Teaching Statement

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

My philosophy is based on the belief that education provides individuals with knowledge about the world, builds their character, and paves the way for a rewarding career. It helps us to form opinions, gives tools for understanding the economic world, and helps to interpret events that affect us directly or indirectly. Nations benefit from having an economically literate population because it improves the public's ability to comprehend and evaluate critical issues. This understanding is especially important in democracies that rely on the active support and involvement of its citizens.

I decided to become a teacher to try and make the world a better place. Teaching is my passion. I love being in the classroom and it is truly where I feel most comfortable. It is the first time in my life where I have had a job that I looked forward to going to every day. I believe knowledge is power and it is my obligation to impart what I have learned to the next generation. When I remember my own schooling, I think of how my teachers inspired me and ultimately helped me to develop responsibility, motivation, and forward-thinking skills. I strive to live up to their example and be a relatable, patient, and genuine educator who truly loves being in the classroom. It is my mission to be an exceptional teacher who promotes learning, helps to make students self-sufficient, and creates an engaged learning environment where students can master new concepts, principles, and skills.

My philosophy of education includes positive relationships with students based on mutual respect. In my classroom, I refuse to put a barrier between my students and I instead strive to develop friendships. Today's students need to be motivated to learn, and if they feel the professor is a resource, a mentor or even a friend, they will experience a degree of reassurance in their abilities. Teachers are developers of leaders, thinkers, and creators and we should transcend conventional roles and evolve to a more purposeful role in today's educational environment.

Learning occurs when a teacher transmits knowledge to a student who retains the material. In my opinion, technology is changing the way students learn but also the way professors teach. Technology can bring many benefits to education and facilitate the learning and teaching experience such as using mobile devices for a better purpose than just distracting students. Learning also occurs through experiences which in turn, fosters learning. As a professor, I start with the objective (what you want the students to learn) and then think of a thousand interesting ways to get them to learn the objective.

My teaching style changes according to situations and classes. I use differentiated instruction strategies to have a command over the approaches I implement. I also use a 5-point approach to learning which is: “tell”, help learners discover on their own, ask the learner to teach me, apply concepts in a real-world setting, and share your own strengths and weaknesses. These strategies are crucial to understanding the material. The goals of my class are to understand why economics is important and how it is concerned with the optimal distribution of resources in society. It involves understanding what happens in markets and the macroeconomy, examining statistics about the state of the economy, explaining their significance, understanding different policy options, and evaluating their likely outcomes.

My greatest strengths lie in making the class interactive, using examples to enhance learning, introducing fun elements to help students understand, and clarifying doubts with passion and patience. These strengths help students become involved with their learning and connect with both the subject and teacher. Economics is my passion and I believe it enables people to understand others, businesses, markets, and governments and therefore better able to respond to threats and opportunities that emerge.

My hope is to be remembered as a teacher who was encouraging and motivating and who helped students to think and apply knowledge to real life. I want students to feel they had a dedicated and knowledgeable teacher who brought enthusiasm and creativity into the educational process and who tried to make a positive difference in each person’s life.