Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

Teaching cannot come about until one has learned how to teach, but what truly is a teacher? I have found that teaching goes further than demonstrating how to “do things” and is more about showing how to “live things.” In life a person continuously learns and grows and the same goes for a teacher; they are constantly shaping and reshaping their ideologies. From these ideologies a prospective teacher forms a philosophy of teaching that will guide them through the years of paper grading and parent teacher conferences to come. My personal philosophy of teaching consists of many techniques that I hope will stay true as my time as a teacher lengthens.
Starting with the basics is a good way to work up to the more complex items, and at the beginning of every school year a teacher starts with her classroom. A classroom, in my opinion, should be an inviting place for both students and parents so that all who enter feel welcomed and comfortable. I would love to see my bulletin boards filled with the work of my students as the year goes by and encouraging quotes and pictures to fill the walls. I have been in classrooms that seemed overcrowded and unorganized and I would like to avoid this by cleaning out unnecessary clutter every month. In my pursuit of being a music teacher I have come to find that technology can be very helpful in the learning and retention of musical information and to have this technology in my classroom would open up new pathways to learning. At Vandergriff Elementary, Mrs. Hagers regularly uses her Ipad as a source for classroom learning in the form of games and involvement. The students seem to be more attentive when an item they are excited about is used as a medium to learn and they all comply and even volunteer to be a part of the learning process.
Along with this ideal classroom comes an ideal environment and as a teacher I hope to provide aid so that my students may perform to the best of their ability. To support this cognitive development in