Creating My Teaching Worldview
What is my worldview:
A worldview, to me, is one’s perception of the reality that occurs around them. It differs between every person and vastly differs depending on where you live in the world. Where you live, what you believe in, what is considered right and wrong, the culture you have adopted or been raised in, and a vast number of other influences impact your worldview daily. I don’t think there is any one person who will have the same worldview as another person, and something as small as liking the colour red versus disliking that colour can change one’s entire scope of life. Worldview is something that is definitely a bit tricky to put a clear definition on because, like the definition, it can mean so many different things to different people. But in my opinion, I would define a worldview as “One’s perception of what reality is to them, and using this concept to interact with the world daily.”
How would you describe your worldview?
My worldview is always changing, whether that is my belief system about being a human, my political opinions, and what it means to be a good teacher. I think if I write this now, two years from now, it would not be an accurate description of me. I also think this is an extremely broad topic, and I could spend all day analyzing and self-reflecting this, and by the end of it, my perspective would probably change. For starters, I think that humans are born with free will and that the choices we make as individuals impact ourselves and the world around us. I also think that MOST, if not all, humans are born as inherently good people and that we want to make the right choices for ourselves and others, but the impact of social constructs sways us into bad decisions. I think there is a God, and I know when I die, I am going to heaven. Semi-contradicting to this statement, I also believe in the power of science and technology. I think I am living in the best era of humans and that human brains and technology can solve a lot of the issues that someone living in the 1600s would face. I love AI, but I am scared to death of it, I think there needs to be firm and hard regulations to prevent it from “taking over.”. I think AI will absolutely shake up education more then anything else and that we as teachers need to understand it if we want to grow with it. I think everyone deserves the right to vote and that proper democracy can allow for real change in my world, even if sometimes I disagree. I think exercise is one of the most important aspects of what makes me me, and as a teacher, it is something I really want to prioritize and curate a healthy relationship with students and exercise. I love classic music, and I think Steely Dan is my favourite band of all time and my favourite colour is blue. I think I prefer cats to dogs, but I still enjoy cats and would definitely have a cat. Social media is one of the most entertaining and addicting things of all time, and it can be positive, but the negatives outweigh them in my opinion. I think this paragraph could go on and on, and I would never truly be satisfied with this. I am going to continue to self-reflect and analyze so that my understanding of my beliefs and views grows and if you have any questions for me, please ask.
While thinking about your own worldview, also consider the impacts of your ethnocultural, socioeconomic, geopolitical and spiritual identities.
I think while looking at my ethnocultural, socioeconomic, geopolitical, and spiritual identities. All those aspects heavily impact my worldview. The interesting thing about these, compared to my previous example, is that I have had no real control over any of these, and they are just the circumstances that I was born with. One needs to consider this when analyzing one’s worldview, and it is critically important when interacting with others. It becomes easy to disregard someone’s perspective if they don’t align with yours, especially if they come from another world and have contradicting views. But to develop empathy and understanding with people across the globe, as well as the ones in your community, it is critical to acknowledge as well as understand their ethnocultural, socioeconomic, geopolitical, and spiritual identities when interacting. In regards to my own, I was born a straight, white male Christian in a wealthy family. One of the key things that I have had to develop in my worldview is understanding how absolutely privileged I am. I was born with every advantage available, and though I have had personal struggles, these are not due to the previously mentioned factors. To finish, my ethnocultural, socioeconomic, geopolitical, and spiritual identities all play important factors in my worldview, and more importantly, I think understanding my privilege in these areas will allow me to have a greater understanding of myself and those around me, bolstering my abilities as a teacher.
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Why, as a teacher, is it important to be aware of your own worldview, as well as those students of your students and school community?
 also think it is equally important to know the values and worldviews of your students. Firstly, I hold the steadfast belief that connection and knowing your student is one of, if not the highest, priority as a teacher. Building trust and relationships is how you connect to your students and create powerful learning that is unavailable otherwise. An essential aspect of this is learning your students’ worldviews. For example, if you were a teacher and wanted to throw a pizza party for your students, you would not bring in just pepperoni pizzas if you knew some vegans were in the class. You would know that some students think meat is murder, a worldview that they take on and provide alternatives for the students. This example might seem redundant, but if you know your student’s worldviews and interests, you can cater your lesson plans to what they “can’t have” and build engaging lessons around material that students are interested in and engage them with content that matters to them. With a greater understanding of worldview, it becomes easier to create lesson plans that excite kids instead of something that they are being told to learn. Overall, to increase the efficiency of your teaching, understanding students’ worldviews and then using this as a skill can help teachers captivate students and improve learning and learning excitement.Â
What can you do, as a teacher, to ensure that your worldview does not impede on the diversity of the learners in your classroom?
As previously mentioned, I do not think teachers need to be robots. Being yourself and having a worldview is what makes us human and is what makes teachers enjoyable. If teachers were not able to be themselves and strictly taught curriculum, I think students would find it nearly difficult to engage with. The opposite of this also remains true, if teachers came in and only taught their worldview and pushed their ideas onto students, I think students would also find it extremely difficult to engage with, and the concepts taught would definitely conflict and impede other students. To be an effective teacher and to allow diversity to flow and open in your classroom, world view needs to be checked at the door. In my experience, if a teacher comes into a class, for example, a social studies class, and teaches one idea clearly aligning with their worldview, it leaves very limited space for students to explore alternative worldviews. In addition, if a student has a different worldview from the teacher, this can lead to conflict or make students feel like their worldview is wrong or inadequate compared to the teacher’s. To avoid issues like this, self-reflection is something that is required for teachers. I myself really try to bring a personableness into my lessons and be my authentic self in the classroom, but I have learned from a handful of my teachers and through the program that it is essential to reflect on what I am bringing into the class, and to really look hard in the mirror about my beliefs, and if they belong in the classroom.
