Education is a very important part of a student’s life, and there are many reasons why children should go to school to learn.  In order to survive in this world, you must have basic skills such as reading, writing, and problem solving.  Without these and other skills it is hard to make it in the world today.  A second important part of education is the development of a child’s social skills.  They must be socially developed to make the best out of their school experiences and to have confidence in their abilities.  As children, they learn quickly at this young age, so it is a good time to start to instill the knowledge and values that will help them throughout their life.  I became a teacher because I love children and this is the job I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  My philosophy of teaching has matured and developed throughout my schooling to be a teacher and it will continue to change as I work in the field.
     I believe in creating a learning environment that is conducive to the children and the teacher.  I will set up my classroom to maximize the children’s learning and my ability to teach them.  I want to include many hands-on activities to help the student’s learn.  As this quote says, hands-on experience is the best for learning.  “I Hear, and I Forget; I See, and I Remember; I Do, and I Understand.”  (Chinese Proverb)
    In high school, I learned about Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence’s Theory.  This theory has stuck with me for a long time.  I believe children learn in different ways.  Lectures and discussions do not work for every child, therefore I plan to use as many different types of teaching as there are types of learners.  I will implement discussions, worksheets, projects, centers, field trips, and anything else that I feel will help my students learn.
    I also want to teach the children to think for themselves.  This is such an important concept for students to learn, develop, and keep throughout their lives.  To help my students begin to think for themselves, I will involve them in the teaching process.  I want them to discover knowledge and learning with my help and not to discover only what I know and want them to learn.  They will become responsible citizens in our classroom community which will help them in making their own decisions and taking responsibility for their actions.
    In my classroom, there will also be huge amounts of love.  Teaching philosophies will change but if the children know you love and care for them their learning will always occur.