Ms. Kim’s Teaching Philosophy
Young learners have an unlimited potential that can only be unlocked through new experiences. It is my responsibility as their teacher to help design an environment where students can feel safe and secure to experiment, make mistakes, and be creative. In order to build the ideal environment, I owe it to my students to show up as a dependable and approachable teacher.
As an experience designer, I care about creating meaningful interactions across various mediums, whether they be physical or digital. In the classroom, lessons and learning are the experiences at hand. The range of students from third through twelfth grade demonstrate an array of learning styles and ability to absorb and synthesize information. I care about accompanying my students through the different stages of learning, and their perception of the experience.
Social learning goes hand-in-hand with musical learning. Children need social interaction, which will in turn, build trust and community. The role of tech seems to become more and more all-encompassing, and there is a growing global trend of the deficit of social and emotional growth.
In my teaching, I want to influence children to learn new manual skills and interact with each other to create accomplishments. Music learning is a physical activity that involves coordination with one’s own body, but also with others. Young people should be able to teach and learn from one another, because the best way to synthesize learning is through teaching others. I exist in the space as a facilitator and mediator, but children should be equipped with the tools to achieve the goals that they set for themselves. I can help guide the goal setting process and be a cheerleader to celebrate their successes and learn from failures, but it’s up to students to push themselves.
In order to play the roles I’ve outlined, I strive to earn my students’ trust. I want to create and uphold high standards and expectations while allowing for creativity and fun to flow. If students do not enjoy being in their environmental constraints, what is the point? Their time is valuable. I want to make students’ efforts worth their while by guiding them in engaging and fruitful activities. By expressing genuine care and interest in a student’s life, I am able to work towards building trust. Once I am able to hook a student’s trust, attention is more likely to accompany.
Young learners are able to grow so much, especially when they have a supportive teaching network that allows them to explore and express themselves. As a teacher, I strive to show my students that potential has no limit.
