Ally Carpenter

My teaching philosophy is more of a heartbeat than a philosophy. I can have theories or beliefs that I hold about what it means to be a teacher and best practices, but that should be coupled with an authentic why for my practice being the way that it is and why I choose to teach. 

I had many role model teachers in my life growing up. My mom and grandma were both teachers, and hearing their teaching stories and their love for their students inspired me. I had many school teachers from a young age who were encouraging and did an excellent job of giving students ownership of their learning and of the classroom environment. My teachers let me teach because I was passionate about it, and that liberty further solidified my love of teaching. This shaped my belief that students are teachers and teachers are learners in addition to the formal roles of student and teacher. I have a lot to learn from my future students. 

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Radical hospitality is something that I want to foster in my professional life and specifically in the classroom. It is a pillar of creating a community within the classroom. To me, radical hospitality emphasizes the importance of not just an open classroom, but an open heart. I could have virtually no resources, no windows, no warm lighting or flexible seating, but a classroom could feel like a home because of the people that dwell in it. 

Radical hospitality looks like anticipating needs and actively listening, two things I will need to do every moment of every day as a teacher of young children. I want to foster a classroom community where every child knows without a doubt that they are valued. I want to not only inspire a love of learning, but inspire my students to take ownership of caring for one another and making sure that everyone knows that they belong- not just feel like they belong, but know that they belong. It is the difference between having a sense of community and a functioning community. 

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I strongly believe in the power of a name. I have an aptitude for remembering names and faces, and learning them quickly. I have always held in high regard the practice of using someone’s name when speaking to them, it shows that you care about more than just the conversation you’re having. When I started substitute teaching, I would begin the day by asking each student their name and then I would repeat it back to them. Even though I’d only be their teacher for eight short hours, it showed them that I genuinely wanted to know the children I was teaching, and that before I went over sub plans or explained what we would be learning, my priority was the learners. What meaning does even the most engaging delivery of learning have if there aren’t engaged learners? 

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The philosophy side of my teaching philosophy that has an impact on my pedagogy has a lot to do with the humanistic perspective. I often draw on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explain why I prioritize and respond the way I do to outside influences on children’s learning. School is situated within a sociocultural context, the two are not separate and should not be treated as such. 

The hierarchy of needs informs teaching practice because children’s basic needs are a teacher’s first priority above accomplishments in school. If a child comes to school hungry or tired, or feeling anxious or unsafe, they will have trouble focusing on anything besides that. Higher needs depend on the primary needs. As a future educator and an empath, I care very much about what my students are feeling when they are in my classroom, and even when they aren’t. Young children express love and belonging needs very clearly, and it is especially important to me that they feel a sense of love and belonging because in order for them to learn to give love later in life, they have to learn about love by receiving it, and I want them to experience that as a child. Additionally, esteem needs involve feeling valued, and accomplished, and I can foster this as a teacher by giving my students opportunities for independence, a safe space to make mistakes, and both giving and teaching them respect. 

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