My first philosophy of teaching

    Being a first year teacher, and having no formal training to be a teacher, I have had to lean all that I know through trial and error.  Some of the best advice that I have received was, “don’t only know what kind of teacher you want to be, but also know what kind of teacher you don’t want to be.” This is good because, as a math teacher, I have had many math teachers, some great, others not.  From this wide range of teaching, from a student’s perspective, I know what a teacher  has done to help me be successful, and what has not worked. 
    Encouragement, motivation, and left to struggle the right amount is what I have found to help me best. Using the same strategies, I hope to be able to provide my students with the same support that my best teachers showed me.  By encouraging my students to do the best that they can, the student should be more willing to take chances that otherwise they may not be willing to take.  I motivate my students by ensuring that they   receive credit for what they do correctly and identify the point where the mistake was made.  Above all I will purposely leave my students to solve problems above the level that I teach to, in order for them to gain a sense of pride and mastery over the concept that I am teaching them in that lesson.  These three concepts plus the use of humor, technology, and some entertainment allows me to present information to my students, most of whom have major mental blocks against school in general, and math specifically.
    I’m not sure if this is a “REAL” philosophy of teaching, but this is what i think about it thus far.  I have read that this document is a work in progress through out the career of a teacher, and I am sure that this summery will change drastically and often as I continue my own teaching career. I look forward to being able to look back on this and seeing how my outlook has changed from time to time.