The artifact I chose for this standard is a book I’ve been reading called “They Call Me Coach” by John Wooden. I read this book as I was going through my practicum and I found that it really helped me a lot when I was developing my own teaching philosophy. John Wooden was known as the greatest coach to ever lived. Not only did he win championships, he also provided wisdom on how to approach life and how to become successful at it. One of the quotes from the book that really stuck out for me is his definition of Success: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of Self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” I really took this to heart and I shared this with my students during my practicum. Success is not how much money you make or how many ‘A’s you got on your report card but it is knowing that you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming. When I shared that with my students, it really opened their eyes especially when moving on to high school. I saw their eyes light up and wanting to be this definition of success. An example of this was when I first entered my long practicum, I had my students set goals for themselves that will be done by the end of the year. One student told me his goals for humanities and that was getting a ‘B’ on his 3rd term report card. He worked extremely hard throughout the term and when he earned that ‘B’, I had to tell him before receiving his report card that he will be receiving that ‘B’. I found that successful because as a teacher, I achieved my goal as helping my students find success in themselves.
I chose this artifact for this standard because it learning about other people’s philosophy in not only teaching but in life can help in creating my own philosophy in my teaching and make me become a better teacher. I believe that I will continue to change my philosophy as I continue my career but by reading books and experiencing life, it is a commitment to learning that is what I strive.