Chapter 7: Thinking About Teaching and Learning

Chapter 7 on thinking about teaching and learning in the text Joy of Teaching, has given me a lot of insight on my philosophy. I have learned that there not only one way to learn or teach, teacher should be involved in everyday discussions and constantly thinking of new and creative ideas. Some things I would include in my second philosophy paper that I got from reading would be:

1) Tyler's basic priciples of curriculum and instruction that was published in 1949. He states, that these serve as a framework for selecting appropriate strategies to use to connect the learner and the content. In order to teach properly and in care of the students so that they understand fully you must

• Define appropriate learnign objectives
• Establish useful learning experiences
• Organize learing experiences to have a maximum cumulative effect
• Evaluate the curriculum and revise those aspects that do not prove to be effective

In later years Hilda Taba revised these structural rules and they are still used in the classroom to this day.

2) I believe the practice of existentialism is important. Existentialism is a school of philosophy that stresses the free will of others. I want my students to know that it is OK to be different. Those who are rebels don't back down and are not afraid to change the world (like in Jen's quote from the day of quotes). Being unique makes you who you are. Why would anyone want to conform?

3) I really liked reading about Breakfast with Jeremy. This shows that teachers really do care about the best interest of their students. Rick Smith, the 5th grade teacher made an everlasting impact on Jeremy's life. He taught him the importance of being on time. One of my teachers took time of his schedule to help me learn how to cook a nice meal for my mother's birthday when I was in 8th grade. My mom and I lived together and it was the first full year she and my dad had been separated. I wanted to do something special, but didn't know how to cook and didn't have a lot of money. So everyday after school, Mr. Boucher would teach me how to do something and by the end of the week I knew how to make the perfect meal. My mom was so surprised and from his extra help, I learned how to cook and will take those skills into my adult years. Teachers need to be more than just a teacher, they need to be a friend. I hope to bring Mr. Boucher and Rick Smith's character traits into my teaching experience and be a great friend and provider of knowledge.