Adolescents spend a significant amount of time at school, away from their parents, and although parents remain the biggest source of influence to their children, I would argue that teachers are a close second. Students see their teachers in their classes, in the halls, and after school during tutorials or extracurricular activities. When I was able to talk to a high school teacher about how he had made a difference in my life, he told me a story about a teacher that made a difference in his life. Growing up without a father, high wasn’t easy for this individual but there was one teacher that made life workable. This teacher attended all his rugby games, gave him advice, and became a father figure that he was sorely lacking. My former teacher revealed that this influence was the difference between him dropping out or not. This story displays what a massive, potentially life altering power teachers wield. I believe that this power can also be negative and deter students from learning. Adolescents are in a phase of plasticity in both their cognitive and physical capabilities. While they have peers, parents, and other members of society to help meld them, it is the teachers they see immediately in front of them. When I think back to my own experience as a student, I believed all my teachers were experts in their fields, and whether that was true or not, I held them at a high level of credibility. There were certain teachers that inspired me to try my best, but there were teachers that made me want to skip homework, or even worse class. Overall my teachers had such an influence on me that I have gone to university to become a teacher myself. Looking past high school, any teacher (secondary or beyond) I've had will have an influence on my style of how I want to teach or not teach.

    I believe that education is a very powerful force, and it has to the ability to create distress. The source of this problem could be education or a lack thereof, however if people haven't learned to be humane they can create chaos. The most important lesson students can graduate from high school with is how to live their lives as humane people. Being able to change your perspective is a vital part of that lesson. People shouldn't be competing with each other but instead learning to work together. Life gets harder after high school and there will lots of difficult choices to make. Former students should always make the humane decision if their teachers have succeeded. These graduates won't be deviants because of fear of the law but because they were raised as ethical humans that understand right and wrong. There is a great quote from comedian Louis CK that talks about the passion we teachers should pass onto our students. In his show Louis says to his daughter “The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them.” I think this quote is a excellent example of our duties as humans, and a great way to explain the concept to children.

    My philosophy of education consists of creating an fully encompassing environment for students where they can grow to become better human beings. I want to help them discover more about themselves: their passions, dislikes, perspectives etc. I want to create students with a capacity for critical thinking, students that question their sources of information before committing to them. I hope to appeal to all of my students interests when teaching different subjects. Anyone can enjoy biology if taught properly. Everyone should be able to incorporate physical education into their life. Contact with students is very important to me. By getting to know my students better, I will be more adequately equipped to teach them. I will remain humble and accept that after graduation from university my personal education is far from over. There will always be more for me to learn, from my students, peers, and from the community. I will always be enthusiastic about my lessons regardless of how many times I've taught them. I hope that same passion for my subjects will be passed along to my students. There are many ways teachers can influence students' learning. One of which is the method of delivery. How are lectures given? Do they encourage learning? Provoke thought? The classroom itself can have a big effect on the students. Is it a welcoming place to be? This is akin to a second home for students and it should be somewhere they want to come to and feel safe while they are there. The atmosphere a teacher creates can be conducive to learning. An important part of this atmosphere is how students are taught to interact with each other. The teacher absolutely has an impact on this topic and it is vital students get along in classrooms to avoid alienation and produce peak learning conditions. Finally I will be patient with my students as everyone learns differently at their own pace. I believe that schools should not be treated as businesses. Most businesses focus on making money, whereas schools should think about producing properly educated students. Schools need to concentrate on the students' needs and not money. Grade competition shouldn't be a goal either, because I think in our industry having the best “scores” is a kind of currency. Achieve high test scores and your school will bring in more students, and more money. They students are evaluated is something that is changing in BC and I hope to be a big part of that. I hope that students will be able to use more independent projects or portfolios as representatives of what they have achieved. In conclusion, I believe the key concept of this philosophy is the type of human coming out of high school is more important than the amount of knowledge they possess. The two of course are intertwined, however the delivery is important to ensure students knowledge is used properly.