As teachers, we are all going to have different perspectives on what our purpose is in teaching, but it is important to know what they are. “To build supportive relationships with students, instructors must be aware of the beliefs and assumptions they carry into the classroom because those beliefs inevitably influence virtually every pedagogical choice that instructors make” (Imazeki, 2023). By knowing ourselves, we can be better teachers, so for me, I think it is important for us to teach the facts and let the students learn for themselves by also providing opportunities for them to grow into people with integrity. By teaching the facts, we allow students the opportunity to gain the knowledge to become better students in the future.  

In general, we need to establish the “why” in the things we do. This is extremely important for our careers because it helps us remember our drive. For me, I think one of the biggest whys in teaching is to help my students feel loved and equipped with facts from topics so they can make wise decisions for their lives. This is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to become a teacher in the first place. My dad told me to look at the people who had a big impact on my life and look at what they did. Those people were my PE teachers and coaches. They made that impact because they made me feel seen in class and pushed me to become a good person, not just get good grades. How you make your students feel is one of the main things that is going to stick with them.   

However, it is also important that we give the students the curriculum as well, and the facts they learn, I hope, will stick with them so they can make good decisions as they continue through life. School is a great place for students to come and learn about so many subjects. All teachers, I am sure, hope to create an impact on students and show them the subject matter. These things should be prioritized, but we should also remember to teach students about their character and how that is important. A lot of students may not even be getting this at home. Schools have a unique opportunity to help shape students for their future, and teaching them to have integrity and be kind to others is important for everyone. School can sometimes seem pointless, especially to the kids, but “going to school makes you smarter, and some—possibly most—of the reason is that you remember stuff that you’ve learned in school” (Willingham, 35). We should not forget as teachers, that we are making an impact even when it does not seem they are getting it. Both character and the information from class are important and should be something teachers are striving for their students to know because they both will help better equip them for life. By giving the facts, we can help teach students to make wise decisions or have opinions based on the things they know are true, and help build good character, which can help them to become a person who does not just think of themselves.  

Typically, in schools, you will have students who want to learn, but on the other side of that, you will have students who do not want to learn or care about anything you are trying to teach. It is important to remember during these moments not to give up and recognize that we are all flawed people. This does not mean we can just let things slide or stop trying to teach, but it does mean we need to be patient and gracious with our students by showing them love and pushing them to be the best they can be. As a Christian, I know we are all made in the image of God but are sinful (ESV Bible, Genesis 1:27). God is gracious and loving with me, so this can help push and remind me to treat my students with love. In the same way, we most likely are going to have classrooms with a wide range of cultures and ethnicities. As teachers, we should never be biased against students, but we do need to recognize same students may be coming from different backgrounds and beliefs. As educators, we should be able to incorporate lessons where students are not only being seen but also represented through the content we may be teaching. Naturally, students are not going to enjoy or understand everything despite our efforts, but that's why they have teachers to help walk them through things and be there for them.  

Now, as we strive to teach students the facts of things and build good character, we need to get to know them. We need to do this because if we do not know our students, then how will we know the best way to teach them? One book noted that when students experience personal connection and being recognized by their teachers, it helps students build their self-esteem, which is essential to engagement and success in school (Mauer, 23). We can also see from the Bible that, despite all being made in the image of God we are not all the same. This means each of our students will have different strengths and weaknesses. This means that it is important to teach the students in a variety of ways. For me this means that I want to strive to have a variety of instructional methods of teaching where students can have a verbal lecture, ways they can touch things themselves, have visuals, and maybe even having them work in groups to learn from each other Studies have shown that a lot of time “teachers' pay more attention to the product and less content and the differentiated learning process” (Hatixhe). It is easy to get caught up in the result and not remember that it is the process that gets them there. All students are going to have different needs, and it is going to be challenging to meet them all, but we should strive to do our best to reach each student.   

Now, teachers are important in all of this because they are the ones controlling the information and what is being taught. The teachers should strive to give the facts of the subject and try to keep their bias out of it. We all have our biases, but it is important to just teach the reality of what facts have shown and let the students decide what they think of it. It is also important for us to understand our biases so that we can recognize what we may be thinking.   

As teachers, we can only do so much for our students. Striving to teach them as much as possible and providing them with a variety of ways to learn is important but can only do so much if the students are not willing to learn and be motivated. Students have a responsibility to try and actively participate in the things that teachers are pushing them to do. We can’t force students to learn things; they must be willing to put in the effort and apply themselves. 

As a teacher, I am going to strive to teach the facts and push my students to grow in knowledge and character. We, as educators, all have a philosophy of what being an educator is all about. Learning to recognize our views on what teaching is can open a door to help us become better educators. Teachers may have different views, but we all have a unique opportunity to pour into kids unlike others, and we should not take that lightly.