Reflective Essay: Professionalism

            Professionalism is the fifth of eight unit standards of Medgar Evers College – MEC Education Department. The department under this standard expects teacher candidates to adopt a reflective practitioner stance toward teaching, learning, and collaboration with parents, colleagues and students that embraces inquiry, reciprocity and critique. The education department’s expectation of me as a teacher trainee is to have different approaches with learning through a reflective stance, one that includes raising questions, applying critical criteria, and re-imagining what has been accomplished. The department also wants me to have belief in social justice, ethical behavior and honesty.

            As evidence for the Professionalism Standard I am submitting an entry long essay about my educational philosophy. It was completed in the fall 2010 in one of my education foundation courses: Introduction to the World of the Learner EDUC 102 – WID1. It was an individual assignment which required me formulate my own beliefs in the following areas: my belief about teaching and learning, my belief about students, my belief about knowledge, my belief about worth knowing and my belief in philosophical areas. My evidence speaks to item: 5.2 of the Professionalism standard which requires that I, Demonstrate openness to learning and growing as a teacher.

             I was asked to create my own educational philosophy ranging from different beliefs I may hold about teaching. This assignment made me think about how I can affect my students after I have invented my own philosophy on teaching. The purpose of this assignment was for me to understand my own educational philosophy that I will incorporate into the classroom once I become a teacher.

            I began this assignment with thoughts bursting out of my head, ideas I never had before were jumping out. I could not wait to get my thoughts down on paper. I had so many different beliefs on teaching, my beliefs on my future students, beliefs about knowledge, what was worth knowing and my own belief in a philosophical area. In class we went over two guidelines that were beneficial for me to come up with my own educational philosophy. Looking at these guidelines helped me structured my educational philosophy in the way I wanted it to come out.  Since we have not concluded the class as yet, the grade I would like to receive is an exemplary grade. I believe this will be the best grade for me because I learned so much about myself through my educational philosophy, a side I did not existed in me.

            As an inspiring teacher I will allow my students to question their own beliefs on me as a teacher, themselves as student, their own worth knowing and their belief on knowledge. After finding out that information I will make a more easily philosophical area they can understand for the elementary school level. This will help them better understand their fellow classmates and teacher. Also this can be an ice breaker for them to open up to their classmates. By doing this exercise they will learn how to appreciate who they are.