TEACHING
Professional Teaching Philosophy
In my life, I have had some good teachers and some average teachers, but I have had very few exceptional teachers. There is however one that stands out to me.
Mr. Robert Eck was the kind of teacher that anyone would be lucky to have and I was lucky. I was not much of a student in high school, I planned on going to Vo-Tech and sliding through my senior year, was I mistaken. When I first meet Mr. Eck I thought what did I do. This man was tough, he pushed me to be better than I was, he set high expectations for me and held me to my word. If I failed, he didn’t let me fall, he taught me to accept responsibility and learn from my failure. All things that made me respect and admire him to this day.
I think a good teacher can get his students to respect him, but I believe a great teacher can earn his students respect while also being wise, caring, knowledgeable, and fair. I feel like a great teacher doesn’t just teach his students what he knows, but helps a student to develop who they are and explore what they can become.
As I look back at what Mr. Eck taught me, I realize that it wasn’t just how to design an ad, create a logo or mix colors. It was much more than that, it was how, to be honest, and trustworthy, fair, and knowledgeable, everything I saw in him he was teaching me to be as I moved into adulthood.
I believe that being a teacher is more than just teaching your students a subject. It’s multifaceted, it’s showing students not only how to do a job, but what to do when the job goes wrong or there is a problem. Show them how to be fair, honest, and trustworthy. Lead by example and be the person you want them to be. Show them that who they are, their values, and their work ethic is just as important as the work they do.