is not the son or daughter of the professor, but is the son or daughter of the parent. Therefore, a parent will teach his/her son or daughter differently from the professor. I am rambling now, but I want to link this to my reflection—that as a parent, I will teach with love and respect, whereas as a professor I will teach with love and authority. Now, this may be an incorrect idea for teaching, and the two may meld more than I think. For now, that is what I've seen to work from my experiences. Love is a key factor in both of them. Without love, there is a loss of interest, motivation, and care for the learning and the teaching.

This fully reflects what I currently believe to be my philosophy of teaching and learning.