Upon reading the teaching philosophies, I found that I wanted to be a teacher.
Okay, I don’t want to be a teacher (at least the desire has not struck me yet), but I found that the good ones made me think, for just a second, that being a teacher would be the greatest thing like, ever. What did it, I believe, was that the good philosophies had passion. God, I love that stuff. I’m an inspiration junkie, and nothing does that like someone who “has a love affair with”, “fell in love with”, or “feels a personal calling towards” whatever they are doing in life. That said, I found that those who used this flowery language to describe their career in teaching in their philosophies were those professors of the humanities, and I suppose this cannot be a total surprise. On the contrary, the philosophies expressed by the professor of landscape architecture or the professor of rural psychology seemed to have a more technical tone; this, also, may be just be a direct reflection of their passion towards the more technical fields, guided by more technical personalities. And while I particularly loved the authenticity and passion expressed by the “flowery language professors”, it does not mean that the landscape architect loves his job teaching any less. That said, I obviously enjoy the style of the professor of Philosophy and the professor of History in their teaching philosophies.
With all of these examples, though, is a similar format. All seem to at least touch on a background of their relationship with teaching (some providing fun little anecdote of the passion uncovered as a child), as well as describing their class structure – both literally and in the sense of the class “feeling”. The philosophies tell of each professor’s personal beliefs about teaching, and how they strive to convey these beliefs in the classroom – sometimes in order to create a specific experience for their students. Finally, some professors adequately tie in their philosophy of teaching with their grander, broader philosophy of life. I like this part especially, and while it may be harder/weirder to emulate with a philosophy of moderation, I do hope to incorporate some broader view and purpose of this specific task of moderating.