When we read the chapter on teaching styles, I was struck by the fact that I am outside of the norm. A passage in the book says that typically one’s political style will be very similar to the style of teaching that best suits him or her. I found that this was not true for me. I am very liberal in matters of politics, but find myself leaning towards a very conservative teaching style. In fact when we took the survey on teaching styles in class, I scored much higher on Essentialism than any other style. It is very interesting to me that my values in teaching and outside of teaching can vary so dramatically.

I have run into a few problems in my field experience with my personal philosophy of education. It seems to me that most teachers at my school are very liber

I intend to make this one of my goals as a teacher. I want all parents to take an active roll in the educational process. I know that this is probably not realistic, but I hope that by at least trying I can make a small difference. I hope to be able to contact all the parents of my students and make the link that will encourage participation of both the parents and children.

One major problem that I have seen with the kids and their desire to learn in this school is a serious lack of motivation. Of course, each class has two or three students that do very well, and seem to want to learn. Unfortunately, though, the vast majority of the students do not have the inclination to turn in any assignments, much less do them to the best of their abilities. In discussion with the other students at metro, you, and staff members at Baker, I have come to a disconcerting conclusion. A large contributing factor to the lack of motivation here is the fact that most parents have little or no involvement with their children’s schooling (at least at Baker). It seems to me that if there was a way to get all parents actively involved in their children’s academic life then the students would do much better.

One very positive experience that I had in my field experience is the first class I got to lead. When my teacher suggested that she step out to take care of something, and I get the class started, I had an immediate rush of anxiety. Many questions ran through my head such as: what if I fail, will they listen to me, how do I

Some topics in this essay:
, teaching styles, class started, field experience, vary dramatically, lack motivation,