How I Developed My Teaching Philosophy
Learning from Labor
Learning is an action that is done well beyond the classroom. While we are subjected to school for a designated period of time, we are actually students everyday in life. I have found that life is the greatest teacher often offering lessons in resilience, compassion, and understanding. Every experience I have had in work or school, whether joyful or challenging, is a chapter in my personal curriculum.
Through participating in several events and engaging with other people, I have had this incredible opportunity to take my lessons from the classroom and apply them to life. Along with extensive work experience, I have grown to understand the importance of people skills and it’s importance for the 21st century classroom. Mainly, the key to connecting to people (and students) is through conveying these three traits: effective communication skills, passionate action, and cohesive collaboration. Thankfully, I was able to learn these skills through my work experience and apply it into the classroom. Furthermore, these traits have become the key pillars of my teaching philosophy.
Throughout each role I served, the key element was maintaining human connection in every shift so that the goals could be achieved and lessons could be learned as to increase my general understanding of various life lessons.
Cohesive Collaboration
Throughout my undergraduate and graduate career at Rutgers University-Camden, I have had the exciting opportunity to work within the universities athletic department. By working closely with other staff members, coaches, and athletes, it often required effective communication and teamwork skills. Additionally, I had the opportunity to set-up events and assist with logistics. Often, this required strong organizational skills and the ability to work together towards the common goal of hosting an energetic event. Overall, this experience enhanced my ability to collaborate effectively and work cohesively as part of a team. However, my tasks within the department often included an array of tasks aside from operations. Mainly, they often tasked me with doing other responsibilities such as; running facility rentals, assisting with photography needs, and my favorite, being the mascot.
Working with Rutgers University-Camden athletics department provided me with numerous opportunities to collaborate with various individuals and teams, such as coaches, athletes, administrative staff, and other departments within the university. Through this experience, I had the privilege of making numerous connections and learning an array of skills.
How I can connect this to the classroom:
Teamwork: In a sports environment, teamwork is crucial. I had to collaborate with colleagues to plan and execute events, manage schedules, and support athletes. This required effective communication, cooperation, and the ability to work towards common objectives.
Communication Skills: Working in athletics involved constant communication with athletes, coaches, and staff. Clear and concise communication is essential in ensuring everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. I will likely hone on this ability to convey information effectively to students and when listening attentively to others.
Problem-Solving: Sports events and activities often present unexpected challenges. My role at Rutgers University-Camden athletics required me to think quickly on your feet, adapt to changing situations, and collaborate with others to find solutions.
Leadership and Followership: Depending on my role, I had opportunities to lead projects or initiatives, and was a part of a team led by others. Both scenarios contributed to my understanding of effective leadership and followership within a team dynamic.
Building Relationships: Working in athletics allowed me to build strong relationships with colleagues and athletes. These relationships are essential for effective collaboration and creating a cohesive team environment.
How I can connect this to the classroom:
Event Planning Skills: Just as hosting a party involves planning and organization, classroom activities and projects also require careful planning to ensure they run smoothly. Students can learn valuable event planning skills by organizing classroom events such as holiday parties or fundraisers.
Collaboration and Teamwork: Hosting a party often involves working with others to delegate tasks, set up decorations, and coordinate activities. Similarly, collaborative projects in the classroom teach students how to work together effectively towards a common goal.
Communication Skills: Effective communication is essential when hosting a party to convey instructions, coordinate with vendors, and interact with guests. Likewise, communication skills are vital in the classroom for expressing ideas, asking questions, and collaborating with peers.
Problem-Solving Abilities: Hosting a party requires quick thinking and problem-solving to address unexpected issues or challenges. Similarly, students develop problem-solving skills in the classroom when tackling complex problems or adapting to changing circumstances.
Social and Emotional Learning: Hosting a party has provided opportunities for me to practice social and emotional skills such as empathy, teamwork, and leadership. These skills are also fostered in the classroom through group discussions, collaborative projects, and peer interactions.
Passionate Action
Hosting birthday parties at Sky Zone helped build my passion for working with others in several ways. Firstly, interacting with customers and ensuring they have a memorable experience is a fulfilling task that involves fostering a passion for connecting with and helping others. Working with a team to organize and host parties can be rewarding, instilling a sense of camaraderie and passion for teamwork. Planning and executing parties requires creativity and innovation, inspiring a passion for coming up with new ideas and solutions. Also, dealing with unexpected challenges during parties has the ability to enhance my problem-solving skills and builds my passion for tackling new problems collaboratively. Lastly, building relationships with guests and colleagues through hosting parties can create a sense of community and a passion for building meaningful connections with others.
By hosting hundreds parties at Sky Zone, I have developed connectivity skills and a passion for working with other people by using my passionate action. The passionate action within me is filled with resilience which drives me to do better everyday. Regardless if the party had 10 people or 112 or if the birthday guest was turning 1 or 37, the driving factor to creating these memorable moments was the want to help as many people as possible. Through this job teaching me how to develop passionate action, I have grown my passion for helping others and understanding how to connect with strangers.
Effective Communication Skills
Being a manager for a doctor's office significantly contributes to the development of my effective communication skills. In this role, I have to likely interact with a diverse range of individuals, including doctors, patients, and external vendors. This experience requires me to communicate clearly and effectively to ensure that everyone understands the situation and tasks. Additionally, I would have to convey complex medical information in a way that was easy for patients to understand, which demonstrates my ability to adapt my communication style to different audiences.
Managing the doctors office I work in often involves handling various situations that requires strong communication skills, such as addressing patient concerns. I have to listen actively, empathize with others, and communicate diplomatically to find solutions and maintain a positive working environment. Overall, my experience as an office manager in a doctor's office has provided me with valuable opportunities to develop and refine my communication skills, which is essential in many other professional settings, including the classroom.
How I can connect this to the classroom:
Organizational Skills: Managing the office likely involved coordinating schedules, appointments, and administrative tasks. These organizational skills are valuable in the classroom for managing lesson plans, grading, and student records.
Communication Skills: As an office manager, you would have communicated with doctors, staff, patients, and vendors. This experience can help you effectively communicate with students, parents, and colleagues in the classroom.
Problem-Solving Abilities: Managing a doctor's office may have involved resolving conflicts, addressing patient concerns, and finding solutions to operational challenges. These problem-solving skills are beneficial in managing classroom dynamics and addressing student needs.
Attention to Detail: In a medical setting, attention to detail is crucial for maintaining accurate records and ensuring patient safety. This attention to detail can also be applied to grading assignments, tracking student progress, and organizing classroom materials.
Customer Service Skills: Interacting with patients in a doctor's office would have required strong customer service skills. These skills can help you build positive relationships with students, parents, and colleagues in the classroom.
Why Does All This Matter?
My teaching philosophy incorporates collaboration skills, communication skills, and passionate action to create an effective and inspiring learning environment. Collaboration skills enables me to work effectively with colleagues, students, and staff members to develop innovative teaching strategies and curriculum for future students. Communication skills are crucial for conveying ideas clearly, engaging students in meaningful discussions, and fostering a positive classroom atmosphere. Passionate action involves demonstrating enthusiasm for the subject matter, which can inspire students to be more engaged and motivated in their learning. By integrating these elements into my teaching philosophy, I can create a dynamic and supportive learning environment that encourages students to achieve their academic goals and fosters a lifelong love of learning. However, these skills were all developed through the patience of others and guidance of fellow team members. For me, integrating collaboration, communication, and passionate action into my teaching philosophy has the potential to be beneficial. Yet it’s these skills that are essential for preparing students to succeed in a complex and interconnected world.
Interesting Aspects Of My Work Experience:
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Regardless of what I do, there has been multiple aspects of my work that have brought me true joy. At Rutgers, I had the pleasure of watching our women’s volleyball team win in the fifth match by one point against Montclair State University during the 2022 season and watching our baseball team win by one run against Rowan University in the 2023 season (Rowan ended up being ranked 1st in our conference that year). At Sky Zone, I always enjoyed watching the birthday child check-in for their party, they often had excitement and joy glowing on their face. While managing the doctors office, hearing the stories that they patients would tell me about their lives and weekends often brought energy to my day.
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Challenges was often something I interacted with everyday at work. While the size of the challenge often differed depending on the situation, it was vital that I stayed calm and clear during these moments. Whether that was escorting our referees out of a close game where fans and teams were out of control or having to blow up the letters H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y within 10 minutes, or deciphering a doctors handwriting, the key solution was collaboration. Through assistance of other people, we were often able to handle the situation smoothly and create a positive outcome for rest of the shift. However, if I didn’t have the resource of others, I would do the best I can and later explain to those involved in a calm way why the outcome was either unexpected or done differently.
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The power and importance of passion. Passion is important because it gives life meaning and purpose, driving us to pursue our dreams and goals with enthusiasm and determination. It fuels our happiness by allowing us to engage in activities that resonate with our values and interests, leading to a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Passion energizes us, helping us overcome obstacles and persevere in the face of challenges, ultimately contributing to a more meaningful and joyful life. When working at Rutgers, I had the pleasure of meeting a doctoral student from the New Brunswick campus who did an internship with our department that focused on athletic performance and mental health help with our student-athletes. While I wasn’t a student-athlete, we had several conversations on passion and how it delivers joy to our lives. Often, he reminded me that when we find joy in our work, it transcends the daily grind and becomes a driving force that propels us forward. He allowed me to understand that it is the joy of knowing that our efforts have meaning and impact, that contributes to something greater than ourselves. Overall, I have come to realize passion in our work transforms from a mere obligation into a source of inspiration, creativity, and purpose, enriching both our professional and personal lives.
Recommendations:
Very grateful and thankful to have received these recommendations from past professors and colleagues
Sample Lesson Plans & Evaluations:
Understanding the Purpose of Mood and How to Find Mood in their Outside Reading Novels & Nonfictional Text
In this lesson, students analyzed and comprehended the meaning and purpose of mood through learning systems that could be applied to their outside reading books and nonfictional texts. They engaged in activities to identify mood in text, learned the M.O.O.D. acronym, and applied their knowledge to analyze the mood in Martin Luther King's "I Dreamed A Dream" and their outside reading books.
Developing Our Public Speaking Skills for Future Presentations and Assessments
In this lesson, students developed their public speaking skills by participating in activities to distinguish between strong and weak presenter skills. They engaged in discussions, learned about the fundamentals of public speaking, practiced breathing techniques, and reflected on their experiences with public speaking.
Understanding Conflict and it’s Significance in Our Outside Reading Book
In this lesson, students participated in activities to identify and analyze conflicts in literature, including playing a game to discuss real-world scenarios, listening to a story to identify conflict, and engaging in collaborative discussions to deepen their understanding. They used these skills to analyze conflicts in their outside reading books and a children's book, applying their knowledge to different texts.
Building Critical Literary Skills Through Exploring Potential Options for Book Club
In this lesson, students engaged in a range of activities to explore potential book club books, discuss the importance of reading, and learn how to preview a book effectively using the F.A.C.T. method (font, author, content, and title). They also reviewed the purpose of resiliency and book clubs, built upon on their literary knowledge and how it’s essential for high school.
