The document discusses the evolution of the author's personal teaching philosophy over the course of a Professional Studies module. At the start, the author's goals were to transfer knowledge to students in a unique way that would empower them. Throughout the module, the author's philosophy was influenced by topics like social justice, gender socialization, and service learning. The author learned to consider diversity and avoid discrimination. Experiences teaching in a rural school further shaped the author's approach to value each student's individuality and culture. By the conclusion, the author's philosophy had developed to include ensuring an inclusive environment that motivates students' curiosity and development.

1. The evolution of my personal teaching philosophy
Over the past few months, since I started the Professional Studies 4 module, there
were many ideas flouting through my head about what kind of teacher I would be
and what I will be doing in the classroom. The module gave these thoughts a name,
a Personal teaching philosophy. Throughout the year my ideas have changed and
were moulded by new knowledge acquired in lectures and in my experiences as a
teacher. New influences and topics arose and I found that teaching is much more
than meets the eye. Many things need to be taken into consideration before a
teacher is ready to educate the masses.
During the course of this essay I am going to provide a detailed discussion of how
my personal teaching philosophy has evolved with the educational practice I have
done during the year. I will include academic themes and concepts covered in this
module as well as examples from my service learning and community work
experiences in addressing the various aspects of my evolving personal teaching
philosophy. First I will explain my understanding of what a personal teaching
philosophy is. This will be followed by a summary of my personal philosophy at the
start of this module and how it has changed with the knowledge I have gathered from
some of the academic themes covered in Professional studies 4. The academic
themes include Social justice, Gender socialisation and Philosophy and pedagogy of
Service learning. After I have discussed the evolution of my personal teaching
philosophy and the relationships between it and the academic themes as well as my
educational practices, I will draw a conclusion where my points are made will be
summarised.
My understanding of what a personal teaching philosophy is:
When asked the question of what a personal teaching philosophy is, many things
spring to mind but my understanding is quite simply stated. A teaching philosophy to
an educator is a self-observation statement of beliefs about pedagogy and
scholarship, and it should elaborate on how these beliefs of education are put into
practice. It should include examples of what the educator is doing or plans on doing

2. in the classroom. People are curious creatures and the main objective of education
is motivate this curiosity to find the answers.
Summary of my personal teaching philosophy:
My personal philosophy is that every teacher chooses a profession in education with
a certain goal. I have a very simple reason for it. I have grown up in an ever
changing and developing world and one of the only things that are constant is that
knowledge is power. Education is something that, once acquired, cannot be taken
away from someone. The transfer of knowledge is my goal to emancipate learners to
become independent individuals. The main outcome of education is to teach learners
necessary skills, knowledge, critical- and logical thoughts, in such a way that their
development will prepare them to become a part of society. The way I want to
transfer knowledge has to be unique and unforgettable at the same time. The
teacher is a motivator and not a discouraging influence. I want to encourage full
development inside and out of the classroom in the subject of teaching and in
wisdom of life. The teacher’s role in the learning situation is, according to me, to be
the centre between the subject matter and the student. It is thus the educator’s
responsibility to ensure that the translation of the subject matter is done in such a
way that the learners comprehend it fully. There are other levels at which the teacher
can be a model of behaviour and also teach values and morals.
Extra mural activities make an opportunity for education to take place. Coaching
sport is important to me, as this creates a new environment where learners will find
themselves learning new ways of self-discipline and an understanding of the benefits
of hard work in a team and as individuals. I strive for success and through that I will
pass the guidelines for it over to the pupils.
To ensure and maintain the goals an educator has set in their personal teaching
philosophy, the learning environment has to be ripe for development and growth.
Each learner is seen as a unique person with their own individuality, talents,
strengths and weaknesses and should thus be treated fairly in this sense.
Acknowledgement should be given to learners where it is due, no matter how small
the learner’s advancements are. Attention and motivation is a must. An
understanding that everyone progresses at a different pace and so there must be

3. given attention and honour to any form of growth. A positive attitude is easily
transferred and adapted by children and learners in the classroom. To have an up-beat
and excited view on everyday life and the work being done will enforce the
learner’s attention and interest.
The influence of social justice:
Even though the various academic themes discussed in this module do have
interlinking matter, I am going to divide them according to how they influenced my
personal teaching philosophy. The first I will mention is social justice. Social justice is
defined as "... promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity."
It exists when "all people share a common humanity and therefore have a right to
equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of
community resources." In conditions of social justice, people are "not be
discriminated against, nor their welfare and well-being constrained or prejudiced on
the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliations, age, race, belief,
disability, location, social class, socioeconomic circumstances, or other characteristic
of background or group membership" (Toowoomba Catholic Education, 2006).
In the field of education being a biased teacher can influence the learners’
capabilities to learning. An educator does not always notice the power they hold as a
role model in society and respect towards children. If a teacher discriminates in any
way the consequences can be drastic to the development of the learner being
discriminated against. A prime example in South African multi-cultural classrooms
would be stereotyping in between the races. In the society of modern South Africa,
everyone is seen as equal, but there are still means on which racism is being
conveyed. Let’s say that there are a group of boys, each one of a different culture
and ethnic group. The teacher assigns each one a different nickname. A harmless
activity, or so it might seem, but the teacher chose to call the Indian boy “Samosa”
after the food type. Again this might seem harmless but the Indian boy may take
offence and then immediately loses all respect and interest in the subject the
educator is trying to teach. There lies a thin line in what can and cannot be said.

4. The knowledge I have acquired on social justice has made me more aware of what I
say to children and the way I treat them. Again one of my goals is to motivate
learners to develop and I cannot do so if they feel that I am discriminating against
them in any way. This is the effect that social justice has had on the evolution of my
personal teaching philosophy. I have learnt and grown to be more considerate
towards my students and in fact my colleagues as well. Calling a child dumb or
stupid is a big no in my opinion and sets back all the effort and hard work an
educator has done to develop a pupil.
Influences of gender socialisation:
During the course this module I have learned that teachers and school staff are
representatives for gender socialisation. As said above there must not be any form of
discrimination against a learner or pupil, this includes their gender and sexual
orientation. Growing up in a very open minded and modern society I have learned
that there should not be certain things done or not done by a certain gender. From a
young age we are taught that boys and girls are different from each other and are
raised to obey these ideas. As a teacher I had to stretch my imagination to
understand this concept but I have come to grasp the insight of the topic. Lately
anything is acceptable to a certain degree. In the school environment you cannot tell
the learners that “boys should not play with dolls” or “girls cannot play with cars”.
Each child must be seen as an individual and so they are unique in every way. There
seems to be a gender bias in education, especially in high schools where there is
much more pressure on a student to fit into his/her peer group.
For example, when I was in my first year of practical teaching at a high school, there
was a boy who was interested in taking home economics as a subject. He was
completely ridiculed and made fun of by students and teachers alike. At first
everyone thought he was joking but he was serious and confused when people
around him started laughing. Afterwards he was asked why he would even consider
taking a “girls course”. His answer was humble and simple and made a lot of sense.
He said that he wanted to learn things that are done inside the kitchen, how to sew
his clothes etc. He wanted to be completely independent as a person, not needing
someone to sew or cook for him. He added that his father had taught him how to

5. build with wood and how to repair cars, all that he needed to know now was the
things his father did not teach him.
This was an eye opener to me and from that day I decided to not judge on gender
role socialisation at all. The educator’s role is to educate and emancipate learners,
not to keep them away from information they want to know the answers to. My
personal teaching philosophy was changed in some ways by the extra information I
received during the lecture of gender socialisation. I realised that it does not matter
whether the student is a boy who recognises himself as a girl. It is about the
cognitive development I as a teacher is trying to accomplish. Through understanding
and not ridiculing those who are different we can accomplish much more as people.
Influences of Service learning:
As I previously stated people are curious creatures and the main objective of
education is motivate this curiosity to find the answers. Service learning covers just
that. To my understanding, service learning is a way of teaching and learning
strategically. This concept combines meaningful community service with schooling
and self-assessment to improve the way that education is experienced, to enhance
the child’s development in municipal accountability and to build a stronger
community. Service learning can be divided into two types, namely: Direct service
learning and Indirect service learning. It is mostly a collaboration of partners,
students and community members alike, those who give and receive a service.
Service learning is an ambassador of integrated learning.
The service learning I was a part of during the module was to teach learners of
previously disadvantaged areas that there are ways for them to be able to receive
tertiary education, even if they are poor they can go further, but only if they work
hard they might be eligible for a bursary.
I have also been a part of service learning in the community where I currently work. It
is a primary school in a rural part of Eastern Gauteng. There I took part in the
educating of learners’ parents in Basic English, Maths and Computer skills. I was
shocked at how many of the parents of learners could not read or write. This was

6. very hard to comprehend and we had learners come along with their parent/s to
translate to them what is being taught. Through this I have learned that opportunities
are always there for people to better themselves.
Experiences in teaching and how I have been influenced:
Finally I would like to discuss my personal experiences as I have been moulded
during this year. I have taught at a rural school with mostly Zulu speaking learners.
There was a language barrier and a cultural difference between the learners and
myself. With the help of this module I was able to change my approaches inside the
classroom and out, so that I would be able to help the children develop their skills.
I found that if I show interest in the students as individuals, they are more likely to
allow me to teach them something without worrying about if they understand the
work being explained. They feel free to ask questions when need be and they are
applauded by doing so.
Conclusion:
In conclusion through the knowledge I have gathered in Professional studies 4 I have
been able to adjust my personal teaching philosophy in such a way that I am always
considerate and inclusive. My passion for learning has infected the learners I teach
and so their progress is visible to themselves, me and my colleagues. I have learned
that social justice and gender socialisation are topics that must be evaluated and
studied when it comes to teaching as a profession, and that service learning is an
important part of development that a student needs to participate in, to enhance
his/her community.
As I acquire more knowledge throughout the years to come, my personal teaching
philosophy will definitely evolve more and more, which I hope I can add to someone
else’s philosophy or just make them think of the things that I have learnt.

7. Referencing:
http://www.uwo.ca/tsc/resources/selected_teaching_topics/teaching_dossiers/guide_
to_constructing/teaching_philosophy_examples.html
(Toowoomba Catholic Education, 2006).
http://servicelearning.mysdhc.org/PDF/What%20is%20Service-
Learning%20revised%20pdf.pdf
The module’s lecture slides were used as reference as well.