Welcome to the final installation of the job series! I’ve discussed how to find a teaching position, how to lock in an interview, and how to make a winning teaching portfolio. Now, it’s time to make sure you have WINNING philosophy of education.
Some people fail to realize the importance of a philosophy of education! A philosophy of education is your opportunity to share your passion for what you do with hiring managers. Here are a few tips that will help you write a WINNING philosophy of education!
#1: Establish your “Why?”: Before you build your statement, you need to really think about your “why”? Why did you decided to major in education in undergrad? Why did you decide to switch careers to education? What led you to that teacher preparation program? The fact of the matter is, we all have a “why”. You need to be able to clearly identify your “why” before you can write ANYTHING.
#2: What led to this “why”?: The next thing you need to do is tell the story of how you arrived to this “why”. What experiences have you had that fed this question? Do you want to give back to the community in which you grew up? Did you have an amazing Spanish teacher in high school? Were you a diverse learner growing up and wanted to support students who shared your experience? Did something in your current occupation inspire you? Every “why” has a story, this is your chance to tell yours.
#3: How will you impact others?: Finally, talk about how you will impact others with your work. I always say, education is the business of people. Your sole purpose is the make children’s lives and learning experiences meaningful and richer. Knowing this information, now is your time to think about how you plan on making an impact in children’s lives. Remember, there are many ways to affect change in education, what is yours?
#4: Keep it to a page!: This is not your memoir! Your philosophy of education should pack a powerful punch in one page or less! Remember, you are providing the hiring manager or principal with a snapshot of what drives you to do the work that you do! You can always elaborate on that during the interview!
Thank you so much for keeping up with this hiring series! I hope that you have learned a few tidbits to help you with your job search!
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