Philosophy V. Practical
I've been thinking more and more lately about what makes a "good teacher." What abilities does a "good teacher" posses? Is he or she able to talk for hours about what music and teaching is, or is it someone that has practical abilities like handling a classroom, caring about the students, teaching lessons that students can understand and learn something from, etc. How important is it that a teacher is able to define terms (like music) in a purely philosophical manner? Is that going to make them a "good teacher?" I would like to think that the answer is a healthy combination of the two that falls more heavily on the side of practical, but from my experience in ME classes, I'm finding that others might think it's slightly heavier on the other side...
posted by Anonymous @ 11:48 PM
2 Comments:
I often struggle with this question myself. If a teacher, without any philosophical knowledge of education, is very engaging and empowers students to learn, is that teacher a bad teacher? I do not believe so. I believe what defines a good teacher is whether the students in the classroom are learning. However, is a philosopher who cannot control his/her classroom a good teacher? No. It does not matter what a teacher’s thoughts are on philosophy of education, if the teacher is not engaging in the classroom, the teacher has failed. The question that needs to be addressed then is this, what is the purpose of philosophy? Philosophy to me defines the decisions I make in the classroom. It guides what I choose to teach and how I choose to present that information. It guides how I view my students and what I expect from them. My philosophy is a guide to my practice. I do not believe I could be an engaging and empowering teacher without it.
What constitutes a good friend? A good parent? Everyone has their own thoughts and perceptions on ideals they would like to see, but a few basic traits will always last. A genuine care for your fellow human beings. Understanding and trust that your thoughts and ideas have value, no matter how different they might be from your own. Sacrifice for others, taking time to do hard tasks for those in need. The giving up of yourself to a greater good. Those are the traits of a good person, a good teacher will then come naturally.
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